When to give up

[Heini86]

I have had problems with three last years hatchlings. Two of them have deformed jaws. One of them is eating but is missing other half of its lower theeth now in weight 110grams. I tried to switch to f/t and it stopped eating. One a bit short jaw takes food stranglin but wont eat, and one with normal jaw doing the same thing, they both weight about 80grams. I have had to assist feed these two. When to give up with these snakes, they are now about 5 to 6 months of age.

[L.West]

I don't do any breeding but was just wondering - it they were born deformed isn't it customary to cull them at birth?? What are your plans for them if they do survive? Do you plan to keep them as pets?

I took in a special needs boa a couple of years ago but he wasn't deformed in any way - thank god.

[MD_Pythons]

It's up to you, personally if they can't eat on their own and have to be assist fed I wouldn't keep them alive. That isn't good quality of life to me. And the one that eats, why not give it live? It's a pain in the behind but at least it'll eat something on it's own.

[Heini86]

I don't do any breeding but was just wondering - it they were born deformed isn't it customary to cull them at birth?? What are your plans for them if they do survive? Do you plan to keep them as pets?

I took in a special needs boa a couple of years ago but he wasn't deformed in any way - thank god.

The deformation is not that sewere that I had culled them. I was thinking keeping them as pets or giving them away.

[Heini86]

It's up to you, personally if they can't eat on their own and have to be assist fed I wouldn't keep them alive. That isn't good quality of life to me. And the one that eats, why not give it live? It's a pain in the behind but at least it'll eat something on it's own.

The reason why I'm trying to switch is becouse it's illegal to feed live here. The two babies can swollow the pray on their own, when assisted I have only put the asf nose to the mouth and they take it. I dont understand why they dont eat on its own when they can swollow on their own and are willing to take the food

[WastelandExotics]

That's a personal question that only you can answer as it comes down to your definition of quality of life and also what you're willing and/or able to do for that animal (time spent caring for, financials, etc.). This goes for any animal really, not just reptiles.

My go to in determining euthanasia in any case is: "is this animal still going to be suffering 6 months to a year from now, even with medical intervention? Is there ever a chance of it being happy, content or thriving? Is this 'problem' fixable?" This sort of line of thinking makes it easier for me to determine what I consider quality of life.

Again, those are my personal guidelines for making that type of decision and there are definitely people that are going to disagree with me; I'm very critical and realistic with things like this and try to remove emotion out of the decision making process as emotions usually just complicate the reality of what needs to be done, unfortunately.

[WastelandExotics]

Also, just to add some extra perspective to your decision making:

Your batch of snake-lings:
5-6 months old
80g - 110g

Average snake-lings:*
5-6 months old
288g - 346g

Of course, averages are just that, averages and don't apply to all situations equally but based off of those averages, your noodles aren't even close to thriving....

*stats taken from The Dragon's Den

[Heini86]

That's a personal question that only you can answer as it comes down to your definition of quality of life and also what you're willing and/or able to do for that animal (time spent caring for, financials, etc.). This goes for any animal really, not just reptiles.

My go to in determining euthanasia in any case is: "is this animal still going to be suffering 6 months to a year from, even with medical intervention? Is there ever a chance of it being happy, content or thriving? Is this 'problem' fixable?" This sort of line of thinking makes it easier for me to determine what I consider quality of life.

Again, those are my personal guidelines for making that type of decision and there are definitely people that are going to disagree with me; I'm very critical and realistic with things like this and try to remove emotion out of the decision making process as emotions usually just complicate the reality of what needs to be done, unfortunately.

I'm worrying that long term poor eating is going to affect internal organs. I'm willing to take care of them but dont know is it reasonable thing to do. They are active though and does seem otherwise healthy.

[WastelandExotics]

I'm worrying that long term poor eating is going to affect internal organs. I'm willing to take care of them but dont know is it reasonable thing to do. They are active though and does seem otherwise healthy.

Malnutrition will have internal physical effects generally, yes. If the body isn't getting what it needs to function normally, there is a possibility of long-term organ damage in most cases. I'm not outright saying that these snakes are malnutritioned but based off of the average weight that they should be at vs. what they are at, they're definitely not getting everything that they need to grow and thrive, despite your best efforts.

And they may appear to be healthy but assist feeding isn't exactly a relaxing process for most snakes and the stress can also effect their health and quality of life.

Also, I don't know where you live but you have to consider the possible fine you'd face for feeding live (wouldn't even begin to know how much it would cost you). I would imagine that it would be hard for anyone to know that you, in fact, feed live but stranger things have happened and that needs to be something that you factor into your final decision.

[Aedryan Methyus]

The reason why I'm trying to switch is becouse it's illegal to feed live here. The two babies can swollow the pray on their own, when assisted I have only put the asf nose to the mouth and they take it. I dont understand why they dont eat on its own when they can swollow on their own and are willing to take the food

I'm very sorry to hear about the problems you're having with these poor little guys. That's a really hard choice you have to make... But, it is illegal to feed live rats to snakes in your area, though??? There are actually areas where that is a law?