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How long without food?

G

guitrage

Ophidiophile
Hi. I'm sure as you all know, I bought a hatchling about 10 days ago that regurgitated about 5 days ago. The person from the pet store I spoke to told me to turn up the temps on the warm side to 85 during the night, and to wait 2 weeks to feed her again. I've got a few concerns:

I don't know when she last ate - the pet store didn't provide any feeding records. The extra heat is going to make her burn more energy, but if she can't eat for two weeks and hasn't eaten for quite possibly a long time, might she starve? :eek: What are the potential negative effects of feeding her again before then (I'm not planning on it, just asking)? Should I worry about her starving?

I'm very worried! Please give me some advice!
 
step back...take a deep breath...and RELAX.

Now, to answer your questions...a hatchlings snake can go for 6 to 8 weeks without food. Yes, you need to keep the temps around 82 to 85 on the hot side even at night.

Don't worry about when the pet store last fed the snake. How long have you had him? How soon after receiving the snake did you try and feed it?

The reason I ask all these, is this...You are supposed to let the snake relax and get used to his/her new home for at least 5 days after bringing him/her home. This means no handling and no feeding. After the 5 days you offer food and then no handling for 3 days. Then you start to handle every day for up to 10 minutes except on days after feeding. If the snake regurges, you need to wait 5 days to offer food again. This time will allow the snake to heal from the acid burns in its esophagus and replinish the bile in the gullet.

I just re-read your post and you said that you have had the snake for 10 days. This is good. The snake regurged 5 days ago. This is also good...offer food tomorrow morning.

So, just relax. This happens often with new hatchling snakes. Keep us updated on how your snake is doing. Good luck and just take it easy.
 
It would be in your snake's best interest NOT to feed it for at least the next 5-9 days. If the hatchling is otherwise healthy, it will be just fine. I still have some hatchlings that hatched in June/July that still haven't eaten and they are still OK. Feeding too soon after a regurge is much more dangerous than skipping a week or two of feeding. Your little buddy needs some time to recover and destress. When they regurge they loose all thier digestive juices, it takes generally 10-14 days for them to build them back up. If you feed him before that, there is a HUGE chance he will regurge again and his waiting period will have to start all over again. Not only is this a step back in getting some food in him, the regurge itself is very stressful on young corns. I'd keep his tank warm, offer him a very small pinky in about a week, and in the meantime don't handle him until about 5 days after he has eaten again. Good Luck!
 
You might also try some grapefruit seed extract in the water. I think it's 2-3 drops per 8 oz. of water. I used it on my aztec when she regurged and she hasn't had one since. I don't know if that was the reason, but it won't hurt and has anti-biotic properties. I second Carol's suggestion that you wait 7-10 days before feeding again, and to feed a smaller size food item for the next feeding or two before going back to regular sized food. I'm sure your "baby" will be fine!
 
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