Ball python with a broken jaw 😢 Vet pushing to force feed 🤔

If it's feasible, definitely get a second opinion on all of it, because tube feeding when it's a snake with good reserves that's only missing six weeks of feeding is nonsense. That would make me insecure in the jaw diagnosis and decision to splint.

Find an exotic vet that specializes in reptiles and knows snakes. Sounds like you went to a general specialty or dog and cat vet that was willing to see a reptile and not an exotic specialist.

Don't get discouraged about vets. Unlike what people are saying, vets dedicate their lives to the welfare of animals. That being said, you are responsible for finding the right kind of vet for your animal. You wouldn't take a parrot to a dog and cat vet so why are you taking your ball python to one?

Find a new vet, that animal can go a year without food and without any issue so there is no need to force feed it.

Many vets will claim they will see exotics however few truly have hands on experience and understand the animal they are seeing especially when it comes to snakes, obviously this one is lacking the understanding of the animal's metabolism.

Being able to treat a disease or injury is one thing but general knowledge of the animal in the case if an exotic animal is necessary too.

You can also dictate the vet on what you want done and what you do not want to be done, your animal is the patient but you are a paying customer (trust me I do that all the time)

Geeze, where do people find these vets?:rolleyes:

As everyone has said, a large ball python can do 6 weeks without food with ease... feeding them too much or too often gives them fatty liver.

5 years and 1900g ... That's 500-900g of wiggle room cause a 1900g snake lays 6 average eggs and gets down to 1100-1200g and no one bats an eye. I would bet that if she didn't eat for 6 weeks she would lose 10-15g at most. Im getting ready to put one of my male BPs on a diet cause he literally will eat a cardboard box if warmed up. So he will go from small to mediums to weaned for a while. So I would not sweat 6 weeks.

Your snake can last for six weeks without eating. HYDRATION is going to be a much bigger issue if it can not drink water with the splint in place, and if it can not, then it will need tubed fluids more often than every two weeks.

Can we see a picture of this splint ?

I just can't picture it. It must be done in a way for the snake to still be able to open her mouth, right ? Or else would they force feed her ??

Do you have any pictures of how it looked before the splint ? After ? X-rays ?

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Your snake can last for six weeks without eating. HYDRATION is going to be a much bigger issue if it can not drink water with the splint in place, and if it can not, then it will need tubed fluids more often than every two weeks.

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You dont think the snake can go for 2 months without water? Ive had a Male not come out of a hide for 2 months... My Humidity was correct but i failed to ever see him drink even though i didn't watch 24/7. He also had no feces during that time. Im up at night and he didnt come out last year thats I had seen, in fact i had to check him every few days to make sure he was ok hahahaha


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Originally Posted by CALM Pythons

You dont think the snake can go for 2 months without water? Ive had a Male not come out of a hide for 2 months... My Humidity was correct but i failed to ever see him drink even though i didn't watch 24/7. He also had no feces during that time. Im up at night and he didnt come out last year thats I had seen, in fact i had to check him every few days to make sure he was ok hahahaha

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If your snake ate during that time then he got some hydration from his feeders.

Also as you pointed out, you didn't monitor your snake 24/7 so he could easily have gotten a drink while you were sleeping and then returned to his hide.

What I can't see working is a splinted broken jaw on a snake healing, while the snake is being manhandled for force feeding, which usually entails grabbing its head and manipulating its jaws.

Those bones are SO very fine, how in the world would you be able to splint or stabilize them with something so small, yet so strong, that it would hold while forcefully manhandling the snakes face??? Not like you can put screws and and wires in.

I almost wonder if it wouldn't have been best to straighten the bones as best as possible and then leaving the snake be. Maybe in a quarantine tub that is completely smooth inside, nowhere to cram the head in. Just paper towels, a couple of hides and a water bowl. They actually don't open the mouth hardly at all during drinking. Maybe it would have healed that way. Not completely perfect, but good enough to work?

That's why it would help to see pictures. If the jaw was so crooked that the snake couldn't close/open the mouth that could have been a problem of course. I really just can't picture this at all!!!