I need big time help... assist feeding failure. twice.
I have this snake that detached from his yolk on July 29. He was 45grams when he left the egg and his unabsorbed yolk.
He has refused all meals given to him (every 4-5 days since August 10). We assist fed last Monday after he refused... again... the rat we put in his enclosure overnight. No dice. He spit it back out.
We assist fed again today after putting another rat in his enclosure overnight, still no dice. He sat with the rat in his mouth for close to 30 minutes then finally got his tail curled around the rat and pulled it out.
He is now 39 grams. Now what? He shed for the first time last weekend (either Saturday or Sunday).
I'm in hopeless mode right now. I have consulted the vet. He doesn't do assist feeding. He only does the "force feeding" - put a tube down his throat and pour some snake formula or something down it. So... what would you guys do in this situation?
Re: I need big time help... assist feeding failure. twice.
just a point to consider... in this situation the vet won't be able to do anything for you that you can't do yourself. There are many threads on this exact subject... read them and you will probably have more ball python hatching specific knowledge then the vet. (I know the vet you are talking about, and trust me what I am saying is very true)
Mike
Re: I need big time help... assist feeding failure. twice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mike Cavanaugh
just a point to consider... in this situation the vet won't be able to do anything for you that you can't do yourself. There are many threads on this exact subject... read them and you will probably have more ball python hatching specific knowledge then the vet. (I know the vet you are talking about, and trust me what I am saying is very true)
Mike
Thanks for the tip, Mike! Yeah, I was kinda worried about that "snake formula" thing.
Amazingly, he is more alert now 3 days after one forced feeding. He has not moved from his hot-side hide (that I noticed) but when we lift the hide, his head comes up into an s-coil. He hasn't done that in a while. Hope he eats in 2 days! Grrrr!
Hey Mike, I don't know how to sex these guys! The vet charges 20 bucks per snake - just to determine gender. That doesn't include anything else - no "well check" or anything else.
Re: I need big time help... assist feeding failure. twice.
Tim wrote an excellent how to http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...g-Instructions
Before you attempt this what do you have this baby house in and what substrate do you use?
And I agree rats could be the issue, some hatchling will not take rats at first.