Feeding During RI Injections

Wondering if it is ok to see if my BP will eat while getting injections for an RI. He hasn’t eaten in 2 months, but my concern is that with injections every 3 days, it may cause him to regurgitate after a shot if I get lucky enough from him to eat.


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Most snakes being medicated, especially by injection, will be too stressed to eat, or may lose their appetite (feel poorly) due to the medication (ask your vet for his specific Rx). As you said, he also might regurgitate- so for these reasons, most people don't feed during treatment. But, if he seems hungry & you think he'll eat (AND your vet says it's okay), I'd only offer a much smaller than normal-size meal- more of a snack that is easily digested. His RI is likely to make him refuse food, & 2 months isn't that long of a time for a BP, unless he's young-?

Thanks for the reply and advice. He’s almost 9 years old and 129 grams, and about 48”.


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Originally Posted by RStallsmith86

Thanks for the reply and advice. He’s almost 9 years old and 129 grams, and about 48”.


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No worries, then, about his fasting for a couple months. I hope his treatment for his RI is successful, & that soon he'll be feeling well again.

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Originally Posted by RStallsmith86

Thanks for the reply and advice. He’s almost 9 years old and 129 grams, and about 48”.

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1) I would reweigh him. That sounds rather light for his length and age.

2) My vet recommends not feeding while abx are being given since the abx are hard on the liver and kidneys, and putting added stress on those organs by feeding isn't a good idea.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

1) I would reweigh him. That sounds rather light for his length and age...

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It sure does, thanks for catching that. :rofl:

And ditto on the explanation for not feeding during injections.

For whom it may confuse- "abx" is the medical abbreviation for "antibiotics".

Well I’m an idiot...lol. This was my first time ever weighing him so I didn’t know what to expect, but I seemed to have imagined a decimal point when in reality the scale said 1290, not 129.0. Today he is 1270 grams.

He normally ate a medium rat about once per month, with the occasional 2 month strike. But I’m seeing he should be eating more often than that, perhaps bi-weekly.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by RStallsmith86

Well I’m an idiot...lol. This was my first time ever weighing him so I didn’t know what to expect, but I seemed to have imagined a decimal point when in reality the scale said 1290, not 129.0. Today he is 1270 grams.

He normally ate a medium rat about once per month, with the occasional 2 month strike. But I’m seeing he should be eating more often than that, perhaps bi-weekly.


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Those darn decimal points can trip anyone up- you're not an idiot, we all make mistakes. ;) We just try not to make them "in public", hahaha.

But yes, he should be eating at least every 2 weeks.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Those darn decimal points can trip anyone up- you're not an idiot, we all make mistakes. ;) We just try not to make them "in public", hahaha.

But yes, he should be eating at least every 2 weeks.

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Hehehe, thanks for the replies and advice! I feel much better about his weight now [emoji28]


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If he's 1,270G, I would not be feeding him medium rats. He will do better with small rats every two weeks. Easier to digest and he will be less likely to go on hunger strikes, etc.

My 2kg female BP eats smalls every two weeks and aside from shed and her winter fast, eats like clockwork and is healthy. She loses a little weight in fast (about 5 months of fasting) and then gains it all back quickly in the spring/summer.

BP's are super efficient and do well with smaller, but appropriate sized meals. I often remind BP owners that in the wild they eat mostly African Soft Fur rats (ASF). They average about the size of the small rats we get at pet stores or order Frozen from suppliers (60-90G).