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coming back for regurges

Skeet

Skeet

New member
skeet regurged on 12/16 from a pinky that was too big for him. before that he was eating really well. I fed him again on 12/28 and he ate it no problem. he fed again on 1/17 and regurged it on 1/19. i gave him a while to recoupe and raised my temps. I then fed him a pink head on 2/3 and again on 2/8, which he kept down. Last night i tried feeding him one of the froazen bodies left over and he refused to eat it. should i continue just giving him heads? He only come out for maybe an hour at night to drink or poop, but he gets active after i hold him for like 10 minutes. he's also really skinny, and i'm starting to worry about him, he never leaves the cold side even when it gets to like 67 at night.
 
I would wait a few days and give him another head. I believe Kathy said something about waiting until they've had 5 meals of pink heads before trying to bump them back up again, and also I wouldn't handle him at all until he is back to regularly feeding, that is adding to his stress. :wavey:
 
What makes you think the pinkie was too big and subsequently caused the snake to regurge?
 
going by the 1 to 1.5 times larger than the snake rule, it was probably 2x. it's all they had at the store and the guy told me it would be fine. But he also had a hard time getting the whole thing down.
 
Skeet said:
going by the 1 to 1.5 times larger than the snake rule, it was probably 2x. it's all they had at the store and the guy told me it would be fine. But he also had a hard time getting the whole thing down.
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Sometimes what seems to appear as a snake having a "hard time getting it down" is simply just a snake eating. I am inclined to think prey size is not the issue, since he had been eating fine in the past. Stress and improper temps are more likely. I would cease with handling and kick up the ambient room temp if you can. Try putting a long hide(paper towel roll) that spans from warm side to cool, so the snake can find it's ideal temp and still feel secure.
This is just my take on the situation. I have saved a few and lost a couple.
Good luck

Mike B
 
Thanks for the input. I have stopped handling, and my temps are in the high 80s on the warm side and mid 70s on the cool side. at nights the cold side goes down to like 67-68 on really cold nights. compaired to my other hatchling of the same age, he really seems to enjoy handling. when i put my hand out he'll usually climb right onto me and won't let his hold go when i try and put him back. irregardless i think ur right and i won't handle him unless nessesary, (tank cleaning, and feeding). In regard to leaving a long hid that spans the entire gradiant, he has 5 differnt hides to choose from 2 on each side and one in the middle and he almost always goes to the coldest one.
 
u feed on th 1/17 then the 1/19, i think thats too quick because your suppose to let the food digest for 3-4 days and your feeding on the 3rd day so i would asume that why he/she regurged is because there is another food item in its intestine and canot accomidate 2 mice.
 
hediki said:
u feed on th 1/17 then the 1/19, i think thats too quick because your suppose to let the food digest for 3-4 days and your feeding on the 3rd day so i would asume that why he/she regurged is because there is another food item in its intestine and canot accomidate 2 mice.
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he ate on the 17th and regurgitated that meal on the 19th
 
The only other thing I can add...when I have had problem feeders...especially after feeding them just heads...or brained pinks...I have had some that will refuse a headless body...but will readily eat a whole pink...

Might have something to do with scent (this IS how the snake tells the head from the tail in their prey)...

I just feed the bodies to my garbage disposals...those kingsnakes WILL eat anything...You were right, Serp!!
 
He ate a head tonight. Should i wait 5 or 7 days untill the next head? This was his third head all a week apart.
 
Even though he has 5 hides to choose from, it is possible that he prefers one or two over the others and is choosing his favorite hide instead of the proper temps. By removing the other hides and giving him one long hide that spans the temps, his only choice will be where in that hide he chooses to go - warm or cool. Once he is feeding normally for a couple of months (and your house temps will be warmer anyway in a couple of months), you can go back to offering more decorative hides.

Once you decide to go back to whole pinks, be sure to make a few slices into the body to help digestion, at least for a month or two. I have gone to slicing all f/t items for all of my snakes now as they digest more quickly and fully that way.

Good luck!
 
thanks but that didn't answer any of my questions. my quesion is that he is really thin and i'm kind getting worried about it, he's got the will to live. he's eaten 3 heads each 7 days apart. is it a bad idea to offer him the next head in 5 days b/c i don't think he's getting any nourishment from the heads. whats the least amount of days that i can feed to fatten him up a bit, or any nutes i could add to his water?
 
IMO, you need to offer whole pinkies. I personally believe the regurges were likely due to husbandry issues and not illness. At this point, a hatchling is not going to survive on that little amount of nurishment. Bite the bullet, show some tough love and feed the snake a whole pinkie. You need to cowboy up and feed the little guy otherwise the "cure" might be worse than the "illness".
 
Maybe you can up the feedings to a head every 3 - 4 days and see if it works. If you decide to give a whole pinkie, either cut it in half or put lots of slices into it to make it easier to digest. If you go for the whole pink and he digests it - great! But if he regurges it, he will be worse off than he is right now. Nobody else is there to see him in person to evaluate him as far as his strength and weight, so it is something you have to decide. If it was mine, (if he looks like what I expect from your description) I would probably give a few more heads at 3 or 4 days apart, then go for a sliced newborn pink. I would also give him Nutri Bac and maybe even tube some canned cat food or meat baby food into him if he was really thin. But you will have to give it your best guess based on how he looks and how soon it looks like he digested the heads you gave him the last few times.

Hope it works out for you.
 
thanx for the help kathy. last night he ate a whole pinky. I made like 8-10 slices on the back and two down the sides. i hope he keeps it down. He was digesting those heads in 2 days, so I think he'll keep it down. I'm so relieved that he went right for it, he deffinatly my favorite.
 
I just had one of my newest hatchlings (and the smallest of the group) regurge about two weeks ago...

I waited 10 days...and gave her the smallest pink I could...I cut all my prey items,but this one I almost halved...I really opened that pink up...she took it and digested it fine...

Really makes a HUGE difference...

Makes me feel bad...if I had known to cut them last fall...I might have had a chance to save one of my other non-feeders...

Live and learn...
 
I hear ya Derek. The problem feeder I had this year, I really butchered that f/t pinky up. But whatever works...
 
Just wanted to give an update. Skeet kept that pinky down, and ate a live pinky today. his belly was still alittle big but, it's been 6 days and he pooped twice. he still hasn't been anymore active, but he looks alot better. thanks guys for the advice and support.
 
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