Feeding Help

[Esfa]

I got my 1st corn in January, and she was about 8", so cute. I started her on pinks, and she soon got onto 3 pinks.

Now she is about 15" and i tried her on a fuzzy on sunday. She easily ate it, but now she regurged it. So i am gonna leave her next feed (sunday) and then feed her a pink next sunday, and if it stays down i will giver her 2 pinks the next week.

Does anyone have any advice on how to get her up to fuzzies? :shrugs:

[Nanci]

Just wait till she's bigger, I guess. Probably a young snake like that ought to be getting fed every five days- what if you went to two pinks every five days for a while?

After she regurges, you need to wait ten days- would she be waiting fourteen if you skip next Sunday? I think you're right in feeding one pink for the first post-regurge meal.

My milksnake Inez was on two pinks for forever. Going by her body diameter and weight, she was technically big enough to eat a fuzzy, but when I gave her one, she tried to swallow it two times and would puke it back out before it even got all the way in her mouth. I just put her back on two pinks of the same total weight as the fuzzy she should be eating rather than risk a regurge.

Nanci

[Esfa]

ok thanks

she would be waiting 14 days since she was fed, but 10 days since she regurged.

[antsterr]

she regurged 4 days after eating it? usually it should have been completely digested by then. Are you sure it was just different looking poop?
If you are sure it was a regurge and not a poop then the problem is that she couldn't digest it, not that it was too big. Even a really big meal should be gone in 4 days. Double check that you have a warm zones over 80 degrees and a good place to hide on that end. At 15 inches most corn can handle fuzzies just fine.

[MegF.]

I agree with Ansterr. 4 days is just at the limit of when the snake would regurge unless the temps are extremely low. Fuzzies can definitely change the look of the poop and sometimes there will be skin or a bit of hair in there. I usually make little cuts down the back of my mice to help them digest the skin more easily. If it truely was a regurge though, I would stay on one pinky for at least 3 to 4 feedings before going back up.

[Esfa]

im sure it was a regurge, it had a head and a tail in it.

[MegF.]

I would check your temps carefully then, and I would definitely go with a smaller food item for the next 3-4 feedings. I'd also wait 7 days in between if you are feeding every 5 days. You might also try making a few cuts in the backs of the pinkies (f/t only of course) to help digestion along with using the nutribac. I've also had success with using grapefruit seed extract in the water. 3-4 drops/8 oz. of water. Change daily.

[Esfa]

my temps are correct, i have thee thermometers. one main one which is oh the heat mat, one in the cool area, and one which i just put next to the other thermoms when i feel like hecking to make sure they are all accurate. :( And i was feeding every 7 days :P

i will try the cut thingy, when she is a bit bigger and had built back upto them, thanks for the help :D

[MegF.]

I would cut even the small pinkies. Anything which will reduce the effort involved to digest will help.