Do corn snakes burp?

[Conagher]

I need advice.

Yes, I am a newbie when it comes to snakes.

My corn is still small at about 14-15" long and fairly slim.
I last fed my corn last Saturday (Feb14)
I tried to feed it Thursday (Feb19), but it didn't seem interested, and it appeared to have a little bit of a bulge left. I was a little confused about that, but had checked on the snake daily, and the temps always looked good (82-84 F) on the warm side of the tank, and it was moving fine, so I didn't get too concerned. Saturday morning (Feb21), I peeked in just to look/watch, and mine was out moving. As I am watching, it looked like it contracted its whole body in on itself becoming very thin during the contraction, starting at its tail and slowly tightened toward to front like it was trying to push what was in its stomach (still a slight bulge there) toward its head as if to regurgitate.

I know that it not good for a snake to regurgitate, so I watched intently. The bulge indeed was slowly pushed up and the snake opened it's mouth real wide in anticipation of regurgitating, and... Nothing! Nothing visible came out, but the bulge is gone. It was like there was a big air bubble or something.

I registered on this website, but had to wait for a bit before my account was activated. In the meantime, I peeked into your chat room and found a few people that were gracious enough to let me interrupt their conversation with my newbie questions. Unfortunately, they were not sure what may have happened either and suggested to try feeding the snake a very small meal (i.e. a pinky's head), which I tried that afternoon. The snake was still not interested in feeding at all. I left the snake alone in the feeding container with the head for about 30 minutes before returning it to it's 20G long tank.

Evidently this is not normal? Should I try to feed again soon, or wait a bit? What caused the bubble? Could there be some blockage that prevented the snake from passing the bubble the other way? I know for a fact that it can poo, as it did so on my pants Friday (Feb20) night when I was handling it (ugh!). Or is what I witnessed how they burp? Bloody weird if I may say so...

Any suggestions that any of you could offer would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you.

[danielle]

Never seen one burp, but did see my guy regurge and thats exactly what it looked like when he did it last month. I notice the bump go within a day or two and poo within 3-4 days so a bump after 5 days means he is not digesting fast enough IMO. Maybe up your temps on one side by a few degrees and see if this speeds digestion. I would also feed a smaller meal a whole pink depending on how big the pink is may be too big for him. When you run your fingers down the snake can you feel anything weird and uneven? Do you feed on substrate? Could be impaction or some kind of block, but only a vet could tell you for sure. I would try a half of pink with temps a little higher and pay attention to how fast the bump moves. If it moves quicker good, but if not having him looked at can't hurt.

[Conagher]

I was initially thinking the pinky was too big as well, and the snake was trying to regurge it. But it regurged nothing... so I cannot be sure that he did not digest it in the proper time frame. I do know that the snake poo at least twice since its last meal (Saturday). It poo'd on Tuesday and Friday that I witnessed, and perhaps other times as well that I cannot verify.
This would lead me think that the pinky was in fact digested or being digested. At this point, I can only attribute the remaining bulge to being comprised of air as I was within a few inches watching intently, and nothing visible at all was regurged.

But what caused the air bubble? I am clueless. I also do not know what steps to take to get my snake to optimal health. I tried to feed it the head of a mouse yesterday, with no interest shown by the snake. Should I try again today? or wait a few days? a week? The snake is already looking a little skinny (in my opinion), and I would think that it should be hungry, even though it doesn't seem to be... :shrugs:

[danielle]

If I am understanding right the last meal was last Saturday which was eight days ago? I would wait another few days usually if a snake refuses food they know whats best for them so I wouldn't push it. I just have never heard of an air bubble in a snake but maybe someone else has. Another 3-4 days won't hurt it so try another small meal Wednesday and if eaten and digested normal go to a half of pink next time 5-7 days later. Trust me if water is available they will not die of starvation in a few days or even weeks, but I an interested to know if you feed on your substrate and what your substrate is. A bulge indicates one of two things usually- swelling or food/substrate ingested. If you feed on aspen he may have eaten some stuck to the pink- still just my thought.

[LBoz]

I have absolutely no concrete advice for you. I'm a newbie myself, but I did find something you might find interesting.

http://www.reptilechannel.com/reptile-health/snake-health/farting-snake.aspx
Passing gas is another matter altogether. Healthy reptiles don’t usually generate much gas in the gastrointestinal tract. Excessive gas could mean that the reptile is suffering from an intestinal problem. This could occur from bacterial, viral, fungal, protozoal, parasitic, tumor-related, obstruction or husbandry issues. For example, if your snake bruminated (went through a winter cool-down period) too soon after consuming a large meal, then he might have developed maldigestion issues, resulting in excess gas in the digestive tract

[Conagher]

I remove the snake from it's tank to feed on a paper towel in a rectangular plastic storage container, so there is no change it's aspen shavings were ingested during it's last feeding (which was a few days after I purchased the snake).

[danielle]

Then unfortunately i am at a loss sorry. I may consider getting a fecal done since parasites can cause swelling in the intestinal track and lack of appetite. Good luck!!! By the way a vet will do a fecal usually for 10-25 bucks without you bringing the snake and antibiotics anywhere from 15-30 its a small investment to be sure.

[TripleMoonsExotic]

Can't say I've ever had a snake burp, but I have had snakes fart (I'm serious)! One of my adult boas was pooing the one day and I was sitting a few feet from the cage...Scared the crap out of me because I was the only one in the house!

[Hypancistrus]

Kevin-- I am glad you've joined. I hope someone will have a difinitive answer for you soon. :)

[ComoxCorn]

Just a curious question....does the drinking water you provide you snake come from the tap or do you use bottled water?

[Conagher]

I had read about corns not being able to handle some of the additives in city tap water like chloramines etc., so I use bottled water.