I left my baby corn snakes alone until today...

[Ladyhawk]

A different snake regurgitated. :( And boy did the cage stink when I misted it...ugh! I have to go into town tomorrow and get new aspen litter. Those cages need to be changed. Ugh! Barf! Gag!

I put the occupying snake into her cup for awhile.

Then I'll have to wait several days before I attempt a re-feed.

I got an e-mail from the breeder with a care sheet about this problem. I found out some things I didn't know. At least I know what to do.

Hi,

I am sorry to hear that. I just got back from a long trip to the Chicago expo and am just starting to answer emails.

It is VERY IMPORTANT to follow the info below EXACTLY in order to stop the problem before it gets bad. Please read and do not feed anything at all until it has been at least 8 days since the last regurge. Please let me know how it works.

Thanks,
Kathy Love

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT - once a snake has regurged, esp. twice or more, it is more likely to keep on regurging until it dies. It is very important NOT to let this continue. PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW VERY CAREFULLY. This is from my FAQ on regurges:

I suspect your problem is probably not the mice, but about handling too soon and feeding too soon, or temps. If you make these mistakes once, or even twice, it is not usually a problem if you FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTIONS EXACTLY. But remember, each time it regurges, the stomach acids are depleted, and the whole electrolyte balance is thrown off more and more each time, and it makes it MORE likely that it will continue to throw up until it dies. That is why it is so important to NOT ALLOW another regurge.

The next month or two is crucial. DO NOT feed it for AT LEAST 8 days since the last regurge. NOT ANYTHING AT ALL! Then get a newborn frozen pinky and cut it in half. If she eats it, leave her alone for a whole week. (no handling). Then feed a whole newborn pinkie. Leave alone for a whole week. If she regurges, wait a week and repeat 1/2 pinkie. If she keeps it down, wait a week and repeat whole pinkie. If she holds down a couple of meals, DO NOT rush back into larger meals and more handling. Treat this seriously. Go very slowly. After 3 successful meals, go to a newborn pink every 5 days. Go back to normal feedings only after 6 successful meals. Always wait to handle until after 3 or 4 days, but only AFTER 6 successful meals. No handling until then (causes stress, need to keep stress down). And NEVER feed again right after a regurge - ALWAYS wait AT LEAST 7 or 8 days, and then only feed something that was about 1/2 the size of what she regurged..

Also, be sure that temps are not too warm or cool. Try to give an area of low to mid 80s on one side and 70s on the other. Too hot or cold will cause regurges.

Please follow the pink care sheet for the first month or so and let me know how it goes. The first month is crucial in getting the baby established. It is worth a little extra "coddling" for the first month in order to have a trouble free pet for the next 10 or 15 years or more.

Good luck!
Kathy Love

It's hard to know where to draw the line between keeping them clean and "disturbing" them. I didn't find the mummyified mostly-digested regurgitation until today. Yuck. Now the cage is foul. Perhaps that is the only cage I should change because they are less nervous if the cage smells familiar?

Still, it's time to change the litter in all the cages.

This is harder than it looks.

[DK666]

1. Holy Cow....

I thought Puppies were alot of work...... Good Luck

[amazona]

2. good luck on this

I had a ribbon snake for many years but he wasn't really in the same category, as he ate live food (crickets).


is temperature of the pinky important -- I would be wondering if it should be fully defrosted or ?

[scarlet_owl]

3. I'm sending out good vibes for your sweet little babies.

)))))))corn snakes((((((((((

[Darth_Kitten]

4. best of luck to you...

;~~~~~~~~~~~~

(meant to be a baby snake)