he was eating 2 f/t pinkies a week...I got him and he shed 2/20/05, ate 2 on 2/25/05, refused to eat 3/3/05, ate 2 3/6/05, regurged 3/9/05 (I had a couple visitors that night that spoke loud and lively)....I waited to feed again
If he was being fed two pinks and doing good on them before you got him and seemed to be doing well at first, I am going to make a guess that maybe your temps are not right for proper digestion. Make sure his temps are where they should be where he is laying. This means not just checking the air temperatures in the viv but also checking the substrate temps where he is laying. You can do this by putting a thermometer into the substrate a little, buying a thermometer with a probe on it so it is always showing you the substrate temps or getting a temp gun that gives you instant readout of the surface you put it on. However you do it, you should know what temperature it is that the snake is laying in. Most people think that too cool temps are the only thing to be concerned about but too hot is also not good. Either one can cause the snake to regurge and otherwise not thrive well.
I am not saying that this IS the reason for any of the problems you are having, but that you should make sure to rule this out.
It is not likely that people talking, even loudly, in a room where your snake is housed, would cause a regurge. Unless the people are poking at him or otherwise bothering him, they are deaf so loud talking will not affect them. I have some vivs in my rooms and the snakes in those do not show any stress at being around occassional noise and eat and act as well as the ones in the strictly snake room. So, unless they or you were handling the snake after its feeding, I would say it was a different cause that made him regurge.
Also, not only will low or improper temps cause a regurge, it will also cause a snake to go off feed.
I was offering him the smallest pinkies from the bag...he knows it's there in his cage b/c he'll lay there with it right in front of him...but hopefully the container will make him feel more secure
Yes, sometimes being in close quarters with the food without the ability to "walk away" entices them to eat. Also, the smell of the insides of a decapetated head is more enticing than a whole pink. My concern with suggesting just a head is because of the fact that he seems to have lost a bit of weight and the last thing you want to do is stress his digestive tract again should he decide to eat. Closer together tiny meals is much better at this point than further apart large ones.
how many times should I offer a pinky head before I try force feeding? and how do I try to prevent a regurge?
To be honest, by his looks I'd be concerned. I wouldn't wait too long before I force fed him a head. But first try the small container way. If he refuses, I personally would force feed him, maybe he just looks worse in the pic than he is, but he looks real thin. But you need to take care in how you force feed so as not to cause more stress then the benefits of the feeding. Remember though, even if he does eat the head or does get force fed, your temps HAVE to be good for him to digest it properly and begin to get better.
If you had some benebac, I'd definitely suggest giving him that to help with the digestion. Also, if/when he is feeling a bit better, I'd consider giving him some flagyl.
The way to prevent another regurge is simple.....don't overfeed him and make sure his temps are proper. I don't think I can stress proper temps too much. One thing to keep in mind, although some snakes will pull back from something like this, others when they get too far behind the eight ball just don't seem to come back no matter how well everything is set up. So, do your best and I hope things work out well.
