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New snake won't keep food down.

D

Dave B

New member
I found him on a Saturday night (May 1st) and fed him a pinkie on the 5th:

IMG_2726.jpg


He took it down without much of a problem, and all was well. I knew enough to feed him once a week, so I went back to the reptile pet store on the 13th to get more food. The owner of the shop showed me a few small corns about the same size as mine and said she had fed them each 2 pinkies that morning, and suggested I do the same. "Okay" I said and fed him 2. He took both like a champ again.

That Saturday night or Sunday morning, he regurgitated one of the 2 mice he'd eaten a few days before. I cleaned it up (he's in a 20 gal tank with just newspaper, no substrate yet) and figured better go back to one pinkie. So, off to the store again last Thurs, the 20th, and got him a pinkie. It was a larger mouse with a little hair, but still closed eyes. Jesus, my snake, ate it without issue.

Unfortunately, it happened again Sunday morning. I found the regurge in the tank. That's about when I decided to do a little more research, and here I am. I was going to try and feed him again yesterday but stopped after reading a few regurgitation threads here.

I'm not sure why he's throwing up mice, but I'm guessing they are a little bit too big for him. I say this because he kept the very first one down, and then 1/2 of the pinkies the second week. I'm not handling him at all after feeding. Although I don't have an UTH or lamp for him, the tank stays 78º-85ºF, so I'm not sure if it has to do with temperature. FYI, he's about 13-14 inches long, and I have no idea on weight since I don't have a scale.

He's been very active yesterday and today and out of his hide. I also took note that he's still shedding pieces. It's been 3 weeks and he's been 'losing' skin the whole time. Is that normal? I plan to wait until the weekend to feed him again, and I'll be certain to do it on a much smaller scale to help him keep it down.
 
personally, I'd wait 2 weeks total before trying to feed him and small pinky. Also, you should get a uth and something to regulator the temp to 82-85 degrees on one side of the tank. Make sure he has a couple hides, one hot side and one cool side is good.

As far as the shed goes. Put some warmish water in the tub and let him swim around for5-10 minutes. That will help loosen pieces. Try to keep the humidity in the tank up a bit. 50-65% is a pretty good place for it.
 
Your snake's digestive system needs as rest, as I'm sure you've found from reading other threads. His metabolism only works about 20% as fast as ours does, and it takes time to heal the esophagus and to replenish gastric juices after a regurge, and more so after two. Three regurges can kill a hatchling, so you're right to be careful. No need to panic, but kudos for taking it seriously.

Your temperatures are fine. From the picture, I'd say you're right that the first regurge was caused by too much food for the little guy. Pet stores don't always know the best ways to care for the animals, and this fellow looks to small to handle two pinkies or a fuzzy just yet.

For now, give him fresh water daily and at least 10 days of rest. No handling, no feeding until at least 10 days have passed since the last regurge. When you do feed him again, go with something very small to give his gut flora time to build back up. A pinky head would be a fine meal to get re-started.

You should also see if you can get some Nutribac. This is a probiotic powder that's invaluable for helping reestablish digestive balance in a baby with regurge issues. If you don't have local access you can order it from Kathy Love (www.cornutopia.com). It's not expensive and Kathy ships promptly. You can put a little bit of it in the snake's water daily, and dust his meals with it once he's eating again.

The bits of old skin are a bit of an issue, but promoting digestive healing and preventing another regurge need to be your major focus now.

Best of luck, and please ask if you have any other questions. Let us know how things progress.
 
Look up the regurge protocol on here and follow it to a tee literally. No food, no handling, and very small meals 7-10 days from now. If he keeps down a half of a pink continue on halves for another few feedings before bumping him back up to a whole pink. Corns die from regurges so take it seriously.
 
Oh, and congrats on having an amel corn snake turn up in your tub! I am sure the little one is quite sturdy if it made it to your apartment thru the pipes, so if you follow the regurg protocol I have the feeling this little guy or gal will do fine.
 
All good advice, so I won't add anything to it, except my best wishes for the snake!
 
Well, for the last five days, my snake has been extremely active, exploring his tank for hours every evening. I'll take that as a good sign. Anther few days and I'll feed him.

As I mentioned, I think he regurgitated just because the food was a bit too big, so I'll make sure to scale it WAY back until he keeps a few meals down.
 
Good luck... Follow the advice and your snakie should recover from his regurge. Let us know how it goes!
 
Well, I fed him a very small F/T pinkie (whole) yesterday. Although it was kinda gross, I cut a few slits in the mouse before feeding. The snake didn't hesitate to eat it, and I can't even see a lump in him today. He's also pooped already, so I'm guessing that's a good sign.
 
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