Regurge

[Rachel]

Hey everyone,
I'm getting a bit worried about my older snake, Ike. He has decided that he doesnt want to go to the warm side of his tank...ever! And I mean ever, not even at night, I know because my boyfriend works night shift so someone is always awake. Anyway, this poses a problem for him eating. After he eats he goes to his usual spot behind his favourite plant. Because he's at the cold end, he cant digest his food properly and regurges. This has happened twice now so it's not a matter of life or death yet! I've tried moving his plant to the heat mat but he wont move. What's up with him??

 

[Simon]

Maybe he just likes that spot........try moving the heat source to his spot instead of moving his things to the heat source.

Also remember that after a snake regurguates, don't feed or handle him for AT LEAST one week (I leave mine for 10 days just to make sure). This would help it build up more acid in it's stomach so that it can digest properly the next time it feeds. Also make sure that there is access to fresh water for it!

Good luck and Happy Herping!

 

[Gregg]

Hi Rachel,

Ciamar a tha thu? (Scottish Gaelic for "How are You?")



You know, the only time, or times, I have ever had a snake regurgitate--and I have had my fair share of regurgitations--is when I've given it too much of or too big a meal. I have this one--a real 2001 runt--who still eats only pinkie heads, or the very tiniest of newborns; anything larger, and she will bring it back up 36 to 48 hours later.

As for heat, I have none--no lights, no heat-mat, nothing. Of course, people do complain about my house being 82 degrees F year round, but I like warmth myself. Besides, corn snakes are temperate climate animals, not Equatorial climate animals; they don't want it hot all the time. Ike is where he is because he is most comfortable there.

My suggestion: Try giving your snake a smaller meal than usual and feed it only once a week. Also, eliminate all the possible stresses that may be a factors both inside and outside the tank. One of the things I do after feeding all my snakes is to cover the tanks with towels, since the tanks are all in the most active room of the house, unfortunately, and have everyone tone down the vibration levels for a couple of days.

I also don't bother my snakes much, but hey, one can't help it sometimes; they are so darned cute. For example: let's say I feed and cover them on a Monday. Wednesday evening I will uncover them--take the towels away--and do a tank sniffing. That is to say, I'll sniff for any regurgitated meals. What I hope to smell is Aspen shavings. Thursday evening, one or two are usually out watching me watch TV. Friday and Saturday, I'll take them out, one by one, to check on them to see which ones have turned 'Blue Eyed' and to take them outside to play with them, so they can get some sunshine and exercise. Because the soil is nice and warm, about half will poop for me outside. I'll feed and cover again on Sunday evening and the cycle repeats itself. 99% of the time, they are inside their hide tubes sound asleep, digesting their meals, or just plotting their great escapes.

If he regurgitates smaller portions, say, two or three times in a row, I'd have him checked by a vet for internal problems.

 

[Rachel]

Thanks for your help guys....but it still remains a mystery! I had already tried moving the heat source, he had a usual sized meal (2 fuzzies) and he was left covered for 4 days before any handling. I just cant understand! Maybe its the change in weather here or something!

 

[Gregg]

Mystery

I really wish I could tell you what the problem is with Ike, but, like yourself, I'm only guessing.

I think weather change would have little to do with his regurgitating. It would affect his eating anything at all, if it changed to a point where it presents a winter-type environment, e.g., length of day-light, then Ike would be setting himself up for brumation. I don't think this is happening.

Symptoms: He eats. Then he regurgitates.

I can only think of about three things that would cause him to regurgitate. They are: 1) He's getting too much food to try to keep down at one time; 2) He doesn't like what he getting to eat, or, to put it another way, what he gets doesn't sit well on his stomach (cf, "Anole v. Pinkie"); He's sick. That is to say, he has an internal problem that causes him to regurgitate whatever he eats.

Perhaps others would have more reasons to give for his inability to keep things down, but I would still back off to about one fuzzy, or even one pinkie, every 5 to 7 days and see if he can keep this much down. He may simply not need as much as he is getting. I have an old boy (c.1999) who ate two of everything his whole life, until this year. Now he only eats one adult mouse every week (going two weeks without food makes him restless) and then he calmly goes back into his hide to rest. If I feed him two mice he will only eat one. Go figure. But for the longest time--about two months--he refused to eat anything I gave him. Fearing that he was going to die before I figured out what to do, I stuck his butt into brumation until I could find a solution. I never did. I brought him out of brumation in February. Two weeks later, he eat three pinkies after refusing a mouse (he just kept bumping it with his nose and then crawled off). He ate only pinkies for the next three feedings before going back to mice. Why? I don't know. This snake is over four feet.

If you can, you may want to change the supplier for your snake's food. Maybe the present supplier is feeding their mice something that makes Ike throw-up (doubtful, but who knows?).

I really hope you find the solution to this problem. keep us informed of your experience, so we can learn from it as well.

Good luck.

 

[Rachel]

Hey Gregg,
I dont think it would be the supplier feeding the mice anything...they get shipments of frozen mice. It's illegal over here to kill mice for your snake! Anyway, I took Ike to the herp and he suggested that Ike was simply restless seeing as its coming up breeding season weather. Plus the new snake smells probably didnt help much with the last feeding (I got a new male 2 weeks ago).
Anyway, Ike seems fine enough. He wont take pinkies though...just looks at them then me as if to say "come on Rach I aint eating that pathetic excuse for a mouse!!"
Well fingers crossed he'll be fine soon!

 

[tschofie]

Rachel,

Heavens, I hope Ike is feeling better. But I think you may be right about the heat thing -- I had it happen once to Entropy and Enthalpy. I'm keeping both of them in the same tank (I know, I know!) and they *always* hide in the same place. When one moves, or even goes out for a drink of water, the other pops his or her head up and watches. If one of them goes to a new hidey spot, the other goes to the same spot within a few minutes. This became a problem when the larger male mostly finished digesting about a day after eating and moved to the cool end, and the smaller female went and piled in with him. She ended up tossing her cookies. (Pretty nasty, and she just looked so miserable!)

So what I did was, well -- both snakes love to be suspended. I stitched together a couple of pouches out of old T-shirt material and hung them off the insides of the tank where the openings are reachable, but the bottoms of the pouches don't brush the ground. Entropy and Enthalpy seem to think this is just great -- they'll stay in a pouch all day and poke their heads out to watch me. So now, if they eat and then move to the cool area too soon, I unstick the pouch and move it to the warm end again, with them in it. The snakes neither appear to care about nor to notice the temperature change -- they just stay wherever I put them. Also, because their pouch is a bit off the ground, I don't think the heat is quite so intense.

Does Ike have a favorite hiding spot (one well-marked with his scent) that you could literally pick up and move someplace warmer, with him in it? Or could you feed him in a separate tub (with a water bowl,) and leave that tub someplace a little warmer for a while?

I think Gregg said to cut down on the size of the meals -- Ike will digest faster without so much in his tummy, and he might be more active after eating, maybe even more likely to stay in the warm end. Definately wait at least a week after poor Ike's last regurgitation before trying to feed him again. Maybe even... will he take a half-mouse? Small fuzzies snap in half easily when frozen, and though they're really *really* gross when thawed, they do digest very quickly.

There are a lot of other reasons for regurgitation, too -- like how long have those mice been in your freezer? Or have you recently switched the company you buy the mice from? Is Ike the only snake in his tank? Do you handle Ike soon after touching the other male? How warm is the warm end?

Best of luck to you both. Let us know how Ike does the next time you feed him!

Cheers,
TS

 

[Rachel]

Ok, well Ike still isnt eating but he seems in good enough spirits! He has just come out of his blue eyed stage so will probably shed sometime tonight. Maybe this is why he has been refusing to eat?? Still doesnt explain the regurge though.....oh well, see how the feeding goes on Thursday!