Cali kingsnake vomitting

acs102 · 05-21-13, 06:27 AM

I don't know what the problem is. We've had a cali king snake for almost 2 years. Typical California kingsnake; vicious eater, always willing to take food. That hasn't changed, she is acting completely normal. But for the last two weeks, she has puked up her meal between 24 and 48 hours after eating. The mice look exactly the same as when she ate them, completely undigested. She is plenty warm enough. Has places to hide. Nothing has changed other than putting a tree in her tank to climb on, she has eaten several times and kept it down since doing so.

Maybe I should try smaller mice? I don't think that is the problem though because she has been eating them since October. She is due for a larger tank, could that be the issue?

Concept9 · 05-21-13, 07:05 AM

Generally regurgitation of un-digested food is caused by lack of sufficient heat source to activate bacteria and start the digestive process.
I would confirm that all your heating sources are working properly and at the right temperature. I normally run my warm end at 88-92~ and I keep my UTH at 85~.

Also, has it pooped recently, It is possible that it may have a blockage?

You may want to try and buy a new mouse from a different store. It is possible that you got some bad mice.

I would also double check anything new you have put in the enclosure including cleaning chemicals and/or water additives if any, there maybe something new that is stressing the snake or making it ill.

acs102 · 05-21-13, 10:51 PM

She's definitely warm enough. The air in the whole apartment is 78 degrees right now because the air conditioner isn't it he window yet. It's well over 90 on the warm end of the tank.

She also pooped today and has been eating mice from the same batch since the end of March. Nothing new in her tank since March and everything gets rinsed very well after cleaning.

I'm out of ideas. I just wanted to make sure I'm not missing anything before taking her to the vet who will probably come up with nothing because he's useless unless the problem is obvious.

possum · 05-21-13, 11:55 PM

You say for the past 2 weeks your king has regurged? How often are you feeding the snake? & how big is the snake? and how big is the prey? -A typical 2 year old snake should be eating one rodent of the appropriate size about every 10 days (though many kings will be wanting to take your hand off by then, LOL)

If a snake regurges, it's important NOT to feed it again for at least 2-3 weeks no matter what, as they need time to replenish their digestive juices...otherwise they will regurge again & again, being unable to digest, and the loss of fluids (especially) can result in their death.

Is there any mid-body swelling? (< a symptom of cryptosporidia that also causes regurges...it's serious-see the vet).

acs102 · 06-06-13, 08:39 PM

No swelling that I can see or feel. No way of measuring her weight, but she's around 4 feet long. She has been eating two small mice a week for the last six months. It began when I gave her an extra one. Each week I cut the meal down. Went back to her normal two, then one, then I tried a couple fuzzies. It has happened four times now.

I'll try giving her a 2-3 week break in food and see what happens.

Concept9 · 06-07-13, 05:56 AM

I picked up a digital scale from Canadian Tire a few weeks ago for $10.00 its great.

The other thing you may try is feeding it rats. I never liked feeding my snakes multiple food items per feeding. I feed my king small F/T approx., 65 grams, he just ate a 110 gram rat last night with no problem.

I hope this all works out for you.

**lady_bug87** · 06-07-13, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by possum

You say for the past 2 weeks your king has regurged? How often are you feeding the snake? & how big is the snake? and how big is the prey? -A typical 2 year old snake should be eating one rodent of the appropriate size about every 10 days (though many kings will be wanting to take your hand off by then, LOL)

If a snake regurges, it's important NOT to feed it again for at least 2-3 weeks no matter what, as they need time to replenish their digestive juices...otherwise they will regurge again & again, being unable to digest, and the loss of fluids (especially) can result in their death.

Is there any mid-body swelling? (< a symptom of cryptosporidia that also causes regurges...it's serious-see the vet).

The bolded is a great example of crappy information which is waay too common.

3 weeks is a ridiculous amount of time. One week is the most I would wait. They produce digestive enzymes as they need them.

Also think about it. If you feed it every ten days and it regurges on a feeding then you wait 3 weeks, that's 31 days without a meal.

The cause is generally husbandry related when it comes to regurgitation. If the husbandry is bad then you could wait forever or feed the same day while getting the same result.

acs102 · 06-08-13, 08:41 PM

I don't see how husbandry would all of a sudden be an issue. Nothing has changed.

Lankyrob · 06-09-13, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acs102

I don't see how husbandry would all of a sudden be an issue. Nothing has changed.

Have you double checked it since the regurge?