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Regurgitating ALOT

hectorakacrisco

hectorakacrisco

New member
Well i have an anery--shadow and a blizzard-ivory..I fed both of them about 2 weeks ago. Ivory ate it fine and pooped and it was all good..shadow on the other hand regurgetated the very next day(i think the pinkie might have been a bit too big for him). It was about a week after when i fed them both again... well this time..ivory threw it up the next day, and shadow the day after that. I know it cud not be that they were too cold because i had the heat lamp right over theyre heads..they all also have hiding spots(and are seperate caged) to cover themselves from the light if they get too warm. any ideas why this might be happening?
one thing i did notice, i have a third snake, a king snake named venom. well he is also in a cage of his own. they are all under the same light and the king snake has had nooo problems at all. but the thing with that is that the king snake is more used to eating live pinkies. Could this be the problem? i have only had both the corns for about 3 weeks. they were fed frozen pinkys but they accepted the live ones no problem since ive owned them. idk if this is wat the problem could be..that they went from being raised on frozen pinkies to live pinkies. shud i start freezing the pinkies i buy? any other tips? i also already know about handling them after eating, too hot too cold, and parasites. i highly doubt that they have parasites tho.
 
Were they in blue? What are your warm and cool side temps? Did they come from the same breeder? If so it could be parasites.... maybe?
 
Make sure to use a thermometer when using a heat source, otherwise you'll never know if it's too hot or too cold. If you already have one, let us know the temperatures in the tanks on the cool side and the hot side.

I don't think it had anything to do with the food being live, but I suggest feeding freshly killed or frozen/thawed anyway. Safer for the snake, more human for the mouse.

The fact that both of them regurgitated is worrisome. I would wait 7 days, then try to feed them a pinkie head. You want to give them very small meals after a regurgitation.
 
well...i know its warm enough.i dont have a thermometer but i can easily tell it is about 70-80 degrees in there which i think shud be fine. its warm to the touch but not hot. dam. they did come from the same breeder.....but i dont have money for the vet...assuming it is parasites is there any home treatment i could do? also... the breeder had each one seperately caged..tho when i brought them home i had them housed together for about 2 weeks...
im worried the anery will die because he is not bone thin but yeah he is getting somewat smaller...its been about 3 weeks now that he doesnt eat a good meal...idk if hell make it another week....
 
Look up regurge protocol on this forum using the search feature.. DO NOT feed them again. Make sure you have proper temperatures, which means buying a thermometer with a probe for each cage and putting it on the the substrate under the light. People will tell you you need a UTH, but things can be okay with a light as long as you are VERY CAREFUL. Get the temperatures right, 85 on the warm side 75ish on the cool side. Room temperature is fine for the cool side as long as it is not very cold. They should each have a hide on both side, water bowl in the middle.

So, no food, follow regurge protocol, fix the temps. Hope this helps.

-KC
 
You really can't know for sure what the temperature is, it's incredibly important to get a thermometer. You can't just guess, that can be dangerous.

I would invest in a scale that can measure grams, a digital kitchen scale works. That way you can tell whether or not they're loosing weight.
 
hectorakacrisco said:
Well i have an anery--shadow and a blizzard-ivory..I fed both of them about 2 weeks ago. Ivory ate it fine and pooped and it was all good..shadow on the other hand regurgetated the very next day(i think the pinkie might have been a bit too big for him). It was about a week after when i fed them both again... well this time..ivory threw it up the next day, and shadow the day after that. I know it cud not be that they were too cold because i had the heat lamp right over theyre heads..they all also have hiding spots(and are seperate caged) to cover themselves from the light if they get too warm. any ideas why this might be happening?
one thing i did notice, i have a third snake, a king snake named venom. well he is also in a cage of his own. they are all under the same light and the king snake has had nooo problems at all. but the thing with that is that the king snake is more used to eating live pinkies. Could this be the problem? i have only had both the corns for about 3 weeks. they were fed frozen pinkys but they accepted the live ones no problem since ive owned them. idk if this is wat the problem could be..that they went from being raised on frozen pinkies to live pinkies. shud i start freezing the pinkies i buy? any other tips? i also already know about handling them after eating, too hot too cold, and parasites. i highly doubt that they have parasites tho.
Click to expand...

Does this mean that all three snakes share the same heat lamp? If that's true, I'm willing to bet $ that they are not getting enough heat, if they are caged separately.
There is no way for you to know for sure that temps are right unless you have a temp gague.

I agree to follow the regurge protocol.
 
Ditch the lamp and get a UTH and rheostat. Babies are sensitive, and I'd bet my collecting that if you got that going, they'd be fine.

You may also have bad pinkies. How long had they been frozen?
 
Too much or too little heat can both cause regurges. I agree that it's back to basics to start with and find out exactly what sort of temperature range the snakes have.

If you do have a temp issue then that's the easiest possible thing to resolve. In your place, I'd be hoping that was the reason. Unexplained recurring regurges are a bit of a nightmare and can be fatal.

Just an observation, but the hides will act as air insulators. Rather than keeping snakes cool, they're more likely to be warmer inside than the outside temp.
 
Yeah I have a hunch it might be the heat. When I put my hand on the substrate of my snakes cage and can feel that it is nice and warm to my touch the UTH which I use is actually reading around 90 degrees. So usually when it feels warm to you it's too hot for them. Another thing is that I think kingsnakes can handle more heat than a corn snake so that may be the reason why your kingsnake has no problem.


What kind of bulb are you using in your heat lamp? I used to have a red bulb and without anything to control it's temps it would get well over 100 degrees easy. Corns (and the king) need around 85 degrees fahrenheit on the warm side only. You should get a rheostat or dimmer to control the temp of whatever heat source you use. Also you should get a heat source for each cage not one for all three. Unless you were to use a strip of heat tape or something.

I have a Zoo Med rheostats and they work fine. They cost me around $15 each. If you get them at a pet store they probably will cost more like $20. I also got prob digital thermometers for $11 each but like everything it will probably cost more at a pet store. You can usually get all these things much cheaper online. I got most of my stuff from amazon.com. UTHs I think are better than heat lamps as snakes need belly heat. They can be a bit expensive depending on the size you need. But I don't think they cost much more than various sized heat lamps and bulbs. I also use Zoo Med UTHs for my snakes.
 
I KNEW IT!! I just watched your video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXPnFtiVg8k (at least the first part where you showed your anery and blizzard) and immediately I was concerned. I commented in that thread (Photo Gallery) and then checked to see what other posts you have made, hoping that I didn't find one on regurging, but LOW and BEHOLD! Here we are!

You caused the regurge because you A) fed the anery the day or next day after you got it (major stress factor), and B) stressed the living daylight out of it by handling it excessively while it had a full belly. You then perpetuated the condition by feeding again too soon (please check out the regurge protocol mentioned by others) and I will also bet that you have continued to handle them too much without giving them time to settle into their new homes and also while they had full bellies. Sorry to be so blunt, but it has to be said.
 
Oops, yes, that is kind of a lesson in "how not to do it".

Let the Corns settle in to a new home for at least a week before feeding. Never handle them when they have a full stomach (leave it at least 48 hours after feeding).

It's definitely time to let them chill for a while before your next feeding attempt. You can find out about the temps at the same time.

We realise that new arrivals are exciting and that keeping your hands off them can be torture, but it really is in their best interests to be left alone for a while. You're obviously very pleased and proud to have them, but if they continue to regurge they'll die - and they will continue to regurge unless you change what you're doing. We know you care about them, otherwise you wouldn't have posted here.
 
Yeah I agree with the above after watching the video. All that you did in the video is enough to make them regurge but along with no knowing the temp they are being kept at is perfect setting for sick snakes.

You admitted in the video you didn't know much about them. Well here are a few basics for the king and the corns.

1) Do not handle them at all after you feed them for at least 2 days (48 hours). If after that time they still have a visible lump you are probably feeding to large a meal and will have to cut back next time.

2) You can feed hatchlings every 5 days. But your snakes look big enough to go every 7 days. The king snake looks like he should be eating big fuzzies or small hoppers every 7 days. Kings usually like smaller meals of several prey items. So you could give him two small fuzzies or peach fuzzies instead.

3) All the snakes need the warm side of the tank to be at 85 degrees and the cool side isn't as important as long as it doesn't go below room temp. Usually 75 degrees is good.

4) UTH is best to use because snakes need belly head to digest (why do you think wild ones are always on rocks or in the road?). Heat lamps aren't as good but you can use them if you have to. But they dry out the tanks very badly and you will have to change water constantly and when shed time comes you need to mist the cage or provide a moist hide so that the snakes will shed all in one piece. If they are too dry the shed will stick and then you have a whole different mess to be in besides your regurge problem.

Also in the video you kept guessing they are a year. I highly doubt it. They look a few months old (still babies). Both of them are probably around the same age. Maybe 5 or 6 months old if not younger. The kingsnake may be a year old he is around the same size as my yearling kingsnakes. My yearling corn snake is actually much longer than my kings.

You also said you didn't know how big they would get. Both kings and corns are usually anywhere from 4 to 5 feet long. Sometimes you get one that gets bigger than that but it's not often.

Ps
Please never hold your kingsnake and tiny corn at the same time like that again. The kingsnake will eat the corn snake. Kingsnakes eat other snakes and that is why they are called "king". Even if you thought you could prevent it. You can't. They are lightening fast when they decide to latch onto something and once in his mouth it would be near impossible to get the corn snake out.
 
You don't live too far from me and I'd be willing to show you some workable setups and help you get yours stable as far as heat, hides, etc. I made some rheostats to control temp from basic Home Depot stuff for about $7 each, could show you how to do those as well.

Let me know,
Ed
 
Wow...i guess i made quite a few mistakes huh. I will get these issues fixed asap and try not to cause them more damage..i just have 1 question left. if my anery hasnt fully digested a meal in 2 weeks and he regurgetated about 3 days ago..which is when i started to get really concerned...would waiting till friday to feed him again be a risk of starvation? how do i know if he is close to starvation? i know im supposed to wait a while after they regurgitate so they can rebuild their stomach acids and watnot but i dont want him to die of hunger...How long can these babies survive without food? he does not look like hes lost too much weight...I uploaded a vid of him right now so u guys can c for urselves if he is too thin. From wat i know her supposed to have a nice circular / dome shape...hes alike a skinny dome but not bony either...his neck isnt skinny either but again..ill let u guys decide wen is the best time to try feeding him again. True story, duiring the making of this vid he pooped on me so i guess he digested atleast the head of the mouse?
anyways heres the vid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIbdnEgxJNI
 
No worries, mistakes happen.
I had one hatchling that went almost 2 full months without eating. That was before his hirst meal. He's finally eating regular meals & is doing fine.
If you try to feed him & stress him out more, you will do more harm than good. Give him time to adjust, he'll be more likely to eat for you.
Have you studied up on the regurge protocol?
 
Don't worry - plenty of folks make mistakes when they start out. I sure did! As long as you sort them out, your Corns will be fine.

The Regurge Protocol recommends that you leave it 10 days before feeding after a regurge. That's how long it takes their digestive system to recover.

I've had hatchlings go for months without feeding. As long as they're otherwise healthy, you have a few weeks before you need to worry.
 
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