Hi all, just now my snake came out from its burrows and it litterally looked like she was regurgitatin! but its been 5 days since she last ate and i am suppose to feed her again today but she came out and was manevuring her body like she was reverse eating and nothing came out! I dont understand what happened?? was this just one huge yawn or what should I feed her tonight?
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dry regurgitation?!
- Thread starter Aaron1994
- Start date
wrote that in a panic, may not be as clear: Just now at 7:08 PM 5 days later since her last feed. She came out from her burrow under her substrate with her mouth slightly open than came into view of me and looked like she was "dry" regurgitating because nothing ever came out. She moved her body with a maneuver like she was eating but outwards towards her mouth. Her body was way larger than normal and after the whole process she litteraly deflated sort of speak I am in a panic whether or not what to do?? she slithered back into her burrow but now what? I am suppose to feed her tonight but should I post pone the feeding now?
SquamishSerpents
Katia
i don't see why they wouldn't burp, they do fart, afterall!
i wouldn't worry too much about it, she could have been yawning as well. not sure about what she did with her neck, but just keep an eye on her
i wouldn't worry too much about it, she could have been yawning as well. not sure about what she did with her neck, but just keep an eye on her
Yeah, she appears to be ok active and exploring since. I attempted to feed her but all she did was literally pushed it away from her with her snout haha and showed no feeding interest. So I will just hold off one feeding cycle as Nanci proposed. Thanks for your advice everyone. I will keep updates on her if things get worse.
Miqote
New member
When I first read the description I thought "Could she have had some gas??", very strange!!
DMong
colubrid connoisseur
Smell the inside of the enclosure as soon as you lift the lid off for any foul rotten smell(regurge). Yes, snakes do yawn to realign their jaws from time to time, but your description does sound like a regurge. This could have been the second dry-heave after the snake actually puked it up somewhere just prior to you seeing this one with nothing comming out. Sankes will typically wriggle from side to side and move backwards a bit when they regurge. If it did regurge, there is something definitely wrong. There are generally a few basic things that cause this.
1 Not enough under belly heat
2 Too large a meal
3 handled snake before meal was digested(stress)
4 intestinal bacteria from fouled water or meal
The very WORST thing anyone can possibly do is to immediately attempt to feed a snake that has recently regurged, as the snakes stomach needs time to replenish the acids, electrolytes, and gut flora(good bacteria) for proper digestion. This usually takes around 7 to 10 days, and THEN you want to make SURE it is offered a much smaller meal for several feedings until you know the snake can successfully hold those down. Only then can you gradually start upping the size over some time.
If the snake regurges again if a smaller meal is taken(in two to three days), it needs to see a vet for a throat smear and fecal-floatation to diagnose the cause. Flagyl helps immensely with ridding their intestinal tract of bad bacteria, but it also kills GOOD bacteria too, so you must NOT offer ANY food for at least 7 to 10 days after the last dose of Flagyl(Metronidazole) at the rate of 50 mg./per kg. of body weight. Additionally, there are probiotics like "nutri-bac" that replenish good bacteria back into their gut to aid in normal digestion. Kathy Love talks about this on her site as well.
Anyway, I have saved the lives of many people's snakes when they followed this advice to the letter. continued regurgitations can easily lead to the snakes death if the proper measures are not adressed ASAP!
good luck with it.
~Doug
DMong
colubrid connoisseur
BTW, when I mentioned "if it regurges in two to three days", I meant that is how long it typically takes a snake to regurge after the meal, NOT to offer it food in two to three days..LOL! You need to wait a good 6 to 10 days like I said previously so the snake can regain it's normal stomach/gut content that it regurged in order to properly digest again. Keep in mind, offering meals prior to the needed amount of time for the snakes stomach to regain what it lost in the regurge is the exact OPPOSITE thing you want to do.
~Doug
~Doug
DMong
colubrid connoisseur
Yes, I totally understand. That is why it cannot afford another regurge episode whatsoever. Very young, small snakes especially simply cannot afford this, as it causes a disasterous "domino-effect" of yet more regurges until the cause is quickly addressed and taken care of. Also, when it IS time to try a very small meal in a good 7 to 10 days, it is a good idea to poke a bunch of tiny holes or slits in the pinky with a pin or razor blade to make them far easier for the snake to digest. Anything you can do to optimize digestion for a good while until it proves to be out of the woods is always a good thing to do.
good luck!
~Doug
DMong
colubrid connoisseur
That's correct Drew, in an enclosure full of say aspen bedding, the small remnant of a tiny pinky regurge can be hard to find quite often. It can dry up and get buried quite often without really being noticed or smelled. As you know, large fermentined rodents are virtually IMPOSSIBLE to not notice........PEEEUUUUUEEE!!!!!,and can stink up the entire room or house big-time!........wow do they wreak to high heaven! :awcrap:
~Doug
Maybe she swallowed some substrate, I never feed in the enclosure though always in a plastic tub. I also sifted through the Aspen substrate which I found no rotting carcasses lol. She is nesting though? if thats possible lol in the morning her cage is always a mess with mounds of aspen bedding all over the cage and a paper towel which I use to cover the heat pad from coming in direct contact with her has been dragged to the surface. She is also just a year old
DMong
colubrid connoisseur
I would definitely put the heating pad under the enclosure and tweek things if necessary to make absolutely CERTAIN the bottom surface of the enclosure itself (not the substrate on top of it) is kept at about 83-85 on one end only, and the cool side at an ambient room temp of around the mid 70's like most homes are. This means dialing it in good with an accurate temp probe or thermometer right ON the bottom surface where the snake will be, and maybe even rigging an adjustable rheostat(dimmer) to it, or raise it up slightly with some even sized spacers, etc....In other words, whatever it takes to get the temps right BEFORE the snake is put inside it.
Also a couple low, tight dark hides is extremely important. Then you can see if her behavior is more relaxed by making sure these important factors are met, and simply go from there. If it is too hot, snakes can act very weird like that. It would be like us panicking in the desert sun with no shade in site, desperately seeking better conditions. Snakes usually cruise around very adamantly, and struggle around messing things up if something in the basic husbandry department is not right.
~Doug