Vet wants to force feed my snake

She has only eaten 2 small rats since Oct. Lost some weight but still at 1250 grams. Vet wants to tube feed her in hopes that will jump start her appetite. I have tried small and medium rats.Live and F/T. When the rat first goes in she comes out of her hide like she wants to rip it apart but then just ignores it.

Would it be worth trying mice? Has anyone let a vet force feed like this before?

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She's still got some decent weight on her. I wouldn't go for that, personally. If I were in your position, I might try a brained rat or mouse, or thawed in chicken broth, before a tube-feed.

How's your husbandry?

Assist feeding should be very last resort. Is your husbandry where it should be? Good secure hides, temps, etc?

I would keep waiting her out, I've had them go 7 months +. You may also want to consider having a fecal done to test for internal parasites, as those can effect appetite.

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Check that your husbandry is spot on. Have a fecal done to check for parasites. Then leave her alone to unstress for a week and try offering a mouse, since you haven't offered that yet. I have had them switch gears on what they want to eat before. I have a near 1000 gram female that prefers to eat crawlers or weanlings. Maybe try those as well. I wouldn't force feed yet, as you haven't exhausted all other options and that is extremely stressful to the snake.

Yeah husbandry is pretty much spot on. Cant have a fecal done if the tank is empty. Last poop was well over a month ago. Going to try a F/T mouse this week and if that fails a live one next week.

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First advice find another vet :thumbup:

Your BP is over 1200 grams and while frustrating, the fast could go on for a while, I had snakes that size fasting for 10 to 12 months.

The key is to make sure your husbandry is optimum, that your animal is healthy and well hydrated and most importantly PATIENCE.

Tube feeding, assist feeding, force feeding a healthy animal of that size is just a ridiculous idea, it can be stressful and detrimental.

If your was a Rat eater before it will eat rats again.

assist feeding would come first before tube feeding. I also would not be at that point yet anyway. Check the husbantry and make sure your ambient temps not just surface are correct.

This vet was highly recommended she seemed like she knew what she was talking about but based on the feedback here maybe I should go elsewhere. She even called a week after the appt just to check in.

As far as ambient temp it is set at 80.

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Like everyone said they can go with out food for a while, my first bp does it every winter, he just started eating again an it's been since November. Never loses much weight an stays in good health so i never worry. Gotta just wait them out at times I hope he starts again soon for you

I am distrustful of vets who reccomend last-resort procedures for animals as resilient as ball pythons. If she was actively losing many grams a week and still refusing prey, I may consider a procedure, but as knowledgeable as your vet sounds, she may be looking at her bottom line.

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Originally Posted by VooDooDoc

This vet was highly recommended she seemed like she knew what she was talking about but based on the feedback here maybe I should go elsewhere. She even called a week after the appt just to check in.

As far as ambient temp it is set at 80.

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The wording you have used is a touch odd.

How are you measuring the ambient air temps?

What is heating them?

I have been finding in helping locally ambient air temps are often off, even with correct surface temps snakes in low air temps seem to refuse. I have found that correcting air temps non feeders (IF Temps are the issue) start feeding again.

I am just looking at possible causes.

The other thing to keep in mind royals around the 1000 gm margin (give or take) often seem to stop feeding for a period of time. I don't know why but it often is around the point of sexual maturity, females seem to run a touch over 1000gm males at or under it. It is just an observation with no hard data to back it up I have a small sampling but this pattern holds for 8 of mine.

Ambient is heated by heat lamps on rheostats and maintained at a constant 80 by a thermostat with probe hanging in the middle.Measured by a thermometer at each end and in the middle (I had extras so threw them in). Hot spot is heat cable at 92 (basically a big uth) with thin layer of aspen. Sep thermostat of course.

She moves back and forth between hides every so often so seems to be able to thermoregulate ok. Doesnt roam. Occasionally comes out at night.

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Try live mice or ASFs first. I've always used live mice to jump start off feeders and they are all rat feeders. No problems going back to rats.

But honestly, being off feed is nothing abnormal for an adult. Most of my adults have been off feed since October as well. I'm not worried at all yet.

Tube feeding is stressful and could make things much worse. Its the absolute last resort. I wouldn't tube feed unless it was starving to death/emaciated.

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Cool that works. I personally would hold off on tube feeding until she looses more weight. It is an option I just think this is premature.

definitely going to hold off on the tube feeding for now. Will try mice for a few weeks and see what happens. Thanks to all for the advice.

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Personally, I would wait. I just had some of mine go back on food and they hadn't eaten since October either. I still have a female off of food who went off early that month and she only weighs 700 grams. But she's only lost about 100 grams this whole time. If it gets to looking dangerously thin, I'd at least attempt an assist feed before force feeding.

Now, I also have met breeders who don't allow their snakes to be off of food for more than a month and assist feed all the time. I sold one in particular a picky eater and he said it wouldn't be a problem. She refused food for him and he assist fed her the next week. She hasn't refused since. So I guess, at the end of the day, it's all about what you are comfortable with.

So she ate a f/t mouse this past week. Not getting my hopes up that she is going to start eating again. However any advice on how to proceed in case she is done with this strike.

Should I just feed a mouse for a few weeks? Or maybe multiple mice? Or just go right back to trying rats? She still wouldn't strike I just left it on overnight and it was gone in the AM.

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At her size, multiple mice, or a rat if she will eat it, should be fine. When we have an animal coming off a fast, we usually do one or two small meals then back to normal.