Force Feeding my Ball Python?

My bp has not eaten in a few months. I brought him to the vet and she said he has septicemia and i should force feed him if he wont take it.

He refused it multiple times today so i attempted assisted feeding. He will not go after it so i opened his mouth and put the mouse in it but he wont swallow it. I am afraid he is going to suffocate so i do not want to push it down his throat.

Anyone have any other ideas? i don't have a blender and i need to feed him tonight so i cant wait for a pinkie pump. Please help!

Hi,

Did the vet give you any medication and say why he thought it has septacaemia?

What kind of tests did he do?

Because, if he has it is is really quite serious and any vet capable of finding his ass with his hands in his back pockets would probably not advocate a really stressfull procedure for you to carry out at home when they could have simply tube fed him. :weirdface

Which vet was it?


dr del

Well first of all he is not eating, he has red spots on his skin and it ulcers which made his scales rip open. I am giving him amikacin(how ever you spell it) injections every three days and soaking him every day.

In addition to what Derek eloquently said :rofl: a little details on your animals would really help guiding you.

How old is your BP?
How big is it?
How big is your enclosure?
Are you hides tight?
What are your temps? What is your humidity? How do you measure them (What device do you use, digital or analog?)
How often do you handle your BP?
What are you feeding and how often have you been offering food?

The more details the better.

Now was the diagnostic made before the animal stopped eating or did you go to the vet because the animal did not eat and the Vet diagnosed him based on what you told him?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lindsss

Well first of all he is not eating, he has red spots on his skin and it ulcers which made his scales rip open. I am giving him amikacin(how ever you spell it) injections every three days and soaking him every day.

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Based on that alone I am not surprised that he is not eating, stress from injections and soakings are not helping. (Still want to hear on your husbandry)

he stopped eating before i took him to the vet. and i took him because i noticed the red spots on him

he is three years old and i have had him for about that length of time, he is probably a foot and a half long, the humidity is 65% and the heat is around 85. I just started injections and soaking today but i attempted feeding before these so he would be less stressed and more likly to eat

and honestly i just need help force feeding. i am doing what my vet told me to so i am just asking for help on that, not what you think is wrong with him. I understand that this is a very serious thing and the injections and soakings are stressful. Like i said before i tried feeding before i did all that and i am strictly just looking for help or a different way to feed and following the directions my vet gave me

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lindsss

he stopped eating before i took him to the vet. and i took him because i noticed the red spots on him

he is three years old and i have had him for about that length of time, he is probably a foot and a half long, the humidity is 65% and the heat is around 85. I just started injections and soaking today but i attempted feeding before these so he would be less stressed and more likly to eat

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3 years old can go off feed for MONTHS, assuming he has a good body weight (you did not answer that) he will be fine, sexually mature individuals tend to that.

Now heat is around 85 what is it EXACTLY? (Around can mean anything) What is it on the cool side, on the warm side, where do you take your reading? What type of thermother do you use? (answering my other questions would help too (all of them ;))

You do not assist or force feed an animal unless his health is in jeopardy and he has lost a tremendous amount of weight.

Right now you need to concentrate on the scale rot, by treating the animal and by addressing your husbandry.

As for feeding if YOUR husbandry is optimal and once treatment is over your BP will resume feeding.

Now if his health his at stake than your VET should be able to assist feed your BP however I seriously doubt it is a necessary action.

He is extremely thin and dehydrate(that is why i need to soak him)
Obviously 85 degrees and i dont know what kind of thermometer one i got from the pet store for reptiles
and yeah his health is in jeopardy that is why my vet told me to feed and the reason she is not helping me force feed is because she is only a relief vet( i am a tech and where i work the doctor does not see reptiles) so she is only there like once every few months and i did not bring mice to work for her to show me. no other vets around me see snakes so i have no one to help me.

So like i have said before i just need help feeding not your opinion on whats going on with him

Hi,

Have you got any pics showing the affected area?

And a weight is probably easier to judge from but is he really only a foot and a half at three years? What was he eating before he stopped?


dr del

Quote:

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not what you think is wrong with him.

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Based on what you might tell me and based on what I already know there might not be a problem and might not be a need for assist feeding.

A lot of vets when told that a snake is not eating will tell you to assist or force feed, in the MAJORITY of cases it is ABSOLUTELY not necessary.

If you are not experienced and it is necessary to assist your VET should be able to do it himself.

The reason I am asking questions is to help and establish whether or not the animal even need to be force fed and put through additional stress.

YOUR husbandry could be the issue here (it was already the issue that caused scale rot), if you solve husbandry issue if there are any left you will help your BP resume feeding on it’s own.

Again helping with precise answers (size etc) will also help us determine if force feeding is even necessary.

Force feeding if not necessary could do more harm than good in your case.

But hey what do I know I am not a vet. :rolleyes:

also i was not sure if i should take his hide box out, i dont want him to damage his scales more if there is a possibility it will happen

Hi,

Ok you posted while I was writing.

To be honest if your snake has ulcers and septacaemia someone inexperienced force feeding it really isn't the best thing.:(

The vet should really be feeding him with something like carnivore diet that is easier to digest, easier to administer and can be mixed with electrolytes etc.

That is really what is making me wonder how many reptiles your vet has ever seen.

Hence all the other questions in case it turns out your snake actually has blister disease or scale rot.

But, if all you want is advice on force feeding, then it is simply don't.


dr del

yeah he is a little. and since he drastically lost weight he is only 161 gr

she is has been seeing reptiles for over 10 years and i am going to trust her diagnosis

like i said before she is a relief vet so she is there very rarely and the normal vet does not see reptiles so there is no vet to do it for me.

but i am going to stop arguing with you guys because everyone is allowed to have their own opinion and you cannot accurately give me a diagnosis(which i am not looking for) because you can not physically see him. and since no one wants to tell me a good way to force feed and since no one can show me i am just going to figure out a different way.

Quote:

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he is three years old and i have had him for about that length of time

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by lindsss

yeah he is a little. and since he drastically lost weight he is only 161 gr

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How can a three year old animal that has been fasting for a few months be 161 grams :confused:

Something does not add up.

Now here is an advice if your BP is 3 years old, has scale rot and only weighs 161 grams something tell me that you are not experienced enough to force feed or assist feed and you should let someone experienced do it to avoid killing this animal.

**sigh**

well here you go.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ght=force+feed

Hopefully it survives and gets better for you.

Don't hold it near the ulcers (obvious I know but you never said where they were ).

Use small prey and lubricate well.


dr del

161g @ 3 yrs old hmmmmmm wow, check out you tube, there is a vid there on force feeding with a syrine & chicken baby food & calcium, of course you will need at least a 10cc syringe, increase your heat pad to 93-94 degrees.

I hope this helps

There's no reason to get defensive if you aren't going to answer the questions asked of you. Husbandry is a pretty common reason as to why a snake goes off feed, and three months of not eating for an adult is nothing. Most people aren't going to willingly tell you how to force feed an animal unless they agree that it may need it. It's extremely stressful and dangerous, that's why it's an absolute last resort and people are hesitant to tell a newbie how to do it. I would never even tell a person how to assist feed unless I thought it was something that was needed. Sure they can easily look it up on the net, but at least I didn't condone it.

Are you sure it's only 160 some grams? That's the weight of a baby bp. I'm having a hard time imagining a 3 year old BP at that low of a weight, and especially not after only a few months of not eating.

Since your vet is experienced with reptiles I don't understand why she didn't force feed it there. If it's that thin, there is a serious risk of losing him. She should have recognized that and done it right then. I would call her back and ask her to do it ASAP.

Also, don't be insulted that people are questioning your vet's knowledge of BPs. Most vets know nothing about them, but claim they are reptile experts. You may have one of the few that actually knows something about them, but I'm guessing the vet still doesn't see many bps.

I personally have never force fed any of my balls. But have seen it done and it is traumatic for them. You may have to really struggle with that snake, and help the prey into his stomach. A snake could asphixiate as well as get seriously hurt. That's why nobody really wants to tell you how to do this. Don't take offense to it really, we are all just trying to help. You kind of asked for it. Answering all of the husbandry questions provided for you could actually tell you why your snake isn't eating. 85 is cool enough to make a snake go into brumation ( cooling). I really don't think you have a exact weight or age. I've seen snakes that were minimal fed their whole lives and were emaciated when they got to me and skeletal weight alone for a snake three years old about a ft and half will weigh more than that. So possibly something isn't correct. I suggest getting a good grams scale. When you've got a snake not eating you should be weighing him anyways but then it's even more important. Since you don't want to answer the husbandry questions and you just want people to tell you how to force feed. I will say that if you don't fix the husbandry stuff your snake will never get better be will always have issues, his health right now should only prove that. Please research how to provide a proper setup and fix it and you won't have these issues. As for telling you how to force feed I'm sorry no, I agree to call your vet back and have her do it. Since she's been seeing reptiles for years she will definately know how to do this. That should be done only with an experienced person.