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feeding

bigdirtmcgirt

bigdirtmcgirt

New member
Hello.
A quick question.
The guy at the pet store fed my baby okeetee two pinkies on Tues. night when I picked him up. I can still see a bit of a lump in him.
Should I be concerned?
 
Assuming that the baby is less than 16g in weight, it sounds to me like he overfed the snake by quite a bit. A baby should only be getting one pinkie (2-3g) until the snake weighs somewhere around 16g. Check out the Munson plan for a base plan to help you out with feeding schedules. I would say that if the snake didn't regurgitate it, then it isn't a big deal that you still see a lump after three days. If it were me, I'd wait until next Tuesday or Wednesday before feeding again.

I'm no expert though, so I would definitely see what some of the more experienced corn owners have to say...
 
no, he didn't puke. Which I hear is pretty bad for the snake. They loose a lot
of digestive acid that is improtant to them.
I kind of thought the guy at the store over fed the snake, but I don't know too
much about them. Just from what ever I have read on this forum and other websites.
I think I will wait until Wednesday to feed him again.
Thanks.
 
Not yet, Im going to go look for a cheap digital gram scale today.
He is probably 12" long.
I had him out for close to an hour last night and he was as calm as can be.
I set him in his critter cage above the water dish and he started drinking.
I thought that was pretty cool! He just stuck his face in the water and started sucking.
I never saw a snake drink before.
 
I generally do not handle my guys until they poo. This takes anywhere from 2-3 days depending on how big a meal they had. If there's an obvious bump, it's not good to handle them. And if they haven't pooed yet, it might end up on you... hence why I wait. ;)

Not too much of a concern with a cornsnake, but with my housesnake... Lord... keep that stuff away from me!
 
I guess there could be many factors as to why there is still a lump. Do you have a heat gradient? If so, what are the temperatures on each side? Less than adequate warm side temperatures can result in a meal long to digest. Does he have places to hide? Stress of not being able to stay hidden and comfortable might contribute as well. Hope you have all these bases covered and it was just a bit too large of a meal, not a lack of necessities.
 
yes... he has two good places to hide.
There is a good temp. gradient. 74 degrees cool under silk plants / 86 degrees warm via under tank heater that is controlled by a thermostat.
The whole set up for him is more than adequate.
I did a whole bunch of research on these little soon to be big critters.
The guy in the pet store just fed him too much I think.
Last night I noticed his "lump" had gone down pretty good from the previous night.
I see you are from Yorkton, good to see a local guy on here!
I'm from Regina as you can see.
 
Yeah, i have noticed a few of us prairie dogs around the site. Glad to hear you have everything he needs :D Sounds like your little one will have a good home with you... Do you have any pictures posted/to post?
 
O.k. Last night I went to change my snakes water and I noticed he had puked up
one of the two pinkies the guy at the pet store fed him.
I kind of inspected it and I am pretty sure it was only one. There was nothing else
in the viv.
Should I be concerned or just carry on???
 
Now you have to wait ten days before feeding again, to give his stomach flora time to regrow. Then you must start out with a very small meal- I'd suggest a pinky head. Then you can resume feeding on a five day schedule, increasing the prey size very gradually, and I would give him three days to digest after each feeding for quite a long time. A second regurge would be very, very serious. He regurged either due to too large of a meal size, most likely, or the stress of being relocated while digesting, or a combination.
 
The Love book says (paraphrased):
"With partial/whole regurg, leave the snake alone for 8-10 days. No feeding, handling, or anything else that could be stressful for the snake. On the next feeding, feed an item no more than 50% mass of the regurgitated item - smaller is better (for a baby, maybe just the head of a pinkie). If this is successful, feed the same sized item 5-6 days later. Take at least a month or two to work the size back up to a normal meal."

and

"if the snake regurgs again, due to moving up in size too quickly, start over from the beginning of the small amount and work your way up, but slower"

and

"Cutting a mouse in half can aide in digestion, and provide two meals in one."
 
Nanci said:
Now you have to wait ten days before feeding again, to give his stomach flora time to regrow. Then you must start out with a very small meal- I'd suggest a pinky head. Then you can resume feeding on a five day schedule, increasing the prey size very gradually, and I would give him three days to digest after each feeding for quite a long time. A second regurge would be very, very serious. He regurged either due to too large of a meal size, most likely, or the stress of being relocated while digesting, or a combination.
Click to expand...
What about handling him? Should I leave him alone or continue letting him cruise around on the mat I bought him. He seems to like hanging out on the mat curled up under my hands.
What would be the best way to cut the pinky in half?
Frozen or thawed?
 
bigdirtmcgirt said:
What about handling him?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't handle him at all for at least a week. Make sure he digests the rest of what he ate, and poop, and has time to build up the stomach bateria.

What would be the best way to cut the pinky in half? Frozen or thawed?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't thaw it first, that would be really messy. I'd suggest letting it sit out at room temps for like 5 minutes or something, so it's just starting to get a little bit soft, and then cut it. that way, it is less messy.
 
Looks like you have gotten some great advice already, so i will just wish you luck :D Hope he gets his strength back up and doesn't regurge again.
 
Hello, just a quick question.
My snake is doing o.k. so far.
He is cruising around his viv checking things out and drinking water,
climbing around in his vines, digging around in his bedding.
Is there anything I should look for while he is waiting to eat?
Signs of hunger or anything like that????
 
Nope, just leave him alone to recover. As well as the gut flora, his oesophagus has to heal. Whether he's hungry or not, feeding too soon could lead to another regurge. Good luck with the little chap.
(I'd second the minimal handling, I only get my hatchlings out for their feeding times. The way I see it, I'm aiming for 20 years of owning them, so letting them rest and grow in the early stages like any baby is easier to stick to)
 
I wonder if you should say something to the pet store guy... Although it will not help your snake (too late), it can prevent him from doing the same again and maybe end up killing some hatchlings since he obviously would not know how to deal with a regurge. Just my 2 cents...
 
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