3 Months, Still No Tongue

[Marshall5686]

OK, so this in not about my love life. But this is my first post, so be gentle.

I've had this pastel BP hatchling (currently 125g) for 3 months. I won him in an auction from Loxherp. He was basically a freebie, since I won the YB HP and shipping was included.

I've never seen his tongue... and for the past 2 months I've been looking... closely. He's been offered every week, variety of live or FT, live hoppers or rat pups. When I got him he was 85g and didn't eat for a month, so I gently assisted him with a ~15g FT rat pup. He's never eaten without an assist.

He's never struck, feeding or defensive,...ever. I've assist fed this guy 5 times now. I've never seen a BP that doesn't have a tongue or can't/won't use it. Starting to think he may never self-feed.

About me. Getting back into the hobby after 20 years. I've got ~30 BPs in a dedicated heated/humidity controlled 'reptile' room, from hatchlings to breeders. Reptile Basics-like racks, individual tubs, belly heat, Vivarium and HerpStat controlled.

I'm mostly interested in raising piebalds - I have 18 pieds/HPs. I don't plan on keeping this guy, and will give him away to a local newbie herper, if he ever self feeds. Ever seen a snake like this? Did he ever self-feed, even passively?

[Sauzo]

Never seen that myself and needing to assist feed 5 times seems like a lot to me. I've never had to do it myself as all my snakes are freakin pigs, even when they were like 3-4 months old but I have heard of needing to assist feed some hatchlings to get them started but from what I've seen, its only 1 maybe 2 times and then they get the hang of it and do it themselves. Heck, Dottie was labeled a problem feeder when I got her and they assist fed her once and she didn't eat for almost a month. I got her home, put her in a 20 gallon long, set it all up and she ate 2 days later and then every 3 days after that like clockwork for 6 months. Then I backed her down to once a week. And she was about 90g when I got her. Now 2 years later, she is 1680g and a terror lol.

From what you have said about having all these snakes and breeders with racks, do you not have experience with hatchlings? Maybe Albert, Eric or Deborah will chime in as they are breeding maniacs But me personally I've never heard of or seen a snake with no tongue.

[Marshall5686]

Thanks for the response. I'd say I have limited experience with hatchlings. Probably ~20 over the years. I've never had to assist feed before. Watched a video by Brian Snakebytes TV. I've had pigs and passive feeders, but never had one that wouldn't feed on their own. Tried lots of different ways to trigger a feeding response: live/FT (warmed under heatlamp), mice/rats, day/night, left for hours (passive), brained, so far to no avail.

-SM

[paulh]

I saw one ball python that had mouth rot inside the tongue sheath. Built-up crud kept blood from getting into the tongue and killed it. That snake wouldn't feed on its own, either. Whether the OP's snake suffers from this problem is anybody's guess. As it is a hatchling and the OP has opened its mouth for assist feeding, I am doubtful that is the problem.

Another possibility is that the snake has been dehydrated and that dried saliva is preventing the tongue from flicking. I would try putting the snake in a small plastic box with a half inch of water in it for a while every day. If the mouth is just under the water surface, hopefully the water will enter the mouth and help dissolve thickened mucus.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. Good luck.

[Albert Clark]

A healthy well adjusted animal shouldn't have to be continually assist fed . That is problematic and stressful for the hatchling. Not using his tongue can be a sign that something more sinister is at play and requires the examination and evaluation by a qualified herp vet imo. It may mean the animal is living with a disability and not really thriving.