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First feeding followed by regurgitation!!!

A

ashleigh_k

New member
I'm a new owner of a 3 year old snow corn. She is 5'3" and was very well taken care of and an incredible feeder. I brought her home last Saturday and gave her about 48 hours to adjust and I finally took her out, handled her for about 15 minutes and then put her in her feeding pen. She ate 2 adult mice, like the reptile store owner told me she ate, and she took them fine. I gave her a bit and then put her back into the viv. I left her alone for the 24 hours, and she seemed fine. I handled her again for about 5 minutes and put her back. Before I went to bed, I went in a checked on her and there was a half eaten mouse covered in substrate. I haven't been able to check for a second one because she seemed a little stressed and twitchy and I didn't want to put my hands in there and dig around. So far, I can't see the second. Is there something special I should be doing for her? Her hot side is at a steady 85 and her cool side in under 80 at all times. She has fresh water from a filter and her viv is the same one from the store and from the previous owner. Nothing has changed...not even the decorations and her hide. She was checked by a vet before I took her home and the vet said she was exceptionally healthy. I called the reptile store owner and she was baffled, and said that when they first received her, she has given her 3 mice and she was good with that.

If anyone has any clues as to what I'm doing rong, I would love to hear it and try anything I can to get her back to normal.

Thanks so much!
 
are you sure it was a regurge? did you smell it? i know i've thought some of my snakes poops have been regurges, especially with the bigger mice. with adult mice, there's a lot more "undigestable" parts that just come out the other end. so maybe you're okay and it wasn't actually a regurge? do you perhaps have a picture of it?
 
Hi
I do not handle my corns after feeding until they have poohed or 3 days after they fed. Handling after eating can cause regurgitation in snakes. This advice I follow came from Bill and Kathy Love's Corn Snake Manual. Also my Amel often regurgitates if she starts the shedding process, this seems to upset her ability to digest food. Your temperature for the hot end is great. Let her rest for a few days before feeding her again, as when a snake regurgitates it expels most of its stomach acids. Do not panic, she should be okay.
Philippa
 
I would follow the regurgitation protocol, which is no feeding for 8-10 days, then a meal half the size of the meal which was regurged. This gives the flora of the stomach time to replenish, so the snake can digest normally.

I can see at least two things which may have caused the regurge: it is recommended that you let a new snake settle in for about a week before attempting to feed. Moving is stressful. Stress causes regurgitation (or refusals). It is also recommended that the first few meals be a smaller size than normal- in this case, maybe one adult mouse for two or three feedings. Also, once the snake is fed and returned to its viv, it should not be handled again for 48 hours. Some people even wait 72 hours before handling the snake.
 
Thanks so much for the feedback! I must have handled her too soon. The mouse I found was flat, like it was run over a few times. the one side was still white and furry, while the other side was black. I didn't take a picture of it, instead, I flushed it right away...and I especially didn't smell it. There wouldn't have been a strong smell on it, though, because I'm sure I would have caught a wiff if there was.

The handling, I'm sure I have to resist. I was told that I was to leave her to settle in the 48 hours and then feed her because she hadn't eaten for 6 days prior to her move. I still haven't found the second mouse. I'm crossing my fingers it was just the one.
 
Well, she's a big adult- she can handle a couple weeks of no feeding. I have males that are on springtime hunger strike that haven't eaten since January and have only lost grams.
 
Oh...How long should I leave her? I know the regurge is hard on their systems, so I don't want to upset her. I have her in her own room and I've only peeked in on her a couple of times. The first time she was up, drinking water, and the second time she was curled over her hot side with her head hidden.
 
Do not feed for eight days. I know it will be extremely hard, and I _have_ bent the no handling for a week "rule" with adult snakes, but I would keep handling to a minimum. It would probably be best for her, though, if you could avoid handling her until 48 hours after her first successful meal eight days from now.
 
Arg! Alright...I'll leave her be until I'm ready to feed her again. I'm just so pumped to have her and she's such a sweetheart, it's going to be difficult not to bond with her. Thank you all so much for the advice. I want her to be as healthy and happy as she possibly can be.
 
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