First feeding regurg

First of all, hi! I'm brand new to both the forums and corn snakes. I've been doing a lot of research and am very excited to have little Banyan at home with me. Which is why I got nervous when I found something weird in the tank!

We fed him for the first time Saturday afternoon, and now Tuesday afternoon I found something that is long and pinkish with a darker center area. It doesn't smell bad, in fact I don't smell anything at all. But it certainly doesn't look like what poop is supposed to look like.

The temp did get a little high today on the warm side (about 89 when I checked it and turned it down). Also, at night we turn off the basking light and leave on the uth and a blue night bulb, so it's a little cooler at night. Is that too much temp change for the little guy?

If it's a regurg I plan on waiting about 8 days to feed again, like I've read here. And we'll also make the next meal a smaller pinkie, or half a pinkie. But do regurges ever NOT stink? Since this is our first snake and first feeding, I'm not quite sure what to expect.

Also, I live in a very dry climate and it is hard for me to keep the humidity regular. When I mist, it gets really high, then a few hours later it's too low. We're trying to keep it between 40 and 50. Thank you so much for the input!

I also experienced a hatchling that had regurge issues. Definitely follow the regurge protocol to a "t". As far as your question about the "smell", the first regurge my corn had did not smell either. I think it is because I found it pretty quickly when the snake had done it. Maybe it did not have time to start the smelly, rotting process? I have had other regurges that smelled horrible though. Good luck!

If you think it may be one, go ahead and wait a few days before feeding again. how did you feed last time? In another tank or same tank? Covered or uncovered? Did you handle him after eating? Do you have anything to track the temp? I live in a dry climate also, best thing to do is offer a moist hide of some kind.

It could well be a regurge due to the temperature changes. Can you get the temps controlled a bit tighter? There's a regurge protocol as a sticky in the FAQs.

My boyfriend and I discussed it and think that the mouse was too big. Banyan managed to get it down, but it just sat in him and eventually came back up. A girl at the pet store said to try feeding just the head, or cut the pinkie down the middle- do any of you do that with hatchlings? And which is better?

We fed in a separate covered container and only handled him to put him back in his tank. We are constantly monitoring the temps and humidity. Is turning off the basking lamp at night a bad idea? I want to get this right! thank you for the input.

You should read Kathy Love's cornsnake book. I promise a lot of your questions will be answered.

http://www.corn-utopia.com/

Could you post a picture of your corn so we have an idea of size. Thanks.

Hey and welcome to the forums.

Firstly, if you have a UTH that covers roughly a third of the tank on a thermostat, and the digital thermometer reads between 80 - 85, then that's all you need. You don't need various basking or night bulbs, sounds like the store was trying to sell you more than you needed.

Check out this thread, it has instructions for situations such as these:

http://cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28342&highlight=Regurgitation+protocol

Do you have a set of digital scales that weigh in grams? If so, then weigh your snake, and use that for the chart in the link below (once your snake gets back to a normal feeding regimen)

http://cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50106&highlight=Munson+Plan+(sample+feeding+chart)

I hope that helps, and good luck!

David

So do most people leave their basking lamp on 24/7? Without it our tank gets too cool.

My main issue now is that we haven't been able to socialize our snake at all. Is it all right to handle him between now and his next feeding? He used to explore but now he's just hiding and is scared of us. I don't want to stress him out more, but if I can't touch him until after his second meal from now (as according to Kathy Love's advice), then we will not once have handled him for anything other than feedings for nearly a month! Health is of course most important, but I think feedings may be more stressful because his lack of familiarity with being handled. Thanks again!

How are you measuring the temperature?

Are you using a thermstat or rheostat to regulate the heat output of the UTH, the basking light or the blue light?

I use a digital thermometer with a probe, I place the probe over the heat mat under the substrate, this gives the most accurate reading.

The reason to use a thermometer like this, is because you need to be measuring the temperature on the bottom of the viv, over the heat mat, which is the hottest spot your corn can get to, not the ambient air temperature. So if you're using one of those stick on types, that attaches to the wall of the viv, you're not getting a reading from the places where your corn lays and these types of thermometer are usually very inaccurate anyway.

If you're not using a thermostat or rheostat then I can practically guarantee that the heat mat on it's own is way too hot, I tested mine and they read upwards of 100*F without being regulated by a thermostat and this is way too hot for a corn snake. There's been quite a few other threads about the high heat a UTH gives off when unregulated.

I'm sure that once you get a true reading of the temperature of your heat mat, you'll find that you won't need the lights at all. In fact you will probably find that you need to get a thermostat or rheostat if you haven't already got one Lights are not required by corn snakes, they are for the keepers pleasure only.

High temperatures are as much a cause of regurgitation as anything else, so I would try to make sure the temps really are correct, before attempting to feed him again.

As to the handling question, then I wouldn't recommend handling at this time, as it will only add more stress to an already upset snake (because of the regurge). It honestly won't hurt the snake, even if you don't handle for another month, while he's getting a proper feeding routine established. I don't often handle my young ones except for cleaning and feeding routines, as I feel establishing a good feeding routine is more important, than me getting play time with them

Hope that's helped some, best wishes,