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Q: KingCorn won't swallow mice
Posted By:

JentherophisGuttatus

In Relation To:

Lanayru

Okay, so my kingcorn hybrid is having feeding difficulties. She's a little under two weeks old; I'm pretty sure she's had her first shed already, but I don't know if she's ever eaten. She takes mice fine; she loves them. That's not the problem. The issue is that she'll swallow the mouse...partially. She gets it a tiny bit down her throat, and then sort of arches her back and sways while trying to swallow, but she can't swallow. She ends up regurgitating it later. This has happened twice, once with a full day-old pinky, the other time with a day-old pinky that I cut in half. Both times, she seems unable to swallow it all the way to her stomach. The picture I took is the best one I could get of her; the bulge is where the mouse is, and when I look, it seems like there's a small bulge behind the mouse, like something is obstructing her throat. She breathes fine, and her behavior seems normal; she's calm, inquisitive, and slightly suspicious just like most snakes I know. Do you think the prey items could be too big, or could she have a deformity?The second mouse was cut in half; should I try cutting it lengthways next time? I'm thinking of just giving her the arms and legs of the mouse only, to see if she can swallow anything. Please give serious and timely answers; she hasn't managed to eat anything properly, and I don't want her to start wasting away.


Attached Photos:


Points: 150
Topics: Feeding , Digestive , Regurge
Tags: Cornsnake, Eating, Food, Kingcorn, Kingsnake, Noteating
Species: Kings and Milks > Kingsnakes > Lampropeltis getula californiae
Administrative: Show/Hide

Assisted Answer 9/19/2014 5:41:59 PM

Sonja K. Reptiles

Have you been in contact with the breeder? Were you told she had already eaten? I guess I'm surprised that at less than 2 weeks old she was already sold.

 
Author Comment 9/19/2014 6:28:08 PM

JentherophisGuttatus

Well, part of the problem is that I found her in a commercial pet store(CountryMax). Unfortunately the pet store knew nothing about her; they only knew she came from a breeder in California. They'd only had her for a day before I came along. They don't like giving the names of their suppliers, though, because otherwise people might start buying directly from their suppliers for a cheaper price rather than buying the same product at a higher price in-store. And I've known breeders who are the unscrupulous type who would sell babies that weren't even fully established. Many will sell them the second they have shed and eaten, and when that happens, they could easily regurgitate their first meal. That's why buying from pet stores is usually a bad idea; thye get their stuff from commercial breeders who couldn't care less about the welfare of the animal, but only about making a profit. I only bought Lanayru because she was a highly unusual color morph; I'd never seen iridescent purple markings on a snake before.

 
Assisted Answer 9/19/2014 9:07:20 PM

shellboa

I recommend getting as small of a one day old mouse pink as possible (frozen) take off the head and thaw it and see if she can get that down and keep it down. If that works, keep giving heads until she grows enough to take an entire tiny (micro) pinky. From there she should grow bigger fast enough that she can take an average size pink. Keep her well hydrated as well as this can cause issues with feeding too. And as always, make sure the temps stay as even and accurate as possible.

 
Assisted Answer 9/19/2014 10:13:27 PM

Doomtrooper

thqat sounds fishy   a 2 week old snake  being sold in a pet store ?  What happened to established feeders? .. if she takes the pink down  that far and regurges it  she may have a defect  in her Tract .. 

 
Author Comment 9/19/2014 10:50:53 PM

JentherophisGuttatus

I'm really, really hoping that it's not a defect. I'd hate to lose her. And she was 1 week old when I got her; I've only had her a week. Is it possible that the hybrid factor might have something to do with it? I know that certain breeds/morphs can have issues. (Like the infamous Enigma geckos, for one)

Well, the pinkies I've been giving her are 1-day-olds; I breed them myself and took them practically as soon as the mouse was finished giving birth to them. I know the mice are good quality and are the tiniest size I could possibly get, because they're my mice, not from some other breeder/store. I'm thinking that the heads might actually be too big/difficult for her, because they're a lot harder and less malleable. I was going to give her a few days for her system to recover, then give her the hind end that's a lot softer and squishier. Or even skin the blasted thing and just give her the skin and organs. Or chop the head off and cut the body lengthwise into two strips. I don't care at this point; I'll do anything to get her to eat something and get it down all the way.

She has constant access to water, but should I mist her, too? She's on paper towels because she's still in quarantine(I keep all new herps in quarantine for one month). I'm wondering if misting her lightly could help?

 
Assisted Answer 9/19/2014 10:54:27 PM

Doomtrooper

she doesn't look dehydrated in the picture ..  the fact that she was in the store at 1 week old  sends up a huge red flag  how is it even possible  for any sort of credible breeder  or pet shop to do that ?

 
Author Comment 9/19/2014 11:04:56 PM

JentherophisGuttatus

I have no idea. Unfortunately, commercial pet stores usually don't know anything about the reptiles they keep, and don't realize that reptiles shouldn't be sold that young, so unscrupulous breeders will sell to them. I mean, my local Petco gets dozens of leopard gecko hatchlings every month, and as someone who's bred leos, it's easy to tell that they're babies that likely haven't been established yet. Sadly, there are a lot of bad breeders out there who are only in it for the money, and thus a lot of herp hatchlings end up dying because they just don't care. I've talked to all three of the pet stores in my area, and they normally have no idea what the animal's morph is, how old it is(because they think herps take a hundred years to grow, apparently), or what sex it is. For instance, they had no idea that they were selling a hybrid, because the breeder apparently told them that she was a normal kingsnake. I've been working to try to help these stores improve(I'm in good standing with two of them, and they've improved conditions drastically since I started nagging them). Still, bad things happen. It's sad, really.

By the way, Lanayru tends to hold the pinky in her throat for a few hours before regurgitating it. Is this dangerous?

 
Assisted Answer 9/19/2014 11:23:48 PM

Cenobite

Try cutting the pinky in half? 

 
Author Comment 9/19/2014 11:30:58 PM

JentherophisGuttatus

I already did that. ^See above. I haven't tried slicing it lengthways yet, though, so that it probably what I'll do next. Or I'll mash it and give her a mouse smoothie. And yes, I am still being totally serious.

 
Assisted Answer 9/19/2014 11:53:36 PM

NWHeather

Have you weighed her? If so, how much does she weigh?

You have had her a week and have offered food twice, is that correct? How far apart did you offer food (timeframe?)

Typically, it is recommended that you wait a week after bringing them home before offering food, and then I would not offer any more than 5-7 days apart. It could still be a stress related regurge.

 
Author Comment 9/20/2014 12:00:31 AM

JentherophisGuttatus

She weighed 12 grams when I adopted her a week ago. That hasn't changed.

I tried the first mouse five days after I adopted her. Waited four days before offering the second mouse.

The problem is more that she's not even swallowing the whole thing. It's like she's incapable of swallowing, like it's too big or there's some sort of obstruction. She doesn't show any signs of stress. I'll wait another week before trying again, though.

 
Accepted Answer 9/20/2014 12:26:46 AM

NWHeather

According to your tracking, you weighed her on 9/10 (the day you got her?), fed her on 9/11, she regurged on 9/12, and you fed her again tonight...? 

Especially since she's regurges twice now, I would wait at least 10 days before offering again. In the meantime, if you don't already have it, order some NutriBAC or something like it, her system is going to need that.

Try cutting the pinky lengthwise, so the girth of the pinky is smaller. Coat it with the NutriBAC. Kathy Love has the regurge protocol on her website. Follow that to a "T".

 
Author Comment 9/20/2014 8:43:11 AM

JentherophisGuttatus

Yes, I think I'll do that. Thank you, everyone.

 
Member Comment 9/20/2014 10:41:22 AM

Cenobite

This snake reminds me of an ex gf................Innocent

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