I'm bringing Manasha home today, so...

Tell me if my thinking is oK here.

After I get her settled in to her new tub with the proper temps, etc, I was going to leave her alone for a good 7 days except to check for mites and make sure they're gone... (doc says they're gone), and not try to feed her anything for a good week at least.

The vet said they're going to want me to bring her in for a tube feeding every few days, but they said she looks better already.

Do you think I should do what the vet says in this case? (take her back for more forced/tube feedings) Or just leave her alone for a while, let her work up and appetite and see if she will eat a small hopper on her own ?

I'm just worried that continuing to force feed her is going to cause more stress if they're not absolutely necessary. And I also don't want her to get so used to these tube feedings that she won't eat a mouse on her own later.

What do you think ?

Sorry im not familiar with the background on her but is she underweight and not eating and has mites, is that the problem? I would rather force feed then tube feed but thats just me.

Congrats! I'm glad she's doing better.

Well. In a previous thread you stated she was 60-70 g and at least 5 months old. Sounds very under weight.
I would still tubefeed her to get some energy and weight back on. Yes, its a stressful procedure, but I think she will benefit from it. How does her body condition look now?

Edit: as Cameron mentioned, you can assist feed a rat or mouse too. It's basically force feeding, but she will at least have solid food in her belly for a while. However, I remeber you mentioned something about her regurgitating before. So the tube feeding will be easier on her stomach. Pros and Cons I guess...

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Originally Posted by Cameron Lamb Exotics

Sorry im not familiar with the background on her but is she underweight and not eating and has mites, is that the problem?

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Yes she is 5 months old and hasn't grown. Then recently she got mites for 2+ weeks and became very weak and now is anemic. She's been getting tube feedings every other day for 7 days. So she's had 3 tube feedings including today. They have been adding vitamins and iron to this food.

Satomi, the thing I noticed right away is her skin. It feels thin, dry, brittle, and it's shiny from the oil they used. So her skin doesn't feel or look so great. I don't know if I should do something to get rid of this residual oil or not. For now I'm just leaving her alone and working on getting the temp right in her tub. I just got the thermostat today.





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Originally Posted by Manasha-Bogo

Yes she is 5 months old and hasn't grown. Then recently she got mites for 2+ weeks and became very weak and now is anemic. She's been getting tube feedings every other day for 7 days. So she's had 3 tube feedings including today. They have been adding vitamins and iron to this food.

Satomi, the thing I noticed right away is her skin. It feels thin, dry, brittle, and it's shiny from the oil they used. So her skin doesn't feel or look so great. I don't know if I should do something to get rid of this residual oil or not. For now I'm just leaving her alone and working on getting the temp right in her tub. I just got the thermostat today.





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I wouldn't stress her out too much. If there is still oil I would let her gently move thru a towel in my hands to remove it. I'm sure her skin will rebound after a shed or 2. In the meantime keep her on paper towels instead of wood substrate, it will help with watching for mites and watching for defecation. Its just cleaner. I would listen to the vet and satomi and let her tube feed at least a bit more to regain strength and nutrients. Glad she is coming home, YAY!! :)

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Originally Posted by Manasha-Bogo

Satomi, the thing I noticed right away is her skin. It feels thin, dry, brittle, and it's shiny from the oil they used. So her skin doesn't feel or look so great. I don't know if I should do something to get rid of this residual oil or not. For now I'm just leaving her alone and working on getting the temp right in her tub. I just got the thermostat today.

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When you get the chance, I would give her a warm soak to wash off the rest of the oil. Add a drop or two of dawn dish soap. The poor scale condition is probably from too much oil.

I don't know how much they are tube feeding her at a time, but doing it every other day seems a little excessive.

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Originally Posted by Slim

I don't know how much they are tube feeding her at a time, but doing it every other day seems a little excessive.

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I think you have to tube feed more often because its liquid instead of a solid rat that slowly digests. I remember hearing that somewhere anyway...

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She's resting in her new hide inside her tub. Mat temp is 91 F.
I'll give her a soak tomorrow. Does the soap need to be dawn? Can it be greenworks? I think that's what I got. But getting dawn is no big deal.

Anyways. I'll take her to get fed again for when the vet says so. Thanks.

This is her tub. She's inside the top hide.

http://img.tapatalk.com/6344b473-2bd7-0a7f.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/6344b473-2be7-45c4.jpg


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Slim, they want me to take her back in 5-7 days. It will probably be more like 9 days because it's more convenient to make it down there on a Saturday.

They said they're not feeding her a lot. She weighed 86g when I picked her up.
Once a week should be OK I think.


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Hehehe. She looks nice and snug in her hide :)

It doesn't need to be Dawn soap. Any dish soap will be fine.

They do digest a tube mixture faster and they may be giving her smaller amounts more often to help her system. It will be easier on her digestive tract especially after the regurges.

Glad to hear she's coming home and I think with her weight/health problems, tube feeding would be better for her than force/assist feedings. Both cause stress but unless she's taking the mouse down on her own with you just putting the head in her mouth, tube feeding will cause less stress overall. It also has less of a chance for regurge. Besides, they can survive on tube feeding for quite sometime and put good weight on.

Her new setup looks great! :gj: I'm glad to hear she's doing a bit better and hope she only continues to improve! Keep us updated on her progress. :)

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Originally Posted by Manasha-Bogo

She weighed 86g when I picked her up.

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That is a positive sign.

Thank you so much.

I had her in my room to keep an eye on the temps last night but this room is easily the coldest in this house. I'm putting her in the office today because it's the warmest room.

I'm sure that will help with ambient temp.

I have my doubts that the heat mat is keeping that spot warm enough tho. There is a gap between the mat and the tub because of the temperature probe that's wedged in between. The mat is still taped to the bottom of the tub on all four sides. The plastic directly over that spot (inside the tub, where she's laying) feels cool to the touch and I can't find my $&#@! temp gun anywhere to check it. So I bumped up the mat temp to 93 for now.


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Btw, is it normal/common for the snake to feel cool/clammy when you pick it up? She has felt cold and clammy to me since that day she refuges the hopper. (granted I never touched her while she was at the vet's)


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They are generally a little cool to the touch. Remember how much warmer your skin is than their ambient temps which is where they get their heat from. The clamminess might be from the oil they used on her at the vets.

The snake will def feel cold to you. Our body temps are usually 98.f and a snakes temp usually stays at around 86-88.f. So if your snake feels hot. It's getting over heated.


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