Proper procedure for after regurge

[13mur 6]

Hey everyone,

I was wondering how everyone else dealt with a regurgitation from one of their snakes.

My protocol for a regurge is to wait 10 days from the day of the regurge, feed the smallest pinkie I can find (usually a freshly killed day old pinkie). Then wait for the snake to poop (or 4-5 days) and visually inspect if for abnormality (color, smell, etc).

If the poop looks normal I'll feed it a meal between the pinkie and the normal meal about a day or two after the poop, so if it normall eats a sub adult mouse, I'll feed a fuzzy, and then back to the normal size after 5-7 days of feeding the fuzzy assuming nothing goes wrong inbetween.

If the poo looked abnormal, I'll feed another pinkie, and send the poop off for fecal exam, and go more slowly on the size increase, so instead of back to normal meal in 3 meals, it'll be back to normal meal in 5 meals (and checking the poo too, and backing off on the size once I start seeing undigested parts or another regurge).

I guess being a medical researcher, standard protocols are something I search for, and when I can't find one, I make up my own.

-13mur 6

 

[QuickSilver]

I was just wondering what to do if there is a regurge, so this was helpful. Thank you for sharing what works for you.

 

[CowBoyWay]

Playin' with poo, yucky...

Many larger snake breeders do there own fecals, or so I have read.
Does anybody have any good links for details on this subject.
The initial price of a good microscope and related diagnosis supplies/ equipment, would quickly be justified with more than several snakes, that is, assuming one could follow the standard usual prescribed techniques for such procedures. Not rocket science, I suspect...But probably tricky for a novice to recognise the micro-flora.

13mur 6, good thread subject...

Any other techniques/ protocols to be recommended regarding regurges?


Protocol...
noun: code of correct conduct
(Example: "Safety protocols")

 

[2Corny]

Quote from reliable source: "After withholding for 3 days to ensure thirst, put grapefruit seed extract in water will usually help stop regurgitation in young corns.

 

[13mur 6]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that. I put GSE in the water in trace amounts all the time to prevent bacteria build up in the water and move up to theraputic doses if something goes wrong (wierd looking poop, regurge, a sneeze, anything). And I know exactly where you got that quote too, in the cornsnake manual, on page 64.

Need to add that to the protocol.

-13mur 6

 

[Chip]

sounds like the prefered route...

but just for all you "newbies" out there, I'd add three things. #1 checking the temperature <with a good digital thermometer>, #2 examining feed/shed records (you keep those, right?), #3 CLEANING the cage and water bowl and using newspaper or paper towels for substrate, especially if you use turf, aspen, cypress mulch etc., so you can see what is going on (digestively speaking), and handling the snake as little as possible, yet keep a good eye on it.
I use grapefruit seed extract, but haven't used a control group to determine it's effectiveness. We had a bad ice storm last Fall <right after feeding> lost power for four days, and most of my young'uns tossed cookies. Sadly, I lost 60% of those that regurged. But they were cooled BIG TIME and I couldn't box them up with heat packs until the day before power was back. I wish I had brumated half of them to see if that would have helped.