Urgent: Baby corn regurgitation problems

[aliceb]

Hi all.
I purchased my baby corn around the end of September. (her name is Lucy aka Lulu) She is a little over two months old and about 10 inches long.
She has now regurgitated twice since I've gotten her.

Enclosure:
10 gallon tank, aspen bedding, under tank heater.
Warm side: 87 degrees (I have been told that this is too warm and have lowered it to 85 degrees)
Cool side: Room temp, 75 degrees average
Her under tank heater is monitored by an automatic thermostat so fluctuation in temperature is rare. Although I have noticed in some areas in of the tank where the temperature can vary based on bedding and what not.

Feeding: Before bringing her home, the people at the reptile store said that she had eaten pre-killed before.
When I brought her home she ate pre-killed pinky mice consistently for a few weeks, then out of no where regurgitated.
I do not handle her within the first 48 hours after feeding. Ever since she regurgitated I have not handled her since. (1st regurgitation was October 16th)
Post regurgitation I did not try to feed her for a week and a half. She showed little interest and acted afraid of the pinky. After trying every week, on Monday (November 5th) she finally showed interest, striked, and swallowed the pinky. I woke up this morning (November 7th) to a regurgitated pinky.

Does anybody have any idea why this would be happening? Any suggestions? I am desperate.

Thank you all.

P.S. Lulu is very comfortable in her tank. I often see her moving and perching while I am in the room. She often is fully visible. I also see her regulating her body temperature and moving from warm side to cool side.

[Andy_G]

Nothing sounds off as far as your husbandry goes. I have to ask, how are you measuring the surface temperature of your hot spot? Also, have you been weighing her and has she lost weight? Nothing sounds that urgent, but it's definitely something to wonder about.

[craigafrechette]

Originally Posted by Andy_G

Nothing sounds off as far as your husbandry goes. I have to ask, how are you measuring the surface temperature of your hot spot? Also, have you been weighing her and has she lost weight? Nothing sounds that urgent, but it's definitely something to wonder about.

I agree, husbandry sounds good.

I would wait a full 2 weeks before offering again.

And like Andy said, what does the snake weigh? Has she been losing any weight?

And do the pinkies leave a noticeable lump in the snakes stomach after it is eaten?

[phenyx]

I recommend you pick up some NutriBACdf . When a snake regurges, they can lose vital gut bacterial; the more often they regurgitate, the more gut bacteria they can lose and regurgitation can become chronic. NutriBACdf is a probiotic supplement specifically for reptiles. All you have to do is lightly dust the prey item before you offer it to the snake. IMO, it's better to offer the NutriBACdf before regurgitation becomes chronic.

[Andy_G]

Originally Posted by phenyx

I recommend you pick up some NutriBACdf . When a snake regurges, they can lose vital gut bacterial; the more often they regurgitate, the more gut bacteria they can lose and regurgitation can become chronic. NutriBACdf is a probiotic supplement specifically for reptiles. All you have to do is lightly dust the prey item before you offer it to the snake. IMO, it's better to offer the NutriBACdf before regurgitation becomes chronic.

Although not bad advice, I have never had to use this product and I believe it is a"bandaid" for a symptom instead of addressing the actual cause of the problem. I once again reiterate that it isn't a bad idea, but may be placebic and is not to be relied upon.

[phenyx]

Of course NutriBACdf isn't a substitute for seeking veterinary care for an ill snake, but I think it's an important step towards preventing chronic regurgitation. Any snake, or any other creature for that matter, that's vomited twice has a depleted gut biome and, if it gets depleted enough, it can't regenerate as it should. That's how regurgitation becomes chronic and intractable. Don't underestimate the harmful effects of a depleted gut biome. That's where most of the immune protection of any creature resides.

I've learned this not just from months of experience and research with a chronically regurging BRB but also from study and research I did when I used to keep several species of psittacines. Birds and reptiles are more similar than different in many ways but especially in their digestive tracts.

As I've learned from Jerkface's most recent upchuck, NutriBACdf won't prevent vomiting due to some sort illness, and thus won't mask anything, but it will keep gut biome depletion from becoming an *additional* stress on your animal.