Definition of a Regurge ... is there something like "just throwing up"?

[Stefanie]

Good morning!

Yesterday I had my baby cornsnake puke on me. So I've been freaked out a little and have been checking the forums for Regurges. Everything I've found so far is about Snakes regurging their half/barely digested meals right or shortly after eating.
This is what I found on the stickies:

Regurge = When a snake throws up it's meal, it can happen in varying stages of digestion for varying reasons. It is a serious health concern if not treated properly the act of regurging can kill a snake.

When is a Puke ('scuse my choice of word for lack of better!) considered a Regurge?

Here's a little insight on my issue:

I've fed Eevah last Saturday. It was a slightly bigger meal than she was used to (a small peach fuzzy, not bigger than the width of her tummy + 1/3) - I had measured both with a ruler LOL.
She had eaten (and digested!) 2 pinkies at the previous feeding 17 days prior (there was a long stretch between feedings because she went into shed mode just in time for the next meal so I skipped it). She had digested those pinkies in less than 36 hours, so I thought she was ready for a small peach fuzz.
So, I fed her Saturday. She went into digestion hiding for 2 days and I found poop in her tank on Tuesday morning. She was active Tuesday night, and Wednesday night.
Yesterday - Thursday night - I took her out to handle her. It had been 5 days since her feeding and 2 days since I found the feces.

She was as active as normal and didn't behave unusual, until she started her silent gagging. Thank heavens I had a paper towel with me!

What she threw up was about the size of a corn kernel and yellowish and white in color. Watery. (I didn't take a picture Sorry) It had some firmer white chunk in it which I thought may have been bones at some time?! But I was able to smush it with the paper towel, so it wasn't solid bone anymore.

So it wasn't her whole meal, not even most of it. Heck, it wasn't even a 10th of it. But she threw up nevertheless ...

Her temperatures are close to perfect, with the cold side around 75 and the warm side fluctuating between 83 and 86.
Her tank is due for a cleaning since I've only spot cleaned after she digested her meals and she's been with us for 1 month now. But with her shedding and digesting I haven't caught a good time to put her in her "mobile home" for a couple hours yet.

I've talked to Stephen Roylance, Eevah's breeder, and he suggested leaving her be for 5 days and starting her back on Pinkies. So that's what I'll do - figuring the peach fuzz was just too big.
I'll also start measuring her weight and then weigh her meals accordingly and stick closer to the Munson plan, instead of the Ruler eyeballing.

I'm just confused about the fact she threw up at all, after having pooped 2 days prior already. And am wondering if this has happened to anybody else? Could there be another cause other than the "big" meal she had?

Thanks so much for your input, you guys/gals are the best! (And sorry for the wall of text :sidestep

 

[Dreamsnake]

My anery, Nibs, has had 4 regurges all fuzzies, but not every fuzzie she ate was regurged. The regurges happened at different stages of digestion, once was two days after feeding and a poop, once was four or so days after, once was the night of the feeding, once was immediately after. Each time I adjusted her tank's heat and put her back on mouse pinks. She has grown longer with each shed, but has put on much weight with her steady diet of pinks. I was feeding her three pinks a week, but have now moved up to rat pinks. She gets feed tonight, I'm hoping this works and her regurge days are over. She will never be feed anything with fur again as I believe this was the cause of the problem.

 

[Stefanie]

My anery, Nibs, has had 4 regurges all fuzzies, but not every fuzzie she ate was regurged. The regurges happened at different stages of digestion, once was two days after feeding and a poop, once was four or so days after, once was the night of the feeding, once was immediately after. Each time I adjusted her tank's heat and put her back on mouse pinks. She has grown longer with each shed, but has put on much weight with her steady diet of pinks. I was feeding her three pinks a week, but have now moved up to rat pinks. She gets feed tonight, I'm hoping this works and her regurge days are over. She will never be feed anything with fur again as I believe this was the cause of the problem.

Ugh! That sounds bad! I hope that Eevah doesn't have permanent fur issues! I wouldn't have even noticed her spitting that mess up if she'd had been in her tank. It would have blend in with the Aspen I'd think. Hmmmmm

 

[Dreamsnake]

All I can say is I've done my best for her and will continue until her little body gives out. I wish I could have gotten the rat pinks sooner, but we couldn't afford them before I began working. Now I have enough rats and mice to feed all the snakes for a few months. I love not having to worry about getting out to the pet store and spending over twenty dollars on three weeks of snake food. One less thing to do and they have much healthier feeders now.

I put Nibs on newspaper to better see what comes out of her as well. I hope this fixes the problem.

 

[Susan]

Here is a link to an excellent article. It has been copied and posted all over the internet. (Scroll down a bit to read the article. The forum has too many Google ads at the top, IMO.)

Vomiting Vs. Regurgitation in Snakes

And I double-checked the terminilogy and he is correct. What most of us are calling regurges is in fact vomiting. Guess we use the "regurge" term as it sounds a bit better and it is hard to imagine a snake with it's head in a toilet bowl.

 

[Stefanie]

Thank you so much for the link Susan, that IS a great article.
I am so used to looking through this forum already that I didn't even google vomiting in snakes .... /blush
I'll monitor Eevah closely and will put her on Paper towels before her first meal, so I can see if she vomits again.