Regurgitation - Worried!

[cory90]

Hello all.

I got my first corn snake roughly two weeks ago. The store associate there told me to wait about five days before trying to feed my new snake so I set Friday as being his feeding day. The first Friday came and he ate like a champ and I left him alone for two days as the internet had suggested.

Last Friday I fed him another thawed pinkie and he did great so I put him back into his habitat and left him alone. Yesterday, late at night I heard a weird gagging noise and looked around to see him regurgitating his pinkie into his water dish. This had been right around the 48 hour mark from when I had last fed him.

I got out the pinkie and gave him clean water and after that he was as hyper as I have ever seen him which only worried me further.

So what do I do? I'm still very worried and I don't want to do anything that will make things worse.

extra info:
Earlier on the evening he regurgitated there was a rare commotion in my room as my dad was trying to set up shelves in one of my closets. This required a bit of hammering on the walls and I wonder if that was what upset him enough to regurgitate?

He's been under his hide all day but he just got up now and is drinking, which I hope is a good sign.

He's acting like he wants out, but I don't know if handling him right now is a good idea so I'm going to continue to leave him alone until I get some feedback.

All advice and thoughts are appreciated.
Thanks for reading.

 

[Nanci]

It's quite likely that all the commotion caused him to regurge. Was the pink that he regurged too big? They REALLY vary in size- and he needs one (in the future, after recovery) 1-1.5 times his diameter, at the most.

So now, do not feed him for ten days. If you can, get Nutribac from Kathy Love, http://www.cornutopia.com and put that in his water, changing it daily. Nutribac is probiotics, which are good bacteria which replace the bacteria in his gut that was lost in the regurge. Important for digestion. You would sprinkle it on all his meals when you start feeding him, too, and discontinue putting it in his water.

Do not handle him. You want him stress-free and not wasting calories.

When you feed him again, feed just a pinky head. Then in five days, if he's kept the head down, feed a half pink. Then another half pink in five days. Then the headless pink, in five days, and then a small, whole pink- the smallest you can find. Cut a bunch of slits down the back of it, or feed it cut in half, two pieces.

I would not feed him when he is blue, because some snakes regurge when blue, and you don't want to risk it.

 

[Nitelion94]

Do what Nanci said it works!

 

[cory90]

Thanks so much Nanci, I'll be sure to do just that. c:

The pinkie I gave him was the same size as last week's so I'm hoping that wasn't the problem. Regardless, I'm going to be getting a hold of some smaller ones for while he's recovering.

Quick question though.
What do you mean by "blue"?

 

[OkeeteeMom]

By 'blue' she means when a snake is preparing to shed. It gets a bluish, cloudy look.

EDIT: I'm attaching an image I found on the Internet of a snake with deep 'blue' eyes, just for reference. Your snake may not have this strong of an eye blue

 

[atmox]

what are the temperatures? how do you heat the cage? and if you use a heating pad how big is it compared to the viv? Are you regulating the heating? Do you use a thermometer with a probe that is placed directly above the heating pad? How big is the viv and how old is the snake?

If any of these things if off it could be a reason that he regurgitated. Do what Nanci said. Also the reason that Nanci said of all the commotion around the viv could cause him to regurgitate is correct (Nanci is always correct btw) But on the other side every snake is different and some can handle the commotion so i think it's worth checking the things i asked above.

 

[Nanci]

Good points- I didn't even go into any of that.

 

[cory90]

Thanks OkeeteeMom, I see now. c:

Atmox--

His cage is on the small side (about 20in. long x10in. wide x12 in. tall) since he's a baby (Not sure of his exact age, but he's definitely less than a year). I use a small Zoo Med heating pad on one side of the cage in the corner--stuck to the outside of the glass. On the same side I have a heatlamp with a red nocturnal bulb that stays on all the time.

On the warm side it stays between 85-80F and the cool side it stays between 82-78F. He's on my desk so I check the thermometer regularly and it's already become a habit.

 

[bitsy]

What sort of thermometer do you use and where are you measuring the temps? Some types can be pretty inaccurate.

When you say the heat pad is on one side of the cage, is it under the floor on one side or actually on the side of the cage? The position of the mat will determine where you need to take the temp.

Sorry for all the questions - we're just trying to find the best advice for you!

 

[cory90]

I have just a dial thermometer (by Zoo Med) inside the cage in between the hot and cold sides. It's Velcro'd to the top inside of the cage so I can take it off and then I just hold it on the hot and cold sides to check temp. Pretty primitive, I know. ;c

The heat pad is on the bottom corner of shorter side of the cage. The directions it came with suggested that putting it on the side of the cage was safer and since I'm a bit paranoid about stuff like that, I did what it told me.

And no worries. I need all the advice I can get. I appreciate everyone's input.

 

[bitsy]

Unfortunately the dial thermometers can be very inaccurate. My nephew had one to start with and the indicator didn't even move when the thermostat/heat mat were accidentally switched off at the plug.

You need to be measuring the temp immediately over the heat mat, because that's where it's hottest. From other people who've had this sort of problem, I think you'll find it's an awful lot warmer than 85 degrees. Temps that are too hot can cause regurges so it's best to get a digital thermometer if you can afford one and find out what the temps really are.

Corns ideally need belly heat, so the heat mat needs to be underneath the tank. If you use it with a thermostat (which you'll probably find you need once you know the temps) it will never get hot enough to harm a Corn. It could be that the regurges are being caused because he can't get the right type of heat.

So apologies - I don't think I can say whether it's too hot or too cold, but from what you say, I'm pretty sure that getting the right temp on the floor at the warm side will probably help.

 

[cory90]

Thanks Bitsy. c:

I'm starting to think he might be too hot and I'll go get a digital thermometer and probably a thermostat if funds allow for it and get a heat mat on the bottom of his cage.

Hoping that this will work.
Still waiting for him to recover and he seems to be doing well (no weird behavior) though I'm not looking forward to the choppin' off a pinkie's head business.
But I'd do anything for this little guy so I'll power through! >;D

 

[ceduke]

Sounds like he's in good hands!! Fingers crossed for a fast recovery!

 

[OkeeteeMom]

...though I'm not looking forward to the choppin' off a pinkie's head business...

If you have frozen pinkies, you can just kind of snap off the frozen head. My Mister is always telling me, "Just look at it like it's a gummy bear" :shrugs:

 

[cory90]

@ceduke
Thanks for your kind words!

@OkeeteeMom
Yes they are frozen, so I'll try that! Thank you!

 

[MysticExotics]

Best wishes for a full recovery!
@Okeeteemom....I will never look at gummi bears the same...

 

[Skully23]

On the same side I have a heatlamp with a red nocturnal bulb that stays on all the time.

On the warm side it stays between 85-80F and the cool side it stays between 82-78F. He's on my desk so I check the thermometer regularly and it's already become a habit.

The heat pad is on the bottom corner of shorter side of the cage. The directions it came with suggested that putting it on the side of the cage was safer and since I'm a bit paranoid about stuff like that, I did what it told me.

And no worries. I need all the advice I can get. I appreciate everyone's input.

You don't need a constant heatlamp(imo) I'd remove it. Heatpads get pretty hot. I suggest carefully removing and placing underneath when you have these similiar items:
(click underlines)
Thermometer with probe
Dimmer or thermostat
heatpad (to fit)

Your cool side isn't cool which is probably causing your snake to not experience what temps it want. 78F-82F is too much..cool side can be from any room temp but not over 75. Warm side is 82-86...but with what you are reading with..I'm sure it is much hotter.
I agree that the temps have messed it up. Good luck.

 

[cory90]

Okay everyone. I have the temps readjusted (heat pad moved, digital thermometer) and ten days passed and yesterday I attempted to feed him the pinkie head as instructed.

No dice. I left it in his tub with him for a while, hoping he'd eat it on his own but no luck.

Admittedly, I thought that perhaps the head confused him so I tried to find a super small pinkie today to feed to him but he still refused. He's showing no signs of shedding that I can see and I'd think he'd be starving by now.

Any advice as to where I should go from here?
And when can I let the frantic worried mother panic set in? (now I know how my mom feels whenever I don't eat...)

 

[mjdglobal]

I would'nt panic just yet. Even baby corns can go quite a while without eating. I'd give him a couple of days and try again (unless he's showing signs of shedding). When you do try again, maybe put him in a small deli cup with the pinky head and if he does'nt eat it right away, leave them together overnight (in the cool side of the tank). Keep us up to date and we'll help you along if this don't work.

 

[bitsy]

Try leaving him with the food overnight. Sometimes they need dark and absolute quiet before they feel settled enough to eat, especially after an upset.

Try feeding again in three days. If you keep offering food every day it might disturb him and make the problem worse. I'd give him a few days to settle again.