what to do after regurge

latazyo · 05-17-04, 07:23 PM

my new gray banded king regurged one of the rats I fed him the other day

I am not certain that it was a regurge because I've never had a snake regurge on me, but the rat did not look digested and definitely didn't look like snake poop that I've seen, still had fur, etc...basically the rat just looked wet

my temps were a little on the high side (98) so I lowered them

I fed him 2 rat fuzzies and I only see one on the regurge (regurge happened about 2 days after feeding)

I am guessing that stress caused the regurge due to improper handling on my part

my main question is what kind of special needs does he need to recover?

I know not to feed him for a little while, but how long?
also, do I need to make sure he always has plenty of water after a regurge?

thanks in advance

Joe · 05-17-04, 09:07 PM

plenty of water and no food for a few weeks, other then that you definately have to get the temps down, I personally keep all my colubrids between 80 to 85 and have never had any problems.... best of luck with your new king!

Vanan · 05-17-04, 09:50 PM

Second that. Hydration is a must even if it means waiting 3-4weeks before feeding again. Also when attemping to feed again, I would start with an unusually small prey for the snake. Like feeding an adult-mouse-eater a fuzz or similar for larger or smaller snakes. The best thing would be to aid in the replenishment of beneficial bacteria in the gut by syringe feeding Nutribac (a herp product widely used for chronic puking boids). Sometimes, instead of feeding with a smaller prey, syringe feeding an egg (raw) reduces the risk of repeat regurging, as egg is a more absorbable food item than a whole vertebrate.

Syco · 05-18-04, 08:16 AM

I agree with Vanan on the nutribac, I use benebac (I think it is pretty much the same thing) on any snake I have that regurges and it seems to help a lot.
Watch those temps, 98 is way to high for a kingsnake. 80-85 is about right. Good luck!

gonesnakee · 05-18-04, 01:31 PM

Agree with whats been stated & will restate that the temps being way too high (by at least 10 degrees) is what most likely caused the regurge. Mark

latazyo · 05-18-04, 11:59 PM

I have been turing down teh rheostat a little every so many hours and am down to 94, so I've almost gotten them cooled down

Lisa · 05-20-04, 02:42 PM

94 is still too high...

gonesnakee · 05-20-04, 04:19 PM

You need to get it down to 80-85 its still way too hot. Mark

Joe · 05-20-04, 06:38 PM

best bet would be to turn it off completly, let the tank cool to room temps and then if you need to add suplementary heat then turn it on just a bit at a time, at temps that high snakes can dehydrate quickly, better to be a bit cool for a day or so then too hot, best of luck bud!

Joe · 05-20-04, 06:43 PM

dbl posted sorry

latazyo · 05-20-04, 10:16 PM

thanks for the advice guys, I was simply showing tha tthe temps are coming down, it's hard to set a temp on a home made rheostat that has no markings on it and to knwo how low is too low, etc
the temps are at 85 now, I want to bring them to 90

anyways, where does a person get the stuff you all mentioned (nutribac)?

jjnnbns · 05-20-04, 10:55 PM

I thought that I heard somewhere that it is similar to Pedialyte?

Syco · 05-21-04, 08:12 AM

Leave the temp at 85, 90 is to far to the high end. Mine are at 80-85 and they have no problems. You really don't want to keep him too hot, he's probably already a little dehydrated from the regurge and the high temps aren't going to help anything.
Why do you want to take it back up to 90 when several people have told you 80-85?

latazyo · 05-21-04, 12:16 PM

keeping the temp at 90 allows the heat tape to be warm enough when the room is cooled by opened doors and air conditioning, however if the public wants 85, the public gets 85!

gonesnakee · 05-21-04, 12:31 PM

Remember we are talking about a desert species here people. Ever been in the desert at night? Gets cold, real cold. I've never heard anyone keep Colubrids at 90+ ever & its been my experience that with highs pushing 100 F baby snakes will start to die & others are put at risk, especially for regurges (bad heater experience DOH!). There is nothing wrong with 90 f for a hot spot, but a cooler area must be provided or the overall ambient must be lowered as suggested. Mark
P.S. Tidbit - my gravid females that are at around 82-85 f ambient, spend most of their time soaking