# don't know why my snake regurgitated



## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

today i went to check on my snake, and i saw what must have been regurgitated food because it was way bigger than his turds and it was the color of a pinkie. it did not look like a pinkie it was about 1.5 inches (just a guess, i didn't measure the nasty thinkg) and looked kind of like a hot dog. i read that it is common for babies to regurgitate when they get too cold but the temp on the warm side is about 82 degrees so i know he is warm enough. i just want to know why he did this and what i can do to prevent it from happening.


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## BoomerSub (Jun 23, 2003)

Did you handle him after you fed him? Stressful activity such as handling can make them regurge, best to wait a couple of days.

-PK


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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

is this the same snake you thought you lost?

If you, you hunting round in the viv probably pissed it off.


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

What kind of snake is this? Your Corn?

Its best not to handle your snake for a couple days after a feeding so you dont disrupt their digestion.


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## Guest (Feb 10, 2005)

All of the regurgitations I see occur when I fed a snake that was too cold.

Perhaps 82 degrees isn't warm enough. How is the heat being transferred and how are you measuring it?


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

i have a heating pad underneath and a heat lamp on top. he rarely goes to the warm side. im not sure why though he needs warmth to digest his food.


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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

> im not sure why though he needs warmth to digest his food.


Because reptiles are cold blooded, it means that they cannot generate the temperatures needed for the enzymes to digest their food. In order to reach the optimum temperature for the enzymes they need to absorb heat from their environment.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

oh yeah i knew that heh.. i just forgot to put a comma between though and he.

Im not sure why though, he needs warmth to digest his food


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

C.D. said:


> oh yeah i knew that heh.. i just forgot to put a comma between though and he.
> 
> Im not sure why though, he needs warmth to digest his food
> [snapback]888508[/snapback]​


because in colder temperatures these enzymes needed to digest their food arent present. Well im not sure if they arent present or if their numbers arent suffcient to breakdown the food properly? In any case, these enzymes require heat


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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

> because in colder temperatures these enzymes needed to digest their food arent present. Well im not sure if they arent present or if their numbers arent suffcient to breakdown the food properly? In any case, these enzymes require heat


The enzymes would be there, and they will allways be there. If the temperature is too low, the enzymes and molecules in the food have little kinetic energy. this means that they come into contact with eachother rarely and enzyme/substrate complexes are rarely formed.

As the temperature rises, the molecules gain more energy and are bumping into eachother all the time. This means enzyme/substrate complexes are formed very often, and the substrate molecules in the food are broken down quickly.

As the temperature gets even hotter the enzymes stop working completey, and are ruined. To understand why, you need to know that enzymes are just protiens. Protiens are just strings of amino acids joined together. This long string is all tangled and twisted in a precise way. These twists are all held in place by hydrogen and di-sulphide bonds. As the temperature rises, the atoms making up the protiens gain energy and literally shake these intramolecular bonds apart. This means that the structure of the protien/enzyme has changed and the substrate can no longer fit into the active site of the enzyme, and the food will not be digested.

All enzymes have an "optimum temperature" which is where the temperature is high enough for enzyme/substrate complexes to be fored quickly, but just below the temperature which causes to bonds to break and the enzyme becomes denatured. It is this optimum temperature which the snake is looking to obtain when thermoregulating.

The action of enzymes also explains why reptiles become more active as they warm up. Respiration is an enzymes controlled reaction, so they need warmth to convert carbohydrates into ATP. ATP is used in body tissues as a source of energy.

there, thats my bit of science done for the day.
don't you love biology!!


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

Thanks for explaining that further j_burf


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

my snake has a warm side and a cool side but even after he eats he still stays on the cool side. i have tried many different ways to coax him to the warm side with causing minimal stress. i use a uth and heat lamp. i woner if he just doesn't like the light or what his deal is. but he just stays on the cool side where he can't digest and then he throws it up.

its times like these when animals and humans could communicate so i could figure out what his or my problems are so i could just make him as happy as possible.


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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

is there anywhere for it to hide in the warm end?

what is the temperature of the cool end?

what is the size of the food ond what is the size of the snake?

could it be the stress of you trying to move it to the warm end that is making it puke?

how often are you feeding it?

is it shitting ok when it manages to keep something down?


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

there is a place to hid on the warm end and place to hide on the cool end. i thought maybe he just liked the cool side hide better so i moved it to the warm side and the warm hide to the cool side.

the temp of the cool end is about 74 degrees.

he is fed frozen pinkies.(thawed out of course) and he is approx. 13-15 inches long( i haven't measured him yet because i am trying to reduce some stress before i feed him again. but he looks a couple inches longer than a ruler so i just guesstimate)

it may be me moving things around to try to get him to the hot side. but i don't touch him.

i have had him for about 2 weeks now and i fed him last tuesday and he threw it up on thursday.

when i first got him the reptile guy at the pet store said that he fed him the day before. so when i got him home he crapped about three times and then regurgitated. Then about 3 days later, i fed him again and he crapped once and then regurgitated. and since he regurgitated he crapped a pile about half the size of his usual crap pile/puddle


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

What is the consistency of the fecal matter? You say puddle? Is that mean it isnt solid? That would be a big problem.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

well it has solids and some watery stuff


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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

are the solids white, and the watery stuff brown?


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

yes


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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

Ahh, then I think we have found your problem!!

The white stuff is infact urea and not feces at all. Urea is like our urine, but things happen differently in reptiles. The fact that the fecal matter is runny could be a sign of internal problems. Your best bet would be to take the snake to see a vet, along with a fecal sample if possible.


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

yes I agree that you should take your snake to the vet before it is to late. You dont have tome to let this presist.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

well i just fed him today again since he threw up his last meal. I am going to see how this goes and if he regurgitates it i will take him to the vet


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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

While you are waiting too see if it throws up again, i'd be doing some research into vets in your local area who are specalised or at least know what they are doing with herps.

But as ABB said, you dont really have time to waste


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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

update?


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

i fed it two days ago and it hasn't thrown up yet so this is good but also i have found no waste yet


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

he looks pretty healthy, i was watchin him last night and he was pretty active ( trying to get out of his cage all night) i haven't touched him and he still looks a little chunky like he still ahs some pinkie in him. but he usually has pooed by now and he hasn't. . .hhmmmmm. . .


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

C.D. said:


> i fed it two days ago and it hasn't thrown up yet so this is good but also i have found no waste yet
> [snapback]895071[/snapback]​


Good to hear he kept it down. The food should take longer then 2 days to fully digest and come out as fecal matter. Just the fact that he didnt regergitate (sp) it is a big improvement. Keep us updated bro.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Excellent post on proteins burf! Have to critique the urea post (sorry), it's uric acid (same stuff that makes bird poop white).

They get rid of nitrogenous waste a little different from us. 
Include fish and you have all three ways! (Fish- ammonia, Humans- urea, snakes- uric acid).

As for this case at hand I must confess that I dont let one incident rush me to the vet (unless it's extreme). I'd see how this round of feeding goes too. Not saying I'm right, just a confession! The good thing about the vet visit is other stuff may be found that can get treated.


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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

acestro said:


> Excellent post on proteins burf! Have to critique the urea post (sorry), it's uric acid (same stuff that makes bird poop white).
> 
> They get rid of nitrogenous waste a little different from us.
> Include fish and you have all three ways! (Fish- ammonia, Humans- urea, snakes- uric acid).
> ...


My bad!!
You learn something new every day!!

Turned out to be quite a good thread


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

Day three. no regurgitation and no fecal matter


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

so is the white stuff in the poo normal?


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## Burf (Nov 3, 2003)

C.D. said:


> so is the white stuff in the poo normal?
> [snapback]897169[/snapback]​


Yup, very normal. It definately should be there


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

Day four. no sign of regurgitation and no sign of poo. still prefers the cooler side.


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

No worries, it takes my snake about 10 days to produce feces. Im just happy he kept it down.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

so if i am suppose to feed him once a week and it akes him the whole week to digest it. when is there handling time? i thought you were supposed to handle them when they were little so they would be more docile when adults. and you aren't supposed to handle them until they have defecated. that is confusing. i guess there are a lot of different rules.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

so if he hasn't defecated yet and it has been a week since he has eaten should i feed him or should i wait until he craps


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

i fed him yesterday (sunday) and he has been going to the hot side for short amounts of time, but at least he is going over there now. I still haven't found any poo but look everytime i go up there.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Sometimes there is a delay. I don't feed my snakes as often so I tend to wait for the poop. As a young snake you're probably better off getting the feedings in. If he regurgitates again I'd go with the smallest food possible.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

thanks guys i fed him no sunday and it is now tuesday and guess what! he pooped i don't know if i have ever been that excited for poop in my life. looks like he is normal after all


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