Regurg.... What do I do?

[g124v17y]

Hi,

I fed my snake on wednesday and just now I found a partially digested pinkie in his tank. This is my first regurg and I am freaking out. He only ate one pinkie this time, (which is weird since he normally eats two) and I found it laying on his aspen. Maybe I did not wait long enough before putting him back in his tank? In any case, what do I do now? I can't find this regurg protocol that everyone keeps talking about. Can someone please post the link?

Thanks,
Sam

[g124v17y]

wow.... I found it now. And I feel reaaaaally dumb lol

[RedRaydin]

This forum has step by step instructions pretty much and plenty of threads on it.

There are also a select few people on here who have gone through he*l and high water trying to get their snakes to feed. Alot of them had to try numerous techniques, so they may be able to help you more so if you need additional help.

The most important thing is to let your snakes digestive system recouperate and take time to get back to normal before it stuffs its face again.

I would wait at least one feeding (generally a week) if not a few more days than that before you attempt to feed it again. If you feed outside of the viv then allow him to get the hump all the way down before you transfer to the viv again. Also instead of picking the snake up normally if I feed outside I just slowly allow the snake to slide down the temp cage and allow it to slowly move into the viv at it's own pace. But you do want it to be in there as quickly as you can so it can get ont rack with digesting its meal.

If you have any additional questions I'm sure others who have had regurges will be along shortly. Never had that problem... just read about it a lot on here.

[Nanci]

I had a small snake regurge several months ago. I think he weighed about 12g at the time. When I began feeding him, I started with one half of a very small pink, cut in half lengthwise, with a dash of Nutribac on it. Then fed the other half in five days. Then did another round of that. Then cut a very small pink into thirds, and fed the three pieces. I went through about four rounds of that, then switched to pinks cut in half, feed both halves, and now I am just gradually increasing the size of the pinks, but still cutting them in half (in the middle) and feeding both halves, always with Nutribac. Even on this very conservative diet, he is already up to 22 grams.

Something else to consider is moving to a seven day interval until your snake is well on the way to recovery. More and more people are taking this approach.

No matter what, you want to prevent a second regurge at all costs.

[Taryn7]

I recently had a regurge,,

Followed the protocol but switched to 7 day feedings.. I have already bumped her up to 6 day feedings because she is doing so well but she is eating tiny pinks and will until I'm satisfied she can handle bigger..

[Caryl]

Make sure your snake has fresh water available at all times. That's especially important now. Like the protocols say, don't rush to feed. You know how scratchy your throat can feel after you regurgitate? That takes time to heal. Since snakes are ectotherms with correspondingly slower metabolisms, their healing rate is slower than yours or mine. The gastric juices take extra time to be replaced as well. Just let your snake rest, try to be patient. It's much better to wait an extra day than to go too soon. An extra day won't be a problem, but a second regurge definitely would be.

Do you know what caused the regurge? If you can figure that out, you should be able to avoid the same factor in the future. And try not to worry too much at this point. Lots of corns recover fine from a single regurge. Good luck!

[g124v17y]

I think that I did not wait long enough before putting him back in his viv. I was trying to feed him two mice and he just wouldn't eat the second one. so after about 5 minutes of trying to get him to eat number 2, I just gave up and put him back. I usually set a timer for 10 mins after he eats before I put him back, but that whole "won't eat the second mouse" thing through me off. Definetly not making this mistake again.

[NFS07]

You can't always count on time to tell you when to put your corn away. Every corn has a spot where the mouse stops moving. You need to watch and find out where that spot is and wait for the mouse to reach that spot before putting him away. Depending on the size of the mouse it might take longer then 10 mins. I know when I switched my boy from pinkies to hoppers it took him twice as long to move it down his body. Not because it was to big but I think it was just because there was a size diff.

How long have you had him?

[g124v17y]

I believe I have had him for..... 3 months now? Not really sure exactly when I got him.

[Nanci]

If he was going to regurge because you didn't wait long enough to put him away, he'd do it right then. I doubt that's the cause. It doesn't take long at all for the mouse to reach the stomach. If it makes you feel better, start carrying him to his viv in his feeding container and gentl tipping him out into his viv without handling him.

[g124v17y]

Hmm... I might start doing that...

Well, he is out and about now! I am not sure if he is hungry or just curious but he is exploring at night now like craaaazy. He did explore once in a while at night but these past few days have been really cool. I'm guessing he is ok considering no one touched him for two days and it seems like he is fine.

Thank you all so much!

Sam

[Caryl]

That's great, Sam! I'm glad your snake is feeling well enough to be out patrolling. Even though he appears to feel fine, it's really important to keep waiting to feed him. You may feel like you're being mean - I did when I had to wait for one to recuperate fully - but you're actually being a kind, good keeper. His digestive tract and gastric juices recover much more slowly than those of a warm blooded creature. His slower metabolism also means he can go much longer without eating. Keep up the good, patient work!

[g124v17y]

Well now he is more active these past few days than he has ever been. He has ecspecially been trying to go up the glass in the cage, however, he is not tall enough to get to the top. I can't help but think that he is hungry and looking for food, but 10 days after he regurged would be May 5th, so I don't want to feed him until then. I feel really bad but I know it's for the best.

[poppycorn]

I have had very good success with feeding tiny meals (like the middle third out of small pinkie, cut when partially defrosted) much sooner than 10 days. The trick is to keep the meals tiny, and be sure there is a spot warm enough (about 84 degrees) to facilitate rapid digestion. I've saved lots of babies with this practice.

[g124v17y]

I am going to feed him tonight. I simply can not take this anymore. Should I cut off the heads of the mice and just give him those? Or just the body? or something like that?

[NFS07]

Look, it's not hurting him to wait. In fact it will hurt him more if you feed him to early. Just wait a few more days to make sure.

[JustineNYC]

I am going to feed him tonight. I simply can not take this anymore. Should I cut off the heads of the mice and just give him those? Or just the body? or something like that?

Simply cannot take what?

[Caryl]

For your snake's sake, you really should wait to feed him. There is a lot of data and a lot of experience that give excellent reasons to wait. The only reason to feed in less than ten days is human impatience. If he regurges again - which is much more likely if you feed too soon - you'll have done more damage to a delicate digestive tract. This sets the poor little thing up for more regurges, and the books say that babies usually die if they regurge 3 times in a row. Please wait! Remember that, in nature, snakes don't eat daily like we do. Waiting for healing before feeding again is the right thing to do.

Look at it this way; waiting until the 5th can't possibly cause your baby any harm. Feeding too soon can cause serious harm. It's your snake, and your call, but I hope for his sake you'll keep waiting.

[g124v17y]

hi again.

see what I mean is, I was feeding him every 5 days. 7 day have past already so why am I waiting another 3? that's double his usual feeding time. anyway, I guess it won't hurt to wait another 3 days either. he is very active lately and I have read that they are most active while searching for food. thanks for the encouragement everyone.

[Caryl]

Yeah, it's hard to wait. When I had to do it, I felt really mean. But you're waiitng because that's the best thing for him. Keep being patient. You won't be sorry.

[Nanci]

You are waiting extra-long to give his stomach bacteria time to replenish. You can cut the pink in half while frozen (I would suggest lengthwise- head to tail- down the spine) and save the other half for next time. Wrap it in a piece of plastic wrap.

[JustineNYC]

hi again.

see what I mean is, I was feeding him every 5 days. 7 day have past already so why am I waiting another 3? that's double his usual feeding time. anyway, I guess it won't hurt to wait another 3 days either. he is very active lately and I have read that they are most active while searching for food. thanks for the encouragement everyone.

See Nanci's answer :)

3 days wont kill him....My picky eaters have went weeks without a meal.

[g124v17y]

**UPDATE**
So I fed him on the 5th and there hasn't been a regurg so far. I cut the pinkie at the shoulders and fed him the head, I was going to cut it length wise but it was too weird lol. He ate very quickly and I waited extra long before putting him back in his viv. He seems happy, or content at least. He is still very active during the day, with his bathing, and lounging around, and slithering around all the time. This is very odd for him considering since I got him he has always been hiding. I will feed the other half to him on the 12th, which is 7 days from his last feeding. Thank all of you for your help/input.

[Caryl]

Congrats on the happy ending! May you never again have to deal with the stress of a regurge! :spinner:

[Maize411]

Congrats on the successful feeding :0)

[Nanci]

Glad the first meal went well! Next time you can feed him a slightly bigger piece of mouse. Don't be in a big hurry to get back to the size he was eating.