Help. California Kingsnake not growing. - Page 3

**EL Ziggy** · 07-29-14, 06:29 PM

It's hard to imagine a pinky causing a regurge with a snake that size B. Most hatchlings start on pinkys and are usually off of them in a month or two. I'm stumped on this one brother. To my knowledge most regurges are caused by stress, temps. or illness. Usually if a prey item is too large the snake simply wont eat it or they'll quickly spit it out. What are you using as a heat source and what are your warm side temps like? If it's too hot or too cold that could be an issue. If it happens again a visit to the vet might be in order. Best wishes buddy.

barbicrash · 07-29-14, 07:58 PM

Well I don't have a thermostat (I'm going to get one) so all I can go off is the thermometer which says 79-80 when I have the light off. If I leave the light on too long, it goes up to 100 so I turn it on and off as needed. If I were to assume she were sick, what does a sick snake look like? Its easy to tell when a dog is sick, but I don't know what a sick snake looks like. Even after she regurged the first time, she was very active and alert and looking for food. I fed her yesterday, she hid to digest and then sometime this morning she threw up. Today she's not very active or alert, probably resting. Her scales don't look odd. I don't really know how to gauge what sick is.

**EL Ziggy** · 07-29-14, 09:22 PM

80 is going to be a bit too cool for your warm side. It should be somewhere between 86-90. You can try putting a dimmer on your heat lamp to keep your temps somewhat stable but heat lamps suck a lot of humidity out of tanks which can lead to dehydration related health problems. That might help for a while until you get your thermostat which you really want to do ASAP. Unless they're losing a lot of weight it can be hard to tell if a snake is sick just by looking at it. They can hide illness very well. I hope everything works out for you brother.

barbicrash · 07-29-14, 10:27 PM

Thanks for all your help. I will definitely buy a thermostat and see if that helps. I will keep everyone posted on the status. Quick question though (sorry, I'm full of questions lol) if sickness is the issue, is regurgitation a sign of a serious illness or is that something that happens with many scopes of illness. Like should I be expecting the worst or is this a common problem with snakes?

**EL Ziggy** · 07-30-14, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barbicrash

Thanks for all your help. I will definitely buy a thermostat and see if that helps. I will keep everyone posted on the status. Quick question though (sorry, I'm full of questions lol) if sickness is the issue, is regurgitation a sign of a serious illness or is that something that happens with many scopes of illness. Like should I be expecting the worst or is this a common problem with snakes?

B- Regurgitation is one of the primary indicators of stress or illness in snakes but it definitely shouldn't be a regular occurrence and should be addressed quickly to ensure there aren't serious underlying health issues. Chronic regurgitation should be taken very seriously. It's very stressful on a snake's digestive system. I've never had a regurge with any of my snakes. The first thing to do is to make sure your husbandry is dialed in. That will usually correct most issues. If your husbandry is on point and you're still having regurge problems then you may have a more serious issue on your hand like internal parasites. A visit to a qualified herp vet would definitely be in order at that point. I hadn't thought about it until now but I guess it's possible you have a bad batch of feeders. Are your feeders completely thawed and warm when you offer them to your snake? Just trying to explore every possibility.

barbicrash · 07-30-14, 09:03 AM

I've been feeding her live prey since I got her. I tried to give her frozen once and she didn't want it.

**EL Ziggy** · 07-30-14, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barbicrash

I've been feeding her live prey since I got her. I tried to give her frozen once and she didn't want it.

Copy that B. That rules out the bad feeders possibility. Once your husbandry is in order giver her another 7-10 days and try placing her in a deli cup with a thawed warm pinky overnight. If she doesn't eat or doesn't hold down her meal your next best option is a trip to the vet brother.

barbicrash · 08-02-14, 07:20 AM

Just wanted to let everyone know that she actually died on July 30th in the afternoon. I'm kind of in a bit of shock, I had no clue that she was this bad. She was (seemingly) perfectly fine until I tried to give her that fuzzy on July 3rd. After she threw up the pinkie was when she seemed to be sick but I thought she was resting. I had sent off for a thermostat and everything but she died the next day. I was worried that she would but I chopped it up to being overly worried. So yeah, my roommate and I buried her in the garden in front of our apartments. She was a good snake, never bit me or acted aggressive and she was very beautiful. So yeah just wanted to thank everyone for their advice and support.

franks · 08-02-14, 07:27 AM

I am very sorry to hear that.

**EL Ziggy** · 08-02-14, 08:53 AM

Sorry for your loss brother. I wish we could have done more.

NewSAHSnakeMom · 08-02-14, 09:08 AM

Sorry for your loss hun.

sharthun · 08-02-14, 09:45 AM

Sorry for your loss!

SnoopySnake · 08-02-14, 09:49 AM

Sorry to hear that