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Health Issues/Feeding Problems Anything related to general or specific health problems. Issues having to do with feeding problems or tips.

Easiest food to digest?
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Old 10-20-2020, 12:24 PM   #1
hypnoctopus
Easiest food to digest?

So unfortunately, I'm working with a baby corn snake that has had a string of regurges. She still weighs 9 grams and is active and alert, so I'm still holding out hope that I will be able to help her pull through.

Basic schedule of events goes as follows:

-First meal with me was a whole pinkie - ate and digested just fine.
-Second meal was 5 days later and again was a small pinkie. Unfortunately shortly after feeding her (maybe a day or two?) I accidentally bumped into her temporary plastic enclosure pretty hard. When I went to feed her the next time, I saw what appeared to be a partial regurge.
-Seven days after the partial regurge, she shed. She was not fed during that time. She did not appear to be in blue when she had her second feeding.
-One day after her shed and 8 days after the partial regurge, I fed her one small pinkie head. She digested it normally.
-Five days later, I fed her a headless pinkie body dipped in nutribac, which she regurged 3 days later.
-Waited 7 days from the regurge to feed her a pinkie head with nutribac, which she then regurged again 4 days later.

I honestly haven't dealt with a regurge in so long that I think I forgot exactly what the regurge protocol was, so other than the initial regurge which I believe was caused by bumping her enclosure, I think the reason she has continued to regurge is not enough time in between regurge and feeding for her gut flora to build back up. So I've added some nutribac to her water dish, moved her to a small plastic enclosure with lots of hides and covered with a dark towel, and with paper towel as substrate. Warm spot is around 87. (Her previous setup was the same as my other snakes, so I don't think setup is the issue here.)

Now my plan is to wait 2 full weeks from her last regurge, and then offer her something absolutely tiny. Like a tiny section of mouse tail or half a pinkie head. But I'm wondering if there is something else I could offer her at that time that might be easier to digest? Like I'm thinking maybe syringe feeding her a tiny bit of raw egg? And I'm also wondering if it would be beneficial to her for me to syringe feed her a slurry of nutribac and water in the meantime to help get her stomach biome back on the right track? Or if the stress of that would not be worth the potential benefit.
 
Old 10-21-2020, 08:30 PM   #2
Frank Pinello
I feed hatchlings ever 7 days for the most part.
If I get two regurges in a row I skip a weeks feeding which is 14 days between meals. That usually works.
I have also noticed when I feed a hatchling during a pre-shed cycle they may sometimes regurg.
If I notice them starting a shed cycle I will not feed them until after the shed.
Hope this helps.
 
Old 10-21-2020, 08:31 PM   #3
Frank Pinello
I feed hatchlings ever 7 days for the most part.
If I get two regurges in a row I skip a weeks feeding which is 14 days between meals. That usually works.
I have also noticed when I feed a hatchling during a pre-shed cycle they may sometimes regurg.
If I notice them starting a shed cycle I will not feed them until after the shed.
Hope this helps.
 
Old 10-23-2020, 09:38 PM   #4
MysticExotics
I have had a couple regurges when they were fed in the clear phase of the shed process as well.

One thing I have done with babies that don't seem to be getting enough nutrition, for whatever reason, is to cut a few times lengthwise on the pinky, just enough to get through the skin.

I found that if their body doesn't have to work as hard to digest, it helps get them back on track.

It is easiest to make the cuts before thawing.
 
Old 11-01-2020, 11:32 AM   #5
hypnoctopus
Thank you guys for your input.

Today marks 2 weeks since her last regurge. She has been active every night, exactly like a normal hungry hatchling. It's been hard to watch her hunting around and not offer her food! I weighed her today and she is down to 8 grams. Body condition still looks good and she was defensive when I got her out - all good signs, in my opinion. Her paper towel did have a little bit of urates and a tiny bit of poop on it.

Thankfully her breeder got in contact with me and offered me some advice and sent me a snake care package. So I went ahead and fed her half a CC of carnivore care mixed with a tiny amount of Flagyl. My plan now is to wait a week and then offer her real food (I'm thinking probably a pinkie head?).

I'm feeling pretty hopeful. I hate to make her wait another whole week before offering her food, but I'm trying to force myself to take it really slow so I don't overload her system again.
 

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