Need advice NOW.......please

[Markey]

My snake Markey had a very slight upper respiratory infection. She went over six weeks without eating. She recovered from the RI and we have been attempting to feed her with ZERO luck. I purchased some ProBiotics from Kathy Love and was hoping to try it with Markey at her next feeding attempt.
My son asked if he could hold Markey while I defrosted the fuzzy (I purchased a smaller food source in hopes to kick start Markey's appetite). While Parker was holding Markey, she pooped all over him! It was runny and had some gelatinous green goup in it. The urea was hard! I was so happy that she pooped (the vet said that there wasn't any impaction inside her) that I ran past my son who was vomiting!!! Poor kid!
I put Markey in her feeder cage and proceeded to give her the fuzzy dipped in the ProBiotic. SHE ATE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was immediately on the phone with the vet because I wanted to give them a sample of the stool. They told me to give Markey another fuzzy. I'm scared that she will regurge. Do you think I should offer her one more fuzzy or wait a day or two??? Please help....she's sitting in the feeder cage right now looking around. I think she might take one more if I offer it but I've never dealt with this issue before and I don't want to overdo it!
The vet thinks that she may possibly have some sort of GI issue like Giardia that is affecting her eating....it's just a possibility and we won't know until the sample is tested.
Thanks!

[terrorpin]

i would wait a day or two and see how he gets on. our snake is only a baby but is now looking every 4 or 5 days for food instead of the 7 so we are going with 5 days at the minute. but after having no food for so long it might make it sick if you gave to much in one go. anyway hope all works out well for you

[CaptBogart]

What is the normal prey size? If it's only one step down from the usual, I would wait a few days, probably at least five, then offer normal sized prey. That will give the Nutribac time to work, increasing appetite, and also let you see that she is back on track... You'll hopefully have the results of the test by then as well...

[Markey]

Thanks for the advice! I appreciate it.

The normal prey size is large size mice. She normally takes two every 7-10 days although she does usually drop down to only taking one large mouse in the winter months.

The vet recommended I try a fuzzy at first....if I offered her two fuzzies, it would probably equal out to be one size down from the usual or maybe still a wee bit smaller.

Either way, I'm hoping that the NutriBac helps her. I'm taking the stool sample in later today when I can get out of the house and hopefully those results will give us more definitive answers. *knock on wood*

My husband says that this is consuming me.....and that I'm putting added stress on myself. I think that's part of responsible pet ownership. We've had the little snakey girl since she was seven months old and this is the first big issue we've had. I think we've done pretty well!!!

Have a great day.

[Markey]

Markey's test results all came back normal. The vet did suggest that I feed her two smaller sized mice instead of the larger adult mice. She thinks that it's taking Markey too long to digest the larger mice.

[Tula_Montage]

Markey's test results all came back normal. The vet did suggest that I feed her two smaller sized mice instead of the larger adult mice. She thinks that it's taking Markey too long to digest the larger mice.

Could this be due to low temperatures in that mesh cage?

Seriously why not swap her to an enclosed tub and turn up the heat a bit. It will help her digest anything in her stomach and hopefully she poops it all out. Sounds like shes in need of a good detox :grin01:

[bitsy]

2 large mice every 7-10 days is a higher than usual intake for an adult Corn. I think you'll find 1 large mouse every 10-14 days might be a bit more digestible.

My only Corns that get 2 large mice at a time are the females coming up to egglaying and recovering from it (when they use a lot of physical resources), or when recovering from ill-health.

The rest of my adults get 1 large mouse every 14 days in the spring/summer, dropping to 1 every 3-4 weeks through December-January.

You may have to harden your heart, for the sake of your babe's long-term health.

[Markey]

I have no problem feeding her less. I was always told that if she takes two it's because she needs two. In the winter months she normally refuses anything more than one.
Maybe I'll just drop down to feeding her one large mouse and see if that helps her. Thanks so much for the tip bitsy.
She is currently 978 grams. The vet said she was very healthy, not fat at all......