Syringe Feeding....

Well, I'm doing something I never thought I'd have to do with any snake. I have a baby female ball (Jasmine) that is refusing to feed no matter all the tricks I've tried. She's severely underweight and going downhill. You can see her backbone. I talked to the vet yesterday and he's the best snake vet here in town. He has me syringe feeding her every 24 to 48 hours a mixture of 1 jar chicken baby food, 1 jar pedialyte, 1/4tsp. veg. oil, and 1 crushed up tums tablet (all mixed together). I gave her 3 cc this afternoon and she did perk up and act better somewhat. Gonna do it again tomorrow nite. I've had her for 18 days. Poor thing. Her eyes aren't sunken in but she has started to get a little weak and just refuses anything we give her. I could also give her a 50/50 mix of Hill's a/d for dogs/cats and pedialyte mixture if I wanted to. So, it's just one day at a time with her for now. Anyone else ever had to do this? She's so good about it. Actually seems to like it.

i had to tube feed a hatchling once. my vet recommended straight hill's a/d diet mixed with a little water for proper consistency. my girl was drinking plenty of water, so not dehydrated, but she refused food from the start and nothing we tried worked.

i'd definitely only recommend tube feeding as a very last resort, and only when the animal is under the care of a qualified herp vet. it is quite stressful for the animal, but sometimes it is the only way to get nutrition into them. i'd also recommend a fecal and possibly other testing as recommended by your vet in order to rule out any underlying problems that may be causing her issues.

He says he doesn't think she is "sick" just not settling in. He says the captive hatched animals are like this alot of times and that the ball pythons just tend to be difficult anyways. I have 3 ball pythons all together. Another female that is a baby too and then an adult male and my 2 burmese pythons. I'm doing everything he is telling me to do for her.

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Originally Posted by JenHarmon

I have 3 ball pythons all together.

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Well its no surprise your snake isn't eating. 1 snake per enclosure. Bottom line, your Ball is stressed out. What size tank do you have all these snakes in? And am I correct in seeing that you have 3 Balls and a 2 Burms together!?

EDIT: Now that I read it again, you might have meant that you have 5 snakes in total, not in the same enclosure. Regardless, read my next post for some tips.

Put the hatchling in a shoebox size tub with a small tight hide and a water bowl. Then put in crumpled up newspaper to fill it in a bit. Put her in a quiet, warm area. Leave her alone except during feedings.

Sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like that. No, all my snakes are in thier own cages. My malnourished baby ball is in a 10 gal. tank with a screen top and I am keeping close watch on her temps/humidity. My other baby ball is in a 20 gal. These are temporary until we have them out of quarantine and can put them in our built cages. My male adult ball is in a 30 gal size enclosure. My burms are each in their own as well....each in an enclosure around 9 feet long. They are all housed properly. temps and humidity correct. My other female is feeding every week and is blue eyed right now to get ready to shed. The tiny baby's 10 gal. tank has 2 hides a water dish and has black construction paper wrapped around the outside of it. The vet had me do that to try to encourage her feeding. She has no feed response at all. We've tried all kinds of prey...live, p/k, f/t....no go. She won't even "notice" it. No defensive rolling up or anything. Just completely ignores it. We've tried all sorts of "tricks". Nothing. Now the vet feels we can't do anything else but do the syringe feeding which she doesn't seem to mind very much. He feels if we wait any longer for her to feed, she will die. So, that's what I'm doing is what he's told me.

i'd go ahead and try the balls of paper trick in her cage regardless. if nothing else it will make her feel more secure and more likely to eat on her own once she regains some strength from the tube feeding.

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Originally Posted by mlededee

i'd go ahead and try the balls of paper trick in her cage regardless. if nothing else it will make her feel more secure and more likely to eat on her own once she regains some strength from the tube feeding.

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:rockon:

awww..... poor baby! good luck with her!

I donno but did you try and leave the pinky in her hide where she is? Also try and not provide her with any daytime lights. Keep temps at normal degree, and cover tank with towel for a couple of days. I would leave the pinky in her hide for about a day an a couple of hours.

Also when she start feeding again, try and get her a new enclosure. Try a 12qt Tub heated with flexwatt. Tubs are great for Bps, they hold humidity and provide the snake with plenty of cover from the plastic blurry walls. The tub is small and the Baby will feel safe in a tight space as a 12qt. As it grows and starts feeding on small mice I suggest switching her back to the 10 gallon.

IF THIS DOESNT WORK CONTINUE ON WITH THE TUBE FEEDING, THAT'LL BE YOUR ONLY CHANCE. WHAT YOUR GOING THROUGH IS COMPLETLY NORMAL. BABIES ARE STUBBORN AND SKINNY AND WE TEND TO WORRY DUE TO THERE SIZE. I KNOW SHE'LL BE FINE. GOODLUCK :D

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Originally Posted by crisstyle21

WHAT YOUR GOING THROUGH IS COMPLETLY NORMAL. BABIES ARE STUBBORN AND SKINNY AND WE TEND TO WORRY DUE TO THERE SIZE. I KNOW SHE'LL BE FINE. GOODLUCK :D

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it isn't normal to have to tube feed a hatchling. it is normal for them to start eating on their own, even if it takes multiple attempts and methods. if the snake is too weak from malnourishment then a herp vet may recommend tube feeding as a last resort option, but it is in no way normal.

there is also no way for any of us to say that this particular snake will be fine, especially with the very limited knowledge we have of the situation. there are many reasons why she may not be feeding and sometimes it's just not something we can remedy. i'm not saying that i feel that this is the case here, just that only the qualified herp vet that is treating this snake in person can really be the judge of whether or not this situation is or isn't likely to be resolved.

there is also no way for any of us to say that this particular snake will be fine, especially with the very limited knowledge we have of the situation. there are many reasons why she may not be feeding and sometimes it's just not something we can remedy. i'm not saying that i feel that this is the case here, just that only the qualified herp vet that is treating this snake in person can really be the judge of whether or not this situation is or isn't likely to be resolved.[/QUOTE]

Yes I totaly agree, A qualified herp vet should take full control over this, But many hatchling Bps tend not to feed due to many promblems in there living quarters. There born with a wild mind and want to be free not captive. The keeper has to treat this snake as if it came out straight out of the wild and giving it differ attention than the captive Bps.

I agree take the steps as followed by the Vet. But after that try and convert the Bp to a smaller enclosure and let the baby get used to its surrondings. So that means no picking up for atleast a week and let the baby be. Just check in once in a while and for regular cleanings and safety.

Hey Jen!
I had to go through tube feeding with the first snake we owned. At first, she was so weak that it was easy, but once she gained strength....oh boy! She learned to fight that tube so well, I still have A/D squirts on the wall in the snake room. It wasn't long after that point that she started eating, and today, just over a year later, she is nice and healthy.

that's great sarah! it really is amazing how they can turn around once they regain some strength isn't it? when you said "a/d squirts" it suddenly brought back memories of the runny a/d poo that a snake has after you tube feed it... man that stuff reeks! :O

Haha, Emily, you are so right! I think I had blocked that from my mind until just now! :lmao:

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Originally Posted by crisstyle21

There born with a wild mind and want to be free not captive. The keeper has to treat this snake as if it came out straight out of the wild and giving it differ attention than the captive Bps.

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Umm..What?

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There born with a wild mind and want to be free not captive.

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What in the world does that mean? Snakes are not hatched with "a wild mind" verus a captive mind, whether they are hatched in my back bedroom, in a snake farm in Ghana or in a termite mound. Snakes are hatched across the board with instincts put there by nature and eons of the evolutionary process at work. Do you honestly believe that the relatively short time snakes have been bred captively has made one smidge of difference to how their "minds" work. Give me a break.

Well, we have tried ALOT of advice with this particular snake. She won't feed on her own no matter what we have tried. I wanted to make that clear. It's not like this is the first snake I have ever owned. I do have a very qualified herp vet helping me with this snake. He said that if we do NOT syringe feed her that she WILL die. She has no feeding response what so ever. No matter what we have tried to feed her or how we have tried to feed her. He has assured me that my temps and humidity is correct and that I should NOT move her into another inclosure as it will stress her out more and we don't need that right now. We are to continue the syringe feeding until we get her going again..if we do. There are not any guarantees that she will live through this. She is in critical condition from what he has said. He said I could take her up to his clinic and THEY would do what I'm doing so I wouldn't have to but it would cost some big bucks. SO, since I KNOW how to do this per his instructions and she has been at my house in her own cage since she got here, he says she is less likely stressed out where I have her. I have her cage kept the way he told me to do and we will take it one day at a time. She doesn't use any of her hides that i have provided. She'd rather lay by her water bowl or behind her hides or under the newspaper. She's kept where there is very minimal activity. The only time I am handling her is when I syringe feed her. I don't have to handle her to do her water. Her cage is kept clean. Thank you to all who have replied and given advice but I am going with what my vet is having me do. He said that next Monday when it's feeding day for all my snakes, to offer her something. He says hopefully she will be energized more and ready for it.

good luck with her jen. when i had to tube feed my girl it took a while, but her feeding response finally did kick in, and after that she never missed a meal. sadly she had some other problems beyond the feeding issues and didn't make it, but just know that this can and may very well work for your snake and bring her around to start feeding on her own. every once in a while a snake is a slow starter for whatever reason and just needs a little help. :)

just curious... how much did she weigh when you started to tube feed? i have a girl i got almost 4 weeks ago, she was 60 grams. now she is down to 48. i have tried the things everyone has suggested in this thread and multiple not eating threads. i was just wondering how much you girl lost before you took her to the vet. if my girl doesn't eat her next feeding day, thursday, i will get her to a vet.

I sent you a PM

i just wanted to tell ya that i finally got my lil girl jovie to eat. i had to drive a good 30 mins but i got two live pinky/fuzzy size mice for her. when i got home i introduced the two and left them alone, but nothing happened for a good 10 mins. so i picked up the pinky with my tongs and it squecked, which got her attention and 2 seconds later, BAM! SHE TOOK IT. checked on him 30 mins later and she was looking for another, which i gladly gave her.

I am sooooooooooo relived now.

squeaked...

i didn't realize pinkies can make noise. this was only the second time i ever feed live, so i really didn't know what to expect.

Oh good! Glad she ate for ya. Still waiting on mine to eat. She still don't want to. But, we are leaving her alone for 2 weeks and then try to feed.