I bought a 3 yr old corn snake at a reptile show a few weeks ago. She looked a little thin so I fed her the next day and she ate immediately/ A week and 1/2 later I fed her again and again she ate right away. I handled her the next day for about 15 mins and again the next day for another 15 mins. The next morning 3 days after I fed her I found a putrid mouse in her cage. It looked as tho it was partially digested then rotted. Did it decompose inside her? Was she unable to digest it for some reason? How long should I wait before I feed her again? Did she regurgitate it or did it pass thru only partially digested? I read about snakes regurgitating but n ot 3 days after being fed. Any help would be appreciated, we don't have a reptile vet within 2 hours drive. Thank you in advance, Tosca
It takes awhile for a snake to digest its food. When i feed my Wiggles i still see the mouse lump in his stomache the next day! When you hold your snake when he has the mouse in its belly sometimes they regurgitate it. It is kind of like when you eat a big platter of food and a little later go running. You feel sick dont you? This might be the case and i don't think your snake is sick. The mouse is rotted probably because he started to digest the mouse but then spit it back up. What i do is after i feed my cornsnake i don't hold him that day or the day after that. Hope this helps.
You shouldn't be handling your snake for a couple of days after each feed as it takes that long to digest it.
Ipromise I never will again! I was shocked that she threw it up 3 days later and even more shocked that it smelled rotton. I thought that it should have been more digested than that. Today was the first time I have seen her basking on the warm side of the tank. Could too cool an evening temp have caused this as well? Just wondering why it smelled as tho it was rotting.
Hi, They should not be handled for 2 or 3 days after a feed. The fact it regurged 3 days after eating suggests something else is at fault. I strongly suspect it to do with the heating. low temps and handling too soon after feeding Can you give a rundown on setup, What is used for heating How is it heated position of heating Temps at floor level at both ends How is temp measured digital with probe...dial type...or stick-on...bear in mind dial and stick-on can be as much as 15-20 degrees out.
Her cage is a 30 long with a under tank heat mat with a pice of slate over it. There is also a 75w bulb above and temps according to my temp gun are 85 degrees in the basking area, 78 in the snake cave in the middle where she spends most of her time, 72 in her water bowl. Does she need a larger heat mat to raise the middle of the tank. I have seen her sitting under the light in the AM but by noon is back in her hide in the center.
Hi, Lets start with the heat mat, it should cover approx between 1/3rd and 1/2 of floor, that is enough to get good gradient. Covering with slate is an excellant thing, gives even heat. Was it a frozen/thawed mouse she had or live, sounded like an F/T to me, it's just possible if it was F/T it had been re-frozen before you got it, there is no way of knowing this and it may have been slighty off to start with, which could have caused the regurge. Obviously we have no way of knowing the husbandry and care it had prior to you getting it, this again may be a contributing factor. The fact it is regulating it's temp is good by moving from the basking spot at 85 to the lower temp of 78, this in itself suggests there is nothing serious at this point. Here in the UK due to the poorer climate we tend to have slighty higher basking temps etc, I've always had mine around 88-90 and low 80's in middle. The fact she moving suggest the present temps could be ok for you. How many hides have you got apart from the one in middle, if you have room, would it be possible to add another 2, one at warm end and one at cool end, if not add extra cover such as greenery that would act as extra hide/cover, see if she still moves to the cave in middle. The feeding every 7 to 10 days is ok, it's good to vary it slighty anyway. All this may simply be a "one off", due to unknown factors, I would just keep an eye on things for now and see what happens after next feed, with no handling etc. Although not essential it may be a good idea to have a fecal sample tested for parasites, just in case. Any vet should be able to test for parasites etc, without need to travelling to herpvet. I would check out local vet and see who would do a test for you. Hope all this helps you.
Its possible the F/T mouse was off because the first feeding she got was from a different source and there was no problem with it. Just to be safe I'm not going to use those mice and of course I won't handle her for 3 days after feeding her. Thank all of you so much for your help, she is a real beauty and I would hate to lose her. Tosca
