Curious of next move with Piebald.

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Originally Posted by jamie334

Thanks mechnut! That's really awesome of you. Unfortunately I couldn't live any further from you. I live in the Bay Area in California. I had a pastel that never refused a meal. This guy is giving me problems though. It's good to know that they can go so long without eating and not have many adverse affects. I ill definitely keep everyone posted. Thanks for replying!

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I would try and leave a live rat pinky over night and see if he'll take it. Eventually they will start eating again. I had to assist feed my butter ball python for 6 months. Someone suggested leaving a rat pinky over night and it worked! I did that a few times then switched her to F/T. Now she's feeding consistently for me. Give it a try. Off topic* I'm in the Bay Area too! I'm in Daly City =]

If u cant get a hold of the guy i would do what u gotta do. Its his fault hes not responding. If he wants his snake hell cime lookin for it. All your messages and calls are there when he does so its not like your efforts will go unseen. Treat it as your snake and give it the care it needs accordingly. If you gotta assist feed then i would say go for it.

Maybe youll get lucky and get to keep the snake and the money. Not tryin to sound shady or crooked but the reality is you gave substantial effort to get in contact with him. If he never hits you up in the long run thats his fault.

Thanks for al the replies!!! An update; I talked to the breeder finally. He was out of the country and couldn't reply. Basically he said that his vet advised him not to take the snake back so he suggested that I just keep the snake here with me. He is an awesome breeder so I knew there had to be something for him not to reply.

Just curious as to how safe it is to leave the live pinky in overnight? Thanks again!

There is no way the pinky can hurt the snake. Even a rat pup would be safe.

So, basically, you now have free, non-feeding pied? Congratulations and/or condolences!

A lot of them just DO this, honestly. Especially if it's their first year at breeding size, but plenty of adults just randomly go anorexic. You really don't even need to START worrying until the snake has lost 30% of his weight. I had a het pied male who didn't eat for 5 months, and now he's back to being fat and happy again. It's really common, and shipping stress often triggers it in balls that were previously good eaters.

Since the breeder has refunded you and doesn't want the pied back, I'd go ahead and take him to a really good herp vet. The original vet didn't do a fecal test, I take it? Are they a herp specialist? I would find the best damn herp vet in the area and have a fecal smear done. I've had two pieds and one black pastel come down with flagellated protozoa because of cold weather and shipping stress. One of the pieds was even more stressed by the treatment flushing out her system, so the vet gave her a vitamin B shot. Which he said sometimes stimulates appetite? Three years later she's 1800 grams, so whatever, I guess it worked...

But mostly, if his fecal smears are all negative, and he comes back with a completely clean bill of health, I would let him alone, and try to preserve your own sanity. Offer food every two weeks, and monitor his weight once a month. If he hasn't eaten by September, then, yeah, maybe take him back to the vet and inquire about assisted feeding.

Why not just take a fecal sample to the vet, instead of carting the snake around anymore (assuming a fecal hasn't been done already)? I typically do this with new arrivals, to avoid adding stress. It sounds like he's already been to the vet a few times since April...

Thanks again for the help. He actually hasn't pooped since I had him back in April. I am going to try the rat pinky trick. The vet wasn't a herp vet but she was experienced with herps. She owned 10 ball pythons herself. She actually didn't mention anything about a sample.

Firestorm do you know of any good herp vets in the area? I actually took him to UC Davis and I hear of one in Walnut Creek.