Ball python with a broken jaw 😢 Vet pushing to force feed 🤔

[Asasara]

Last weekend I took my 5 year old normal female in to the vet with a bump on her lower jaw. I had it x-rayed and it was determined that she had somehow broken it. She doesn't strike at her FT food and lives in a nice AP T8 enclosure with well monitored heat and humidity... the only thing I can guess is that she wedged her face in the crack of the sliding glass door too zealously or she had a hairline fracture from striking on food a long while back that finally broke completely. The vet can't figure it out either.

At any rate she is set to be splint-taped for the next 6 weeks, and I have no idea how well these things typically heal. In the meantime, my vet is telling me that she will need to come in for tube feeding every two weeks. She's 5ft and 1,900g... they're telling me that if she misses a meal it will put her at risk for liver disease. I allowed them to do one tube feeding and the tech told me she went limp during the procedure, so I cancelled the next feeding becaus I'd really rather they didn't kill my not-starving snake during a tube feeding. I don't mind parting with the $54 per visit if it's in her best interest to force feed, but I'm not into putting my girl through potentially deadly hell for no good reason. Her bloodwork came back normal, so she has a baseline of good overall health. Anyone know of any studies that support my vet's assertion?

[zina10]

Oy.

I hate to go against vet advice, because I'm not a vet and usually you should stick with what they say.

But personally, I would NOT allow force feeding such a big and other wise healthy Ball Python. They routinely go for many month without food in the wild. I know we aren't in the wild, but their metabolisms are set up to work that way.

6 weeks is nothing!

On the other hand, force feeding is extremely stressful. Bringing that animal in every time is extremely stressful for it. The change of temp, the rough handling, the tube feeding.

Is this vet any kind of reptile specialist at all ? This is just so wrong! Esp. with a broken jaw. Why would you manhandle this poor snake, force the jaw apart to insert that tube, all the while expecting that jaw to heal? I'd be afraid the snake may try to thrash and really do a number on its face

I think a second opinion is definitely in order. Or at least, decline the force feedings.

If it was true what that vet said, then all BP's in the wild and a good number of healthy captive ones would be dying from liver disease ..

[zina10]

This boy took a 8 month break from feeding last year.

He lost all of 145 grams or so, made that up within 2 feedings and that is what he looks like currently..

He is very healthy, strong and definitely not in liver failure !!

[Asasara]

My feelings exactly. I think my snake will be better off without the invasive procedure, and she often goes several weeks without feeding of her own volition... BECAUSE SHE'S A BALL PYTHON. I'm not afraid to say no to a vet if need be, but whatever I do I want to make a well informed decision as it's my duty as my snake's advocate to protect her. I simply cannot find a single online publication that supports a correlation between liver disease and a missed meal or two in a vibrantly healthy BP. Nada.

[Team Slytherin]

This boy took a 8 month break from feeding last year.

He lost all of 145 grams or so, made that up within 2 feedings and that is what he looks like currently..

He is very healthy, strong and definitely not in liver failure !!

Wow! What a big, beautiful boy!! And to the OP, I agree with Zina. I'm obviously not a vet, but I can't imagine the stress of force feeding being more beneficial to the poor girl than skipping a few meals. They can easily go months without food...especially at 5 feet and nearly 2,000 grams. My little Dumeril's regularly goes off feed for periods of 2 months or longer and she's barely 200 grams. She's perfectly healthy and never lost a gram from dieting. I'd save the poor girl the stress.

[WolfJob]

I'm going to have to agree with the 2 posters before me. I hate going against vet advise as well, but I don't see how this would be beneficial to your baby.

[Craiga 01453]

First off, sorry to hear of your snake's injury. Best wishes sent her way for a speedy recovery.

Is this vet an exotics specialist or does the vet just see exotics?

I'm no vet, but that seems like a lot of added work for you and, more importantly, extra stress on the snake. Again, I'm no vet, nor do I have any experience with an injury like that, so...

But anyway, good luck and keep us posted.

[CALM Pythons]

That would be my last Visit to that vet. The fact the Vet told you that healthy snake needs to be fed during a 6 week period shows they dont even know the basics. Red Flag PERIOD.


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[Cheesenugget]

That vet is comparing a cat's anatomy to a snake. Is he for real? Cats must eat once a day or risk developing fatty liver disease which slowly destroys the liver. That is a huge struggle most cat owners are familiar with. But compared to any other species, even my own hamster (Hamsters like to hoard their food. It is recommended to fast 1 day of the week so they will actually eat their food) they don't have that kind of risk, much less a reptile evolved to go without for months in the wild!

Even with exotic vets, many are terrible and inexperienced. I always call ahead, asks the office how many years of experience the vet has working with the species of pet I am bringing in. They always tell you, he or she has 30 years of experience when in fact he or she may have only dealt with ball pythons 20% of the time.

[Phillydubs]

Was your snake eating with the broken jaw? You said that it doesn’t strike. Does it just swallow frozen.

Or did it stop eating and thats how you knew something was up?

did they even show you the x ray??

again not to be repetitive but it truly sounds like tour vet doesn’t know anything about snakes and is going to make things worse instead of better.

Can you post post pics of the splint they put on? How will it drink?

i dunno this all seems weird to me and not to jump to conclusions but sounds like the vet isn’t up on things or just looking for a buck.