Seriously underweight baby BP won’t eat

[Bogertophis]

I suppose it's because the only time I've actually seen a royal tube fed, it did very poorly. The vet was the only vet within 100 miles who would see the little guy. I didn't tube it myself, but the person who was had a hard time with it. Snake ended up worse off in the end, regurge and sloughed skin.
I only saw the tail end of it as I was just coming off a medical leave. I guess that's probably where the aversion comes from.


I've heard that it can work wonders with colubrids instead of assist feeding. I've just had some really good luck getting my BPs going with assist feeds I suppose? Just pop the food in the mouth and leave...

I would love to know your process! Just in case I ever end up with one of these crazy rescues. The only recent one I got is an easy one, a pet only noodle with a small neck kink.

I do understand. Please consider that when you do this with a snake, it's a "give & take" when the snake resists. Over-restraint is often the biggest problem- it makes the snake panic that much more, so be as gentle as you can, & take a short break if you need to, to calm you both, lol. In my experience, some vets tend to hurry things & are heavy-handed with snakes- they're used to restraining bigger animals & sick of getting bit, I'm sure, but with snakes, a little patience is reassuring & goes a long way. Any time I've tube-fed a snake, it's always been just me & the snake, & I've always managed to get it done, & it always stays down. I never get bit either. I've only got 2 hands (I promise!) so one hand is gently encircling the snake's head, & the other has the tubing/syringe, ready to go & prepped as described in my write-up. Tube-feeding is also best done at home- travel to a vet's office is stressful, & with the travel you can end up with a regurge by the time you'd get home- making the whole thing pointless.

BTW, I had already just pm'd you my instructions for tube-feeding, lol.

[Bellybelly]

I’ll be damned… this little bugger is not only alive, but made it out of the bowl and is wandering around the tank like he hasn’t got a care in the world

I noticed pepper moved into his warm hide, so he’s alive at least, but the mouse ran right inside and climbed over him and out and he didn’t show the least bit of interest I wasn’t able to find any tube feeding supplies at any local pet stores - there’s a reptile specialty store but it’s about an hour away and I won’t be able to get there tonight - the guy I talked to on the phone tried really hard to talk me out of trying to tube feed anyway, and do assist feed, but supplies are already on their way so. Still gonna go with the best advice I’ve gotten from here

Do I leave the mouse in there in case pepper wants to go for it, then, or is having that thing running around just going to cause more stress?


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[Bellybelly]

the guy I talked to on the phone tried really hard to talk me out of trying to tube feed anyway, and do assist feed, but supplies are already on their way so. Still gonna go with the best advice I’ve gotten from here


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I should add, that guy WAS the owner of the store, and offered to teach me how to assist feed because he happens to have a hatchling he’s doing that with now, so I might go up there anyway just because that would be good to learn


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[Bogertophis]

It's up to you (assist feed), but I wouldn't leave that mouse in with the snake- yes, stress. Also, in my tube-feed instructions I gave you a link for where to get the supplies (hint- The Bean Farm, online) Or check with Reptile Basics -they may carry them too, not sure.

[Bellybelly]

It's up to you (assist feed), but I wouldn't leave that mouse in with the snake- yes, stress. Also, in my tube-feed instructions I gave you a link for where to get the supplies (hint- The Bean Farm, online) Or check with Reptile Basics -they may carry them too, not sure.

I am still going to try the tube feeding, I have the stuff I ordered coming in tomorrow, I just wanted to see if there was anywhere I could get it and have it tonight.


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[Bellybelly]

Guys, I think he ate the mouse???! I came home from work and went to get it out of his tank and it’s gone! Last thing I wanted to do was bother him by rooting around in his tank but I removed everything from the tank (very slowly and one thing at a time) except for the hide he’s in right now and it is not there. I looked in his hide to see if it was in there wish him and nope, just my boy. (It’s a plastic half log shaped thing with both ends covered by leaves, so moving the e leaves aside I could see in there pretty clearly, I didn’t life or move the actual hide.) he even stuck his head out, got in a pose, and snipped at my hand when I got a little too close. I was certainly not about to move or handle him to see if there’s a lump in his belly, with a mouse that small I’m not sure it would even show.

So… now what??? I’m almost certain the mouse is gone, but I can’t be 100% sure without removing all the substrate (I don’t think it could have burrowed into it and I didn’t see any disturbed areas but I’m no expert on what baby mice can or can’t do)


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[Bogertophis]

That's a good sign that he snipped at your hand- so maybe he did? Can't rule out the mouse burrowing though, or his attitude being just annoyance with the mouse, so I'd have to do a thorough search. If it's really gone, you might wait a few days (4-5) & offer another if you want?

[Bogertophis]

I would just caution you, I know how badly you want to see him gain weight- heck, we ALL want to see that- but don't try to push food too fast or upsize too quickly for his digestion- just easy does it, whatever way he eats...as long as he's taking in food, live or liquid, whatever works.

[Bellybelly]

That's a good sign that he snipped at your hand- so maybe he did? Can't rule out the mouse burrowing though, or his attitude being just annoyance with the mouse, so I'd have to do a thorough search. If it's really gone, you might wait a few days (4-5) & offer another if you want?

As much as I really don’t want to disturb him AT ALL, I do need to be sure whether it’s really gone or not, so I’m going to do another search in the morning, because if he didn’t eat it after all, I’m going to try the tube feeding tomorrow. I don’t want to get my hopes up too much about it, I was so excited when I checked on him earlier today and saw the bowl was empty until I realized the little guy had gotten out and was wandering around

If he ate it, I’ll definitely give him a few days before offering up again, but if he eats even one mouse and then goes on refusing that’s at least something, and I have the tube feeding stuff as a backup. At this point I’m not even concerned with putting weight on, I just want to keep him alive and get him some nutrients!


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[Bellybelly]

Well, I checked everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE a mouse could possibly hide out in Pepper’s tank, and I definitely can’t find it. And I don’t smell any stinky-dead-mouse-in-a-hot-box-smell, either I dug pretty thoroughly through the bedding except for where he’s hiding (same place as yesterday) so literally the only place it could be is buried underneath him where he’s laying, so I feel pretty confident that he ate it! I’m going to completely leave him be now, just keep doing temp/humidity checks to make sure he’s comfy, and then I’ll offer another live one on Friday night and see where that gets me.


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