First regurge at age 5?

[jezzec]

My corn snake is 5 years old now, and he gets fed a medium rat about every three weeks, but he refused to eat for two months. Then three days ago he finally ate again, and he just regurgitated tonight. Why would he do it so out of the blue? Should I be worried about him, or just try to feed him again in a couple of days?

:uhoh:

[Coty]

You should wait longer, I believe the recommended length is 10 days but double check that here:

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28342

Scroll down to Kathy Love's FAQ on regurgitation - you do not want to rush into feeding too soon, as each regurgitation is considerably more detrimental to your snakes digestive system.

[Rich in KY]

Absolutely wait 8-10 days before feeding him again.

You should also feed him a smaller than normal meal.

Another regurge would be very serious.

[Nanci]

When my snakes are on feeding strike, I offer much smaller prey than they are usually fed. This might prevent a regurge from happening again for you next year. Now that he has regurged, I'd start him back up with a hopper, and work very gradually back up to the usual size from there. And wait 8-10 days before feeding him.

[Tula_Montage]

A medium sized rat would roughly be at least 70-90 grams in weight. Thats a HUGE meal for any corn snake. You are going to end up with an obese corn.

Now that he's regurged, I would get him switched back onto mice and feed him no more than one adult mouse every 10 days.

Have you any pictures of him? What weight/length is he?

[bitsy]

Regurges can happen at any age, so it's not unusual for him to have his first aged 5.

In an established feeder it can indicate a) He was disturbed or upset in some way whilst in the early stages of digestion, b) The food item was too big, c) He's ill.

The first two are the most common causes of a regurge by a long way. If there are no other signs of ill-health, then look at how he was treated after eating and the size of food.

Agree with above: 10 days before the next feeding attempt, then offer a smaller food item than he'd usually eat (in your shoes I'd try a medium or even small mouse).

Large mice are the normal food for adult Corns - they just don't need anything the size of a rat. Once he's eating properly again, go to one large mouse every two weeks and see how he does.