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Regurge or Weird Poop?

B

beccabozz

New member
Hey everyone,

My ghost girl continues to be a feeding challenge. Although lately, we have been able to get her to eat with a little coaxing. The last two feedings, she has produced something that looks like this pic. We haven't been in the room at the time, so we can't see which end it is coming out of. To us, it looks like a compressed, but undigested pinky. So, is it a regurge or a weird poop? What should we do to help this little girl?

Thank you for any advice!

IMG_0166-2_zps1f46dfd2.jpg
 
Regurge..Her temps may be to high or low. Or she could be stressed. I would let her settle a couple days before you try feeding her again.
 
A similar thing just happened to one of my snakes recently and I figured it was a regurge from too low temps.
 
hypnoctopus said:
A similar thing just happened to one of my snakes recently and I figured it was a regurge from too low temps.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's usually what it is, ....especially with the cooler season.

To the OP,.....DO NOT attempt to feed the snake again until at least 10-12 days have gone by and its gut has had sufficient time to restore its acids, ezymes and electrolytes back in proper balance, or it will happen all over again making the serious problem many times more serious. You have to correct the problem first and foremost.

In the meantime, you MUST maintain a small area of the enclosure that is around 82-86 where the snakes belly makes contact (not in the ambient air above) for it to properly digest in the first place. And also make sure it can seek cooler temps in the mid to upper 70's as well between feedings. Also, don't guess at the temps being okay, they have to be accurately monitored with a relaiable thermometer/temp probe at the cage floor surface.

As was mentioned,...make DARN sure the meal is smaller when you try again in 10-12 days. The snake simply cannot afford any more regurgitations. This sets up a very serious "domino effect" otherwise that they often cannot rebound from.


~Doug
 
So by much smaller- I would start with a pinky head, then 1/3, then 1/2, then the other 1/2, then 2/3 in two pieces, then a whole tiny pink cut in two pieces.
 
Thank you to everyone for the replies. We have checked the temps and they are good. Having ruled out temps, we think we may be stressing her by handling her too much and too soon after feeding. We are leaving her completely alone for now. The regurge was on the 14th, so we will attempt to feed a smaller meal in about a week, starting with a pinky head. I have ordered Nutri-Bac to add to her meals as soon as it arrives. It's so hard not to hold her, but I want to do what is best for my girl!
 
What Nanci said. And if feeding f/t, while the pinks are still frozen, run a knife over them a couple of times to make some slits just through the skin. That allows the digestive juices to get right through the skin and start digesting the food faster.
 
I'm curious, why do you say she's been a feeding challenge? Where did she come from? Was she not an established feeder when you purchased her?
 
Hi Nanci. We got her at the Columbus Reptile Show from the BGSU table back in November. They told us that she was an established eater. Because she was so small, we asked about what to feed her and they said to give her the smallest pinky we could find. Even the tiniest pinky seems too big for her. After we got her settled in, she refused the first meal we offered her. She would refuse as often as she would eat for the first eight times we attempted to feed. Her feeding response has never been as enthusiastic as our other corns. I wasn't too concerned about it until the regurge.
 
beccabozz said:
Hi Nanci. We got her at the Columbus Reptile Show from the BGSU table back in November. They told us that she was an established eater. Because she was so small, we asked about what to feed her and they said to give her the smallest pinky we could find. Even the tiniest pinky seems too big for her. After we got her settled in, she refused the first meal we offered her. She would refuse as often as she would eat for the first eight times we attempted to feed. Her feeding response has never been as enthusiastic as our other corns. I wasn't too concerned about it until the regurge.
Click to expand...

Yeah, small offerings and enough belly heat to digest properly is the key there. Then as it gets a tad bigger and feeding more dependably, you can up the meals gradually in small increments. Not quite as much food is 100 times better and safer than larger meals ever being regurged.


good luck with the little one! :)


~Doug
 
Hi everyone. This update has been a long time in coming, but I am happy to have good news. We ordered the Nutri-bac, and started dipping Marley's meals in it. Plus, we haven't been handling her except as necessary to move her for cleaning, etc. Over the past several weeks, we have worked her back up to a full-size pinky and had no more regurges. Her feeding response has completely changed. Where before she seemed afraid of the pinky, now she comes after it and almost coils around it like our carpet pythons. Thank you everyone for the advice. It is so good to see her doing better!
 
beccabozz said:
Hi everyone. This update has been a long time in coming, but I am happy to have good news. We ordered the Nutri-bac, and started dipping Marley's meals in it. Plus, we haven't been handling her except as necessary to move her for cleaning, etc. Over the past several weeks, we have worked her back up to a full-size pinky and had no more regurges. Her feeding response has completely changed. Where before she seemed afraid of the pinky, now she comes after it and almost coils around it like our carpet pythons. Thank you everyone for the advice. It is so good to see her doing better!
Click to expand...

Glad to hear it ^.^
 
beccabozz said:
Hi everyone. This update has been a long time in coming, but I am happy to have good news. We ordered the Nutri-bac, and started dipping Marley's meals in it. Plus, we haven't been handling her except as necessary to move her for cleaning, etc. Over the past several weeks, we have worked her back up to a full-size pinky and had no more regurges. Her feeding response has completely changed. Where before she seemed afraid of the pinky, now she comes after it and almost coils around it like our carpet pythons. Thank you everyone for the advice. It is so good to see her doing better!
Click to expand...


Good deal!!.. :)


~Doug
 
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