Feeding Issue: Strikes, coils, trouble figuring out swallowing at over a year old.

While I'm used to snakes and their little idiosyncrasies, this one has me stumped. He routinely strikes, coils, and tries to eat but if left alone, there is a half chewed mouse/rat in the morning like clockwork. Here's the vital info:

Normal male, hatched September 15, 2013. Purchased October 12, 2013 having supposedly eaten twice. Weighed in at 53 g. and shed that same week.

Since then, has eaten twice on his own without any assistance. Reached a high weight of 106 and is currently sitting at 98 g.

I've tried both mice (pinks, fuzzies, hoppers, f/t and live) and rats (pups and fuzzies). 5, 7, and 10 day eating schedule. Left alone 2 weeks to see if he'd be hungry enough to fully figure things out. In his tub, out of his tub (same reaction of strike, coil, bite, but not eat).

The 2 successful feedings are where he was near the side of the tub and used it to basically push it in. His mouth action isn't the normal right side, left side, pull it in. He gets it in and then seems to wonder why it doesn't crawl right down. He also doesn't like to release his coil hold (which is very strong) as he bites what he can of the prey to the point he's even bitten himself. Eventually (generally 30-60 minutes) he will let it go, nose it, and look for new food. I've let him have a second one multiple times with the same failed result. Mouth has no swelling, redness, and looks perfectly healthy according to our vet and myself.

He's not a shy snake by any means and happily looks for food, strikes decently, and coils well enough to kill live prey. If I press the head of the prey item into his throat after he's done the strike coil for a bit, I can essentially assist feed him. He'll even take 2 that way most weeks. With corns, I always made sure they stayed at a decent weight if they had trouble learning to feed. Eventually they all got it with the longest baby going 4 months before getting it down. Zayn does seem to have neurological issues which I'm guessing may be part of the problem. He seemed fine when we got him if a bit smaller than I like (this is my stepdaughter's snake) but once home, I noticed he wobbles and seems to have coordination issues with slithering. He's never been nippy or even head shy from the day we got him which is great for her but between that, the movement, and the feeding problems, I wonder if it's a sign that something isn't quite right in the head with him.

At this point, if he can't begin eating on his own, I'm considering accepting the assist feeding just to allow him to start growing more properly. His sister, my other stepdaughter's snake, eats normally and is a little pig at 574 g. on 12/12/14.

Any and all ideas would be appreciated. Thank you.

Can you expand on the neuro issues?

What size/ species are you feeding him at the moment? Are they live?

If he has managed to eat successfully I'd hold off on the assist feeding unless his weight starts dropping too much. Hunger may make him learn how to feed more efficiently than anything we can change. :confusd:

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Originally Posted by dr del

Can you expand on the neuro issues?

What size/ species are you feeding him at the moment? Are they live?

If he has managed to eat successfully I'd hold off on the assist feeding unless his weight starts dropping too much. Hunger may make him learn how to feed more efficiently than anything we can change. :confusd:

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Neuro: When he moves, part of him will half turn over no matter what he's on. Thought the newspaper might be giving him issues but he does it even on carpet. Takes him awhile to get anywhere. He tends to put his head into his hide and just lay there though he doesn't look/feel lethargic. I've seen weak snakes with doing rescue and he's not weak, just very different. When handled, his coordination is similarly off so he tends to end up wrapping around a wrist or finger and hanging out for hours on end. When he coils and tries to eat, it almost resembles a seizure as he tries to get it in the right position. He doesn't mind being upside down to a point whereas most of my snakes object to even eating upside down. Just a lot of little things. The vet even noticed his movement was off but there are no kinks, trauma, or anything else to signal that it's physical versus neurological. It's not gotten any worse or any better since he got here.

F/T mice fuzzies as it's easier to get them into him. With hoppers, he gets the head in and has a harder time taking them down. His size, including girth and length are that of a 3-4 month old.

I give him the option to eat on his own but when he dropped down to 80 grams again, I began assisting again. We've been going up and down on weight which is why I figured I'd post. I'll get him to around 100 g. and then we try for several weeks. When he hits 70-80, I start assisting again which he doesn't seem to mind and will actually use my finger to push against to eat while keeping a tight coil on my hand. He knows he wants food and most of the instincts seem to be there except the mouth/head action. He's never refused a meal and will even try to eat another after a 'failed' one.

Hmmmmm. I had a baby needing to be assisted for 3 months and I thought she would never strike on her own. She finally got it though and now she wants a rat every time I feed anything in that room. The good news is that she has never had live and will be a great F/T feeder. Try feeding a different size meal (even one that seems way too small) and see what he can do with that. Also, try just laying a F/T warm rat in front of his hide while he is at rest. This is how I get all my males off a hunger strike. He might just be too excited to actually eat. How exactly are you assisting? Usually when I assist as long as I can get the rat into the mouth and put the snake down they swallow. I know they are getting close to feeding on their own when they actually squeeze the rat after I put it in their mouth. A 2013 snake should not weigh less than 100 grams. Do you have a pic so we can see body condition? If his body condition is good I would say assist sparingly but if he is long and thin, I would assist until he starts eating on his own.

Where did you get him?

Have you had a fecal or other tests done for parasites?

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Originally Posted by dr del

Where did you get him?

Have you had a fecal or other tests done for parasites?

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Picked him up from a small vendor at Tinley. Don't remember the breeder's name unfortunately. Haven't had a fecal done though I hadn't thought about a parasite angle causing issues. Think it could be causing a deficiency exhibiting as neuro? I'll take one in to my vet next time he goes just to rule that out.

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Originally Posted by Kibbleswhites

Hmmmmm. I had a baby needing to be assisted for 3 months and I thought she would never strike on her own. She finally got it though and now she wants a rat every time I feed anything in that room. The good news is that she has never had live and will be a great F/T feeder. Try feeding a different size meal (even one that seems way too small) and see what he can do with that. Also, try just laying a F/T warm rat in front of his hide while he is at rest. This is how I get all my males off a hunger strike. He might just be too excited to actually eat. How exactly are you assisting? Usually when I assist as long as I can get the rat into the mouth and put the snake down they swallow. I know they are getting close to feeding on their own when they actually squeeze the rat after I put it in their mouth. A 2013 snake should not weigh less than 100 grams. Do you have a pic so we can see body condition? If his body condition is good I would say assist sparingly but if he is long and thin, I would assist until he starts eating on his own.

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He strikes and constricts so that isn't a problem. He's not on a hunger strike either or not intentionally anyways. I also thought it might be excitement in the beginning but the problem always seems to be at the point where he should be using his jaws/teeth to pull the prey in. He will tilt his head back and let gravity do its job if it's small enough. In terms of assisting, if I can get him to strike and grab the head, I'll use a finger to press the head of the prey item into his throat. Once that far, gravity seems to do well enough that he can get it. He's had everything from day old mice pinks (used for newborn corns normally) up to rat fuzzies. He has better luck with smaller prey which is why he's on mouse fuzzies right now. I understand that he shouldn't be under 100 g. which is why it's concerning. He's not gained much length but when he drops into the 85-90 g. range, his body condition is noticeably too lean which is why that's when he gets bulked back up through consistent assists. Even then, he's given the chance every week to eat on his own because I want to make sure that if he can do it on his own, that's what happens. If he had consistent body condition, I wouldn't be concerned as I've gotten used to hunger strikes over the years with bp's.

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Originally Posted by Dracoluna

Picked him up from a small vendor at Tinley. Don't remember the breeder's name unfortunately. Haven't had a fecal done though I hadn't thought about a parasite angle causing issues. Think it could be causing a deficiency exhibiting as neuro? I'll take one in to my vet next time he goes just to rule that out.

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Some parasites infect the brain and neurological system - and there is always the possibility he was overheated at some point.

Thank you for the help. I'll have a fecal done and see where we go from there.