Any assist feeding tips?

I have a female that hasn't eaten since january, in that time she laid a clutch of eggs. I wasn't too worried because she was gravid and a good size but I was expecting her to eat after she laid her eggs. The eggs are almost done incubating and she hasn't touched food yet. On top of that she is looking bad, the eggs took alot out of her.

I have decided I am going to attempt assist feeding soon, I know its frowned upon unless really necessary but I believe in this case it is necessary.

I get the basic idea but I am open to any suggestions/tips so I am not playing with trial and error. I would prefer to do it properly the first time to prevent any unnecessary stress. Feel free to PM me if you don't want to post the details here.

Thanks for any help you can give no matter how small or big.

Richard

I've only assist fed a few babies, I dont think ever an adult. I know with the babies, you need to make time for it because those suckers like to spit their food back atcha a few times. Then they will just sit there, with it in their mouth, fooooreever. And then this thing happens that I keep hearing about - instinct kicks in and they swallow their food!

So, I dont know if she will spit at you a few times, but be prepared that it might happen and to not give up right away. Obviously don't stress her out for hours trying to get her to eat it, but dont get discouraged too quickly either.

How is she housed, at what temps, hides(if any), did you wash her with soapy water as well as her tub after she laid eggs, what are you trying to feed her and how often?

If she's in a 41qt tub or a tank, try a 32qt tub. Get the temps up to 93-94 warm side and 83-84 cool side, normal humidity. Give her a hide if she doesn't have one already. Make sure you wash her if you haven't done so. A drop or two of Dawn or Palmolive in a dish washing pan with some lukewarm water works well. Make sure her tub and everything was well washed(actually washed, not just sprayed and wiped out).

If you're trying to give her larger rats, try a mouse or a rat pup. Something smaller and less intimidating may be what she needs.

Hi,

What was she eating before (mice/ rats... Live/ F/T)? - also try different types of prey.

Assist feeding a large ball python isn't going to be stress free for either of you even if everything goes as well as it can. :(

It might be an idea to have two people there.


dr del

She is in a 32qt tub, she has a snug hide (brand new one) I also gave her a brand new tub, she was washed down with dawn dish soap, I also put her in a different spot in a brand new rack to be sure no egg smells were missed.

She spends most of her time in the hide. My last feeding she actually looked like she was going to strike but got scared and darted away..

Warm side temps are 94 (belly heat) and cold side is at 80 in a heated snake room.

she was taking p/k and f/t med rats before she stopped eating.

I think i will try a live rat pup possibly scented with chicken broth for the next feed. It never occured to me to try tiny meals.

I have experince with trouble feeders but not this bad.

Richard

maybe time for an asf? :confused:

Give her a Mouse.

Thanks for all the suggestions and concerns!

I am afraid I am running out of time on this girl but I will try a few more attempts before I assist her. I would be heart broken if she didn't recover as she is one of the girls that started my collection and my first ever to produce eggs.

Does anyone have suggestions on how to get her mouth open for assist feeding? i guess thats probably going to be the hardest part.?

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Originally Posted by Somed00d

Thanks for all the suggestions and concerns!

I am afraid I am running out of time on this girl but I will try a few more attempts before I assist her. I would be heart broken if she didn't recover as she is one of the girls that started my collection and my first ever to produce eggs.

Does anyone have suggestions on how to get her mouth open for assist feeding? i guess thats probably going to be the hardest part.?

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Q-tip I've heard works the best. Good Luck! :salute:

I'm not suggesting that you should assist her before you try everything else but what I did when I assisted one female was that I killed a fuzzie rat and gently opend her mouth with the rats nose. I put the rat in her mouth and closed her jaws by gently pushing them together. Then I did just a little pull in the rat so it got stuck in her teeth and steped aside. She ate the rat and has been eatning every week since...

Good luck!

Get a pair of feeder tongs and make sure the item is dead and warm. Hold the snake behind the head to control her and put the food's head in her mouth. If she is hungry she will take it fast, all you have to do is let her go.

She can go for quite some time without a meal, regardless of how haggard she looks. As long as she's not stressed, she'll be fine. Stress is what will kill them.

Try a LIVE mouse or a LIVE rat pup. Just drop it in, turn off the light and move away. Try to leave her alone for about 30 minutes.

So, you want to force feed an adult snake that just doesn't want to eat? Just so she will recover so you can get more eggs out of her this fall? Ok, I'm playing devil's advocate and I'm sure you want the best for your snake. But if she doesn't want to eat, she doesn't want to eat. I have a girl that layed a month ago, ate once and hasn't eaten since. I have a male that hasn't eaten since March. I offer food, they don't want it. They don't live on a schedule - they will eat when they are hungry.

Balls can go months and months without eating. Females that incubate their eggs usually don't eat till the babies hatch anyway- if she hasn't lost a lot of weight let her go.

Now, saying that, I just assisted 2 babies tonight that hatched 7 weeks ago. I've tried everything I could think of to get them to eat. They were both 60-65gms when they hatched and they were both down to 50gm...

Just my 2 cents..... :)

Richard,

I have an assist feed female snake, but she is very young.

I tend to err on the side of letting her be till she starts eating.

Has she lost weight since she laid?

I know breeders that have imported adults from the wild that took 22 months (or longer) to get back on feed.

Also, has her clutch hatched, excuse me if I missed that detail...?

Some females will not eat till after their clutch hatches.

Bruce

SUCCESS!! Thanks for all the great suggestions, I put a rat pup in there with her and she took it! I didn't get to see her strike but I peaked in before I left the room and all I could see was a tail, i hope she killed it first. It is a small meal but it's a start. I am so glad i didn't have to assist feed.

Loftlizard, she has lost about 100g since she laid, she is looking very bad around 1200g, her eggs are on day 45.

JenH, thanks for your concern, I know your just playing devils advocate but it still feels like a kick to the groin. It's not about more eggs its about getting my girl back eating, i have seen rescues in better shape. I pulled her from breeding when she stopped eating because I thought she would be too small at 1600g, she produced 2 110g eggs, a boob egg that is probably not going to make it and a slug. If I could have stopped her from producing I would but I couldn't, she went ahead and laid eggs anyways.

Well I am going back to see if she will take another one..

Thanks for everyone's input.

Richard

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

That deserves some dancing nonsensical bananas!

Bruce

She took a second rat, this time it was a weaned rat she refused last feed. I saw her drop it and cruise around then go back and eat it. Hopefully that will lead to F/T next feed..

Here is a few more nonsensical bananas

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

Thanks for all the input and encouragement. In the end I did get some good tips on assist feeding too. I hope I won't need them however.

Richard

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Originally Posted by Somed00d

SUCCESS!!
JenH, thanks for your concern, I know your just playing devils advocate but it still feels like a kick to the groin. It's not about more eggs its about getting my girl back eating, i have seen rescues in better shape. I pulled her from breeding when she stopped eating because I thought she would be too small at 1600g, she produced 2 110g eggs, a boob egg that is probably not going to make it and a slug. If I could have stopped her from producing I would but I couldn't, she went ahead and laid eggs anyways.

Well I am going back to see if she will take another one..

Thanks for everyone's input.

Richard

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Sorry - that was pretty mean. I apologize - I know you were just worried.

I’m glad she ate for you!! They usually do right when you start freaking out becasue they haven’t eaten for 6-8 months!!

Jen

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Originally Posted by JenH

Sorry - that was pretty mean. I apologize - I know you were just worried.

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No problems, I was just trying to educate myself in case I had to assist feed. I have a few other girls off feed for just as long but I am not worried about those very healthy looking girls.

Richard

Glad to read she ate for you, Richard. We've always been told to make sure the first couple of feeds offered to a female after she lays her eggs are smaller than normal. Just something easy to hunt (we feed live) that will get her interested in eating again. So far it's worked really well for us. We do the washing up of the female and her enclosure, give her a few days and then offer a live rat pup/large fuzzy. Usually they snap it up pretty quickly and will take another. Then the next week we kick it up a notch to a bigger pup or two and so on until she's back full force eating and gaining back her weight. :)

We've assist fed hatchlings. I've never had to assist an adult. Usually we've found other ways to encourage their feeding response. I cannot imagine the stress assist feeding puts on a struggling adult snake so I'm always going to try and avoid that and look for other options.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JenH

So, you want to force feed an adult snake that just doesn't want to eat? Just so she will recover so you can get more eggs out of her this fall? Ok, I'm playing devil's advocate and I'm sure you want the best for your snake.

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Completly uncalled for. You know what they say about assumptions right?

Congrats on getting your snake to eat, and sorry you get accused of such harsh things, by thoughtless people.

Happy to hear she ate for you:gj:
I would continue to feed her live rodents untill she is back to normal. Then try to get her to eat FT again. The chance of refusal is much greater with FT as opposed to live.

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Originally Posted by Brimstone111888

Completly uncalled for. You know what they say about assumptions right?

Congrats on getting your snake to eat, and sorry you get accused of such harsh things, by thoughtless people.

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Pretty sure that she already apologized.