What's wrong with my corn?

[Cirith Ungol]

I have that 5ft male corn, together with a near 4ft female. Large tank, fresh water, heat pad, light, timer.

Since nearly 2 months he has been regurgitating his food. So today as very sadly on 2 occasions before by now I found 2 mice on the substrate. They didn't really look digested, just wet. Ok, they didn't look completely undigested either but they were still in tact.

I wonder what's going on! One thing I noticed during the last feeding (I was keeping track) is that he was hungry during the feeding so it wasn't any problem getting him to eat, but when I put him back in the tank he seemed to go for the cool spot instead of the warm one. But I can't say how long he stayed there but he went for the warm spot later anyway. It's 3 days since I fed him.

There hasn't been any big problem like this before and nothing has changed in their environment.

 

[pitbulllady]

Sounds like a parasitic infection, probably a form of protozoan. For unknown reasons, organisms that are present in the intestine can just suddenly "explode", or reach a dangerous level, causing the snake to regurg. Most such cases respond well to treatment with Metronidozole(brand name: Flagyl), but the catch is, this is sold in pill form, that must be crushed, dissolved in water(or better yet, corn syrrup, which acts as a better suspension for the particles), and administered through a tube passed down the esophogus. I've had to treat snakes this way, using a large syringe and a rubber catheter attached to the end of the syringe to get the medicine down. Fortunately, I have a vet who is really good with reptiles, who figures the correct dosage and who showed me how to do this, since I'm really not too good with the math part, LOL!

pitbulllady

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Can there be any other reasons (besides lack of heat)?
If it is that type of infection, will it go down after a while by itself or will it just go on?

 

[David_F]

Is it possible that there's too much heat? You mentioned that he went to the cool side after feeding. Also, perhaps the mouse is decaying faster (due to elevated temperatures) than it is being digested? (Don't know if that makes any sense. I'm suffering from lack of sleep. ) I've heard this can be a problem but have never seen it personally. I'd definitely have him examined by a vet just to rule out parasites though.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

It has in fact been record hot here the last days! My flat is like an oven! Let's hope it's that. I'm gonna talk to a vet though about the poor guy.

 

[Wade]

Parasites are a possibility, as is inadequate temp gradient, so good suggestions so far.

Annother possibility is stress. Snakes in general are not social animals, and in the wild live solitary lives except for the relatively brief breeding season. The constant presence of the female may be stressing out the male. It may simply be that in his efforts to get away from her he is over-exerting himself which can result in him loosing his lunch if he has eaten recently. Try spilitting them up.

Also, sometimes when snakes start regurgitating (for whatever reason) they sometimes have a hard time keeping food down for awhile thereafter. Temporarily switching to smaller meals until the snake starts keeping it down might not be a bad idea.

Wade

 

[David_F]

Also, sometimes when snakes start regurgitating (for whatever reason) they sometimes have a hard time keeping food down for awhile thereafter. Temporarily switching to smaller meals until the snake starts keeping it down might not be a bad idea.
Wade

Forgot about that. It's probably a good idea to wait a bit longer than usual before you try feeding him again to let him recover from the regurgitation. Good luck with him.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions folks!

I've measured the tank them and I think it's way too high... it's 29 degrees C on the cool side, half way up in the tank (so like, between the bottom and the top of the tank). I've unplugged the heat pad and the lamps are off too.

Those two snakes have been kept together since the beginning and they are between 7-9 years old. I appreciate the info about social situations but I have a hard time believing that this problem has flared up so suddenly.

I had not paused the feeding in any way when this forst happened but just fed on like normal. I will though make a pause. What would be appropriate? 1 month? 2?

 

[David_F]

I don't think a month would be necessary but it wouldn't hurt either. How often did you feed him before this started? I'd give maybe an extra week on top of the regular pause in feeding. I think the usual wait is about 10 days if you feed weekly. I've only had one snake regurgitate one time and a ten day break was fine for him.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

It normally is about every 1-2 weeks.

 

[Beardo]

I have had Corns regurge if kept too warm. What are temps, and how are you measuring them? Also....how large is the prey item you are feeding him? If they are too large, a regurge will likely happen.

It is also a very good idea that you seperate the 2 snakes since like said above, they are solitary creatures and the presence of another snake could be causing him stress. Also, if the male indeed has a parasite, you don't want to give it to the female as well.

If a snake regurges, you should wait at *least* 2-3 weeks before feeding them again. When a snake regurges, its gut flora goes through a huge upheaval and there isn't much bacteria left in the system to help digest properly.....and if fed too soon will cause yet another regurge.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

I've now put my real probe thermometer in use and it's the only one I'm really trusting. I've turned off the heat pad (did I say this already?).

The mice are just ordinary standard mice size. I think I might not have waited long enough before another feeding so maybe that is another problem. I'll keep a close eye on him and set a prelemenary time of 1 month in order to let him have his intestinal peace.

 

[Wade]

Consider switching to small meals for a couple of feedings. I had a kingsnake that was regurging adult mice so I started feeding it 2 or three fuzzies at a time for a few weeks and then switched back to adults.

Wade

 

[reptillian]

my baby corn did thgisd after not eating for 6 months and it was because it suddenly needed smaller mice because it hadnt eaten in a long time.

 

[defour]

I've now put my real probe thermometer in use and it's the only one I'm really trusting. I've turned off the heat pad (did I say this already?).

The mice are just ordinary standard mice size. I think I might not have waited long enough before another feeding so maybe that is another problem. I'll keep a close eye on him and set a prelemenary time of 1 month in order to let him have his intestinal peace.

The recommendation I've seen from people I trust is to wait a minimum of two weeks, and then to use smaller prey than normal, which is to say I agree with whoever mentioned depleted gut flora.

I would also recommend not using any conventional thermometer exclusively, and instead getting an off-contact infrared gun. It's well worth the money, and they've gotten really affordable. After you get one, you'll be shocked at how much variation there is in basking spots on both the high and low ends. Your digital thermometer might be reading 24 deg. C., but there are probably isolated areas nearby that are significantly higher. It really educates you as to how evenly a light bulb or heat pad distributes energy.

Good luck with your corn,
Steve

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Thanks for the well wishes. It seems I've had some feeding luck. The corn got 1 pinky two days ago and I have the feeling it must have left the snake the other end... or what was left of it. I didn't have time to check the tank yet, just had a quick look and stuck my nose in there (had he puked I'd have known!!) So I hope that was the first good step to put some food back into him. I'll continue very slowly and maybe I buy som rat pinikies just for him.