14 months since this guy ate....

I've been kind of following this thread and I wish you luck on getting him to eat again. I just think it's incredible that an animal can go that long without eating and only loose a little more than 100g of weight...


Rob

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Originally Posted by Vypyrz

I've been kind of following this thread and I wish you luck on getting him to eat again. I just think it's incredible that an animal can go that long without eating and only loose a little more than 100g of weight...


Rob

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It almost seems to me that snakes like these mostly use food only to grow and reproduce, so crazy...

----> Insert "Are we over feeding our snakes" thread bellow <---- :snake:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vypyrz

I've been kind of following this thread and I wish you luck on getting him to eat again. I just think it's incredible that an animal can go that long without eating and only loose a little more than 100g of weight...


Rob

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Thanks Rob!

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Originally Posted by Danounet

It almost seems to me that snakes like these mostly use food only to grow and reproduce, so crazy...

----> Insert "Are we over feeding our snakes" thread bellow <---- :snake:

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Could very well be! I wish I had a female to breed him to, maybe that would stimulate him to eat! :D

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Originally Posted by Big Gunns

A few people including WWP have given BG some grief about telling people to use a certain med without a fecal. Big Gunns has this to say about that. Every time you go to the doctor, does the doc take blood or check your urine. We know the answer to that don't we. If you go to the doc and tell him you have a stomach ache, he is gonna ask you a bunch of questions and maybe prescribe you something.

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Actually, YES. Every time I have gone to a doctor, they do in fact want a blood or urine sample, often both. If I go to a doctor and tell him I have a stomach ache, he checks my white cell count, he doesn't just prescribe me something without looking for evidence of what's causing the problem. I do not think I would go to a doctor who treated an internal problem in that fashion!

"Anorexia" in snakes, 99% of the time, has a concrete cause. The first thing that should be done is to look for the cause. Once environment and prey preferences are addressed, it's time to look for signs of an illness. Parasitization and infection are two common causes. It's important to determine what's wrong so you can treat it properly and completely. I stand by that opinion.

These drugs are not harmless. They are toxic chemicals. Some individual animals have adverse reactions to them. It's rare, but it happens. In an animal already weakened by some underlying issue that has caused it to stop feeding for a year, it could do more harm than good if it is not the proper treatment.

I second the flagyl suggestion!

I also suggest you try cramming your snake into a 6qt tub for a week or 2 and then see if he eats... it's weird but has worked for me with snakes far larger than 500 grams!

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Originally Posted by Mike@OutbackReptiles

I second the flagyl suggestion!

I also suggest you try cramming your snake into a 6qt tub for a week or 2 and then see if he eats... it's weird but has worked for me with snakes far larger than 500 grams!

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I do have some small tubs that I can try this with if needed... who knows?

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

Actually, YES. Every time I have gone to a doctor, they do in fact want a blood or urine sample, often both. If I go to a doctor and tell him I have a stomach ache, he checks my white cell count, he doesn't just prescribe me something without looking for evidence of what's causing the problem. I do not think I would go to a doctor who treated an internal problem in that fashion!

"Anorexia" in snakes, 99% of the time, has a concrete cause. The first thing that should be done is to look for the cause. Once environment and prey preferences are addressed, it's time to look for signs of an illness. Parasitization and infection are two common causes. It's important to determine what's wrong so you can treat it properly and completely. I stand by that opinion.

These drugs are not harmless. They are toxic chemicals. Some individual animals have adverse reactions to them. It's rare, but it happens. In an animal already weakened by some underlying issue that has caused it to stop feeding for a year, it could do more harm than good if it is not the proper treatment.

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Not BG's Doctor...BG better fire his behind.:D:D Then again..BG doesn't know your lifestyle...maybe your doctor knows something about you we don't and thinks you need the tests.:rofl::rofl::rofl: That's a joke WWP...don't get offended.:P:D Doctors do not do every test they could when you see them...if yours does...he's robbing you or your insurance in BG's opinion.

BG does hear what you're saying, and he agrees to a point WWP, but an experienced Vet can usually prescribe meds without doing all the tests. If they don't work soon, then you can get more tests done without any harm to the snake.

Is it 100% best that you do tests....yes...BUT...it's better to give the snake meds while you're waiting for the tests if you're getting them done, then to wait for the tests and then medicate. This BG's opinion and BG "stands by it". In a perfect world is taking a bunch of tests the best thing to do....yes....but BG says that experience tells him it's not always needed.

Treating a Ball Python with Baytril and Fortaz is gonna knock out anything it has almost(BG knows "almost" is not always) all the time. Another drug that can be used it Amikacin. BG won't kill his Vet or Doc if they don't do a million tests. He'll trust their experience first to see if what they prescribe works. If it doesn't....then he'll kill them:D:D

"Anorexia" and a Ball Python not eating are not the same thing. Just because a Ball Python does not eat, doesn't mean it's "Anorexic". In this case the snake has not lost much weight, even though it's been a long time. BG does think it needs to be treated to be safe, even though it could just start eating tomorrow and be perfectly fine without treatment.

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Originally Posted by Big Gunns

"Anorexia" and a Ball Python not eating are not the same thing. Just because a Ball Python does not eat, doesn't mean it's "Anorexic". In this case the snake has not lost much weight, even though it's been a long time. BG does think it needs to be treated to be safe, even though it could just start eating tomorrow and be perfectly fine without treatment.

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Yup, this guys hasn't really lost all that much weight. He isn't as fat as your average ball, but he sure doesn't look like he is "anorexic"!

Just want to make a few points here....

Metronidazole (Flagyl) is an antibiotic that also has anti-inflammatory effects in the GI tract. It also kills some flagellated parasites. It is not considered a GI irritant. Whether or not it actually stimulates appetite, I don't know, but it does get snakes eating again so who cares.

To the OP: offer your snake a small meal, as her body has adjusted to starvation mode and may not be able to handle a big meal.

Regarding what human docs do:
Comparing what human doctors do to what vets do is like apples and oranges. A huge difference in the fields being that MDs' patients can talk to them about what's going on -- MD's get a lot more information from that. Vets generally need to do a lot more tests to find out what is going on because patients can't tell us things like "it hurts when you poke there," "I have a headache," etc. Some animals, especially exotic animals, are very stoic and it's really hard to figure out how they are feeling.

Secondly, a hell of a lot more is known about human medicine than veterinary medicine. Even in well studied species, like horses, cows, and dogs, what we actually know is tiny compared to what we know about human medicine. What we know about reptiles is depressingly small.

Thirdly, human docs often do a poor-ass job working up their patients. A thorough physical exam is rarely done, and the database collected on patients is pathetic. And guess what, lots of stuff gets missed because of it.

Fourth, vet medicine is paid for out of pocket, and a lot of vets' hands are tied by what the client is willing to pay for. Standard of care often can't be afforded (or the client just isn't willing to cough up the dough for the health of his pet), and so the vet does the best they can with the situation they are given.

My point is, the way MDs and the way DVMs practice medicine is totally different for many reasons. And the way dogs & cats are treated is totally different than how reptiles are treated. Ideally, we'd do aerobic, anaerobic, fungal, and viral testing for all RI's presented, but rarely do clients want to pay for that. So we put the snake on antibiotics and hope the client follows our instructions to prevent resistant bugs, and hope that the critter gets better.