I am interested to know if any one has experienced skin damage (acid burns) to their snake, following a regurgitation. I have a rather long article on the subject with pictures that I would like to refer readers to if I may.

From what we have established the acid levels in a snakes rise rapidly after a meal to a Ph of 1.5 (battery acid is 1.0). If a snake can digest whole prey,
bones, hair and all, the stomach acid, must surely be capable of severe damage to its own skin should it come into contact with this acid.

I my case the snake regurgitated 3 days after the meal so acid levels would have been at full strength. This resulted in major skin damage and the loss of one of the two Buremese that where housed together (bad practice - lesson 1).

One Canadian reader on another Forum had the same problem with exact same oiliness followed by a heavy shed but none of the severe after effects we experienced.

I am sure it was acid related but the question is why so few instances have been reported. Was I just unlucky, that the regurgitation took place 3 days after a meal, whereas normally it would occurr within the first day or even hours of the meal??

Why was the damage that occurred, mainly on the side of the snake?

In retrospect the soap used was not ideal, but at the time we needed something to get the heavy oily mess off the snakes. We did rinse them well and initailly used the garden hose to rinse them down, followed by a warm bath and final rinse in fresh water. What would be a better soap and acid neutralizer??

Hope to gain some assistance on these issues and that the subject matter is if general interest.