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Regurg Question

J

Jing

New member
I just had a regurg. I read the faq by Kathy Love that was quoted by TheFrogman in a separate post.. Here is an excerpt:

"The next month or two is crucial. DO NOT feed it for AT LEAST 8 days since the last regurge. NOT ANYTHING AT ALL! Then get a newborn frozen pinky and cut it in half (or cut off just the head) If she eats it, leave her alone for a whole week. (no handling). Repeat the partial pinkie feeding the following week. Then feed a whole newborn pinkie a week after that, if there has been no regurge. Leave alone for a whole week. If she regurges, wait a week and repeat 1/2 pinkie. If she keeps it down, wait a week and repeat whole pinkie. If she holds down a couple of meals, DO NOT rush back into larger meals and more handling. Treat this seriously. Go very slowly. After 3 successful meals, go to a newborn pink every 5 days. Go back to normal feedings only after 6 successful meals. Always wait to handle until after 3 or 4 days, but only AFTER 6 successful meals. No handling until then (causes stress, need to keep stress down). And NEVER feed again right after a regurge - ALWAYS wait AT LEAST 7 or 8 days, maybe even up to 10 days, and then only feed something that was about 1/2 the size (or less) of what she regurged.."

I am wondering about the amount of handling that is not specified in the faq. For example, after the regurg it says to wait 8 days to try to feed but does not say whether to handle or not before then. Then it says to feed a partial pinky and not handle. Then a week later it says another partial but does not specify whether or not to handle. It does say at the end no handling until after 6 successful feedings. Like I said, can I handle before starting the first feeding. My snake seems extra feisty and I am worried that the extended period of not handling would set me back as far as getting him used to me. So far he has been striking at me repeatedly and mostly consists of him trying to get away. There have been slight improvements, but we have a long way to go. Any help would be appreciated or links to other information. Thanks.
 
Also, am I expected to wait 6 weeks before cleaning the tank after the 6 successful feedings? I would need to remove him in order to clean.
 
I have no experience with this, but I think you should not handle him, even if you go steps back in confidence for handling. He is probably stressed, hungry and feeling weird. I suppose picking him to put him into a separate tank won't hurt, but limit all the other handling.
I don't know if you should clean, either. It causes new smells and probably more stress.
Let's see if someone more experienced can give you a more complete piece of advice.
 
I would wait until he has a couple meals before handling again. If there is a set back in "taming" it will be minor. It's way more important to prevent a second regurge. For cleaning I would just spot clean. Good Luck.

My rainbow boa is going through a similar protocol. She hasn't eaten in 2 weeks since her regurge and will be fed a small meal tonight. I know it's tough to wait but it's way better than a second regurge which is some cases can lead to death.
 
I have been using paper towels as my substrate. Not sure how I can spot clean. The feces just becomes embedded. I cut out the corner where the regurg was for now, but not sure what else I can do.
 
Do you have any idea why he regurged? Prey too large? Going blue, or fed while blue?

It's okay to take him out to feed him in a deli cup, and clean his viv while he's out. No handling (unless he's a problem feeder- not an easy feeder) means don't take him out and play with him. He needs to save his calories and keep calm. But for "routine maintenance," it's okay to take him out to weigh/feed, and clean while he's out.
 
I have been feeding him pinky mice.

Since he typically seems to be stressed out by being picked up and handled I have just been feeding him in his tank to not stress him out right before feeding. This was only his fourth feeding with me.

I purchased him from Petco, and since they said he was being fed crickets, I thought that might not be very nutritional enough for him so I started feeding him every 4 days since I read babies could be fed every 4-5 days. I considered waiting 5 days for this feed but that day he had his most substantial bowel movement so far I thought he might be ready to eat. It was much more substantial than his other movements.

I haven't tried weighing him yet. He has been so flighty so far I thought it would be problematic. I was going to wait until he calmed down a bit more before trying that.

Not sure if he is about to shed. In a previous thread I posted some pics to try and identify his morph. The two people that responded thought he was an Amel Tessera. Since he doesn't have any black I'm not sure if he would get the normal blue look when approaching a shed, but I haven't noticed any fade in his color so far. I've had him three weeks so far so he could be getting to that point.

In the evenings he typically, that I have noticed, will climb the side of the tank repeatedly to try and find a way out I presume. I'm not sure how that will work out for him if he needs to be conserving energy. Perhaps he will know on his own how much energy he has to expend when he doesn't get fed for a while.

I'll try minimizing the handling to taking him out to clean and postpone cleaning after feeds until the day before I am going to feed again for now I guess.
 
Amels turn pink when they start the getting ready to shed process. So you would observe him not being out climbing the walls like is his habit. Some snakes refuse to eat while blue, some do not. I avoid feeding while blue if at all possible.

I think, with him, I'd stick to a five day schedule now. He should have been able to digest a single pink, unless it was huge, OR he was entering the blue phase, but leaving a big poop is not indicative of going blue. Snakes typically hold their poop while they are blue, because they aren't out moving around, stimulating bowel movements.
 
I took him out to clean his tank today and I did notice a definite change in his colors so it seems he is getting ready to shed. I made him a humid hide, and I guess I will wait to feed after he is done shedding or after 8 days, whichever lasts longer. He has not shed before and he is my first snake so I'm not sure how long to expect the process to last from first signs of a shed to finished shedding.
 
They take usually about a week. 5-6 days of blue, counting since first signs, and then the shed. Mine will shed immediately after clearing again, some take hours or days.
Best wait until shed for feeding, even if it's more than 8 days. They usually sleep after feeding, if he's to shed he may wait longer to complete it and maybe have retained skin problems? Let him do his thing and then feed.
 
He made it through the first 6 feedings fine and a few feedings after that. Thanks everyone for your help!
 
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