California Kingsnake

Question
QUESTION: Hi,i bought a Cali king about 2 weeks ago,she's about 4 months old,when we got her they said she was a great feeder being fed small pinkies on a Sunday and a Wednesday,we fed her on the Sunday and she was fine,then it came to Wednesday she ate fine but then regurgitated it up half digested the next day,i rang the pet shop and he said it could be stress,leave her for a day and try again,i did this,the next day she did the same,but none of it had been digested,i rang again and they said to keep her quiet and calm do not handle her and just change her water,to keep stress down,i have done this and now fed her another pinkie on monday,it is now Wednesday and she has kept this down now for 48 hours but she seems very lethargic and when i have just gone to handle her you can still see the lump in her,so it is not yet digested i think...do you think she is okay,should i handle her or not? please help we think the world of her and I'd hate to be doing something wrong that is upsetting her ..Thanks Shelly x

ANSWER: Leave her alone for another week and back the feeding off for 10 days (no food for 10 days).  2x per week is too much that was the original problem.  Then once she starts puking it messes up her fuild balance and her gut flora.  That needs time to recover.  Once she's up and healthy again once feeding per week will suffice.  

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi there,i took your advice and left her the 10 days before i fed her and she has livened all loads,but on the first feed she still regurgitated a very small amount of pinkie 3 days afterwards,she was fine and lively though so i fed her again 7 days later again 3 days later she has regurgitated a small amount,she does seem well but i am concerned about her not keeping all her food down...will she still be getting the goodness that she needs ?

Answer
Short answer-no.  She should not be puking period, that is NOT normal.  So she either has a chemical/bacterial/parasite problem in her gut OR a physical one.  So, at his point, you have a choice.  Continue feeding her once per week with the small prey items and see if it eventually clears up on its own OR visit the vet.  I'll be honest in saying I don't know what the vet could do to help other than a fecal float test to check for parasites.  But you can have that done w/o taking the snake in and paying for a vet visit.  

Here's how: next time she poops turn a ziplock bag inside out put it over your hand.  Grab the poop and turn the bag right side out so that you have a ziplock with poop in it!  Nifty I know!  Take the poop immediately to the vet (refridgerate it if you can't take it right away-no more than 8-10 hours) and ask them to perform a fecal float test on it.  Then, if they ID any parasites or eggs, you'll know what to seek treatment for.  ANY vet should be able to do the test and it shouldn't cost more $20-30.