Hatchling born unable to open its mouth

I'm a new breeder and in my 2nd clutch I hatched a ball python (on 7/11/19) that seems to be normal except that it will not eat no matter what is presented. I finally caved and tried to "force feed" a pinky rat, only to find out that the snake is unable to open its mouth more than enough to get its tongue out. It really seems to be fused shut. She is able to drink and otherwise seems to be a healthy snake. Does anyone have experience with this issue? Thanks

Sounds like it needs to go to the vet ASAP. It could be that it just has some kind of adhesion that the vet can release, or it may have a serious birth defect. Either way that would sad to allow it to starve to death-- so if it can't be fixed it deserves humane euthanasia.

That is so sad to hear, especially because that little noodle shares a birthday with my husband. If you take it to the vet I hope they can fix it and like FollowTheSun said, if not savable then a humane death would be the only way to go. So very sad, keep us updated on the little noodle, I want to know if my husbands birthday snake makes it. Sending positive vibes your way for your little snake.

I've heard of a hatchling (don't recall if BP or what kind of snake) that was fused at the OTHER end...birth defects are so sad. :( Good luck with this little one.

Not to thread hijack, but what is humane euthanasia for snakes?

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Originally Posted by sur3fir3

Not to thread hijack, but what is humane euthanasia for snakes?

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Ummm like with other animals .. .the vet would inject it with something to humanely and peacefully put it to sleep.

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Originally Posted by sur3fir3

Not to thread hijack, but what is humane euthanasia for snakes?

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That's a challenging topic...latest technique I've seen is drug injection into the snake's heart, with a little gas anesthesia first to help the process. The gas anesthesia
by itself won't do the job, and even the direct cardiac injection takes a while to actually work on a snake. :(

Thank you for the replies! I just got back from the vet... Turns out the snake can open its mouth, but is very stubborn. Even the vet was only able to get it open once in 3 tries. She suggested that I try to force feed a pinky so the little one wont lose anymore weight. I am gonna try tomorrow.

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Originally Posted by sur3fir3

Not to thread hijack, but what is humane euthanasia for snakes?

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Humane euthanasia (in a veterinary profession) is an overdose of an anesthetic, there are several brands / drug combos, but they all function the same. Basically the drug affects the part of the brain responsible for breathing and heartbeat and shuts them off, usually in about 30 sec to a min. In my clinic we usually put an IV catheter in the animal and in some give them a sedative so they can relax with their owners before the euthanasia is administered by the vet. It is as peaceful a process as possible. However, in very small animals that we can't get an IV catheter into or find a vein in, the vet will sometimes try to do a cardiac injection to administer the drug directly into the bloodstream (the animal is fully sedated for this) - which would probably be how a non-reptile specialist would preform it in a hatchling snake.

Hopefully this isn't too graphic, but for anyone that has not been through it, we (at least in the clinics I've worked in) try and make it as easy for the pet and their owners as possible. Also unfortunately for reptiles, any of these take a bit to work, their metabolism and heart-rates are so much slower than mammals - but it does not seem painful or uncomfortable for them _They just kind of drift off.

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Originally Posted by B May

Thank you for the replies! I just got back from the vet... Turns out the snake can open its mouth, but is very stubborn. Even the vet was only able to get it open once in 3 tries. She suggested that I try to force feed a pinky so the little one wont lose anymore weight. I am gonna try tomorrow.

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Glad to hear that your snake's mouth is ok.

I would not try to assist feed a pinky, as their skin is simply too delicate to stand up to the force required to get it into the snake's mouth. Not to be graphic but the snake will just end up with squished pinky guts all over its nose and you will end up frustrated.

When I've had to assist feed I found that the easiest method was to use a whole f/t feeder a size down from what the snake would normally eat, plus the hind leg cut off of a larger f/t feeder. The leg should be big enough so that the femur/thigh bone is about as long as the snake's mouth.

You start by warming the feeder and the leg bone. When you assist feed, hold the snake gently but firmly behind the jaw and make sure the rest of its body is well supported; don't hold the snake by just its head or you'll risk injuring or killing it.

Assist feed the leg bone first by folding it at the hock/ankle joint and inserting it joint first into the snake's mouth. Because of the long leg bone you should be able to use it to pry the snake's mouth open fairly easily. The leg bone will want to open at the joint, so once you do manage to push it into the snake's mouth it will get caught up in or behind the snake's teeth so the snake can't spit it out easily.

I hold the snake and let it run through my hands once the rodent leg is in its mouth. Eventually it will stop running and trying to spit out the leg bone, and it will stop and start to swallow. When it does, pick up the whole prey feeder and chain it nose-first behind the leg bone so that the snake grabs and swallows it also.

If the snake does spit out the leg bone just pick it up and try again. Usually the second time is easier because at that point the snake's jaw is unhinged. For a very tiny snake you may need to use your pinkie finger to push the leg bone past the teeth and into the snake's mouth.

Good luck.