Forced feeding

[Kalitta]

I have a friend who raised african beauty snakes (that's what she called them atleast) and i was talking to her about Hadiya and how she isn't eating. I have a vet appointment for after payday on the first so i can get her checked. My friend was telling me that if hadiay doesn't take to rats or mice, I should force feed her. Take a small mouse that's been pre killed and force it down her throat. I don't like this concept, since the snakes jaw an throat are really delicate and have to stretch and do certain things in order to digest.

is there any reason to really force feed? Is it even safe to do? She's been trying to get me to let her force feed Hadiya, but other than not eating and the tick problem, she isn't loosing weight so I don't want to do anything without the vet's diagnosis.

[Freakie_frog]

Ticks are a sure fire sign that your snake is a Wild Caught animal. It takes loads of time sometimes to get a W/C animal to eat some never eat. Take her to the vet and then go from there.

P.S Force feeding is a traumatic stressful event for any snake but could only amplify your problem if your is a wild caught.

Force feeding is a last ditch effort and should never be done by an inexperienced keeper. I wouldn't even try it.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

As for force-feeding this should be done as a last resort when everything else has failed.

Can you tell us more about your BP and it's setting?

As your BP ever ate for you?

How long have you had your snake for?

How old is your BP?

How big is your BP (weight)?

What type of enclosure do you use?

How big is your enclosure?

Is your enclosure in a low traffic area?

What are your temps (cool & warm side)?

What is your humidity?

What type of thermometer/hygrometer do you use (dial,stick,or digital)?

What kind of hides do you provide (log, homemade, cubbyholes etc) and how many do you have?

Are your hides tight (all side touching your BP's body) and identical?

How often do you handle your BP?

Also often BP with ticks do have internal parasites so I would have a fecal done just in case!

[missi182]

This makes me sad. NO you or your friend should not force feed your snake, take her to the vet. It is very likely the ticks are causing a great level of stress on her so she is not interested in eating. If your husbandry is not correct, that would be another reason she may not eat. Some bp's fast for 6 months at a time, and owners still do not force feed. Once you are sure she is tick/mite free, and her enclosure is just right and the vet has confirmed she is healthy, then you can worry if she still doesn't eat.

You should be much more concerned about getting the tick problem cleaned up and checking and double checking that her temperature/humidity/cleanliness is spot on before you worry about cramming dinner down her throat. It just makes me sick whenever I hear someone being told to force feed. Good for you to ask questions and make sure you are following the right advice.

[Kalitta]

hadiya was W/C gravid. I made a mistake in not checking out all the information on her before buying her. After she laid her eggs she was suddenly covered in ticks. I've tried everything, and just got my shipment in for prevent a mite and will be doing that tonight. I don't have a weight on her yet, but she is big, nearly 5 feet long.

she is set up in a glass tank, three sides covered, water dish in the middle big enough for her to soak, hides on both sides (the only ones I have found she will even use are cardboard boxes turned upside down with a hole cut in it). Her hot side is at 90ish degrees, her cool side is 85ish. Humidity is 60%. She is on newspaper on the bottom as a recommendation to not give the ticks a place to hide. The top of the tank is covered with plexi glass except where the light is. She is in a low traffic area of the house, quarentined from the other snake I have.

I have a vet appointment on friday to take her in, I can't get a fecal sample because she won't poop for me

My friend has been telling me to force feed my snakes for a while. the one time my snake didn't eat for a month she was jumping on me to try. i wasn't comfortable with it, and i didn't let her. Bobo went back to eating normally after a month so i wasn't worried. Now she wants to force feed Hadiya and telling me i'm going to waste my money on the vet. I'd rather waste the money and have the vet tell me i'm paranoid than stress out an already unhappy snake.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Like I said force-feeding should be done when everything else has failed and the animal is losing a lot of weight or the animal's health is declining

If you bought a WC it might take a very long time before she ever eat for you, some do not adjust very well to captivity!

Get her seen by a vet take care of the ticks have a fecal done and take it from there.

Also since she is a WC I would recommend to provide her with maximum security and privacy and house her in a tinted plastic tub.

It might not appeal to you however for now the priority is to get her on track and a glass tank can definitely be another stress factor that you don't need with her right now!

Also did you wash her off when she laid her eggs!

Also remember if she has a good body weight she can go months without eating and do fine, I have a female over 2000 grams that has not ate in 112 days and she has barely lost 20 grams!

[missi182]

The tinted tub point would help for sure but you could just drape a towel over the front of the tank so all 4 sides are covered, and you can still peek You could even put some crumpled newspaper in with her to help add security to the tank, after you have done the PAM treatment of course. Thats usually done for young bp's, but it should work for her as well. I remember your post about the mites/ticks now, and its great you've got you husbandry right on!

Don't fret, the PAM should really help and if the mites/ticks do come back, don't worry sometimes it takes more than 1 treatment to really kill them off. Oh and just remember to follow the instructions on the can carefully and don't use it right on you bp. Perhaps you should tell your friend he/she needs more education about reptiles from the sounds of it!

[Kalitta]

After some of her advice, i don't even want to sell her a hatchling if I have some in the future years.

I don't have a problem with 'ugly' tubs if it will help her. I'm glad for this site and all the insite without the insults.

I gave her a small bath after she laid her eggs, cleaned out her tub really well, did everything I thought I was suppose to. than next day she had ticks.

i will keep you all updated on what the vet tells me friday.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

The tinted tub point would help for sure but you could just drape a towel over the front of the tank so all 4 sides are covered, and you can still peek

No actually it is not the same, the use of tub in this kind of circumstances is to provide an enclosure has tight as possible, with a low ceiling which cannot be provided with a tank no matter how much you cover it up or how much crumble newspaper you are adding to it!

I consider this kind of case a rehab and not only it is a rehab but a WC rehab which make it a bit more complicated, which is why security and privacy is essential.

[joepythons]

hadiya was W/C gravid. I made a mistake in not checking out all the information on her before buying her. After she laid her eggs she was suddenly covered in ticks. I've tried everything, and just got my shipment in for prevent a mite and will be doing that tonight. I don't have a weight on her yet, but she is big, nearly 5 feet long.

she is set up in a glass tank, three sides covered, water dish in the middle big enough for her to soak, hides on both sides (the only ones I have found she will even use are cardboard boxes turned upside down with a hole cut in it). Her hot side is at 90ish degrees, her cool side is 85ish. Humidity is 60%. She is on newspaper on the bottom as a recommendation to not give the ticks a place to hide. The top of the tank is covered with plexi glass except where the light is. She is in a low traffic area of the house, quarentined from the other snake I have.

I have a vet appointment on friday to take her in, I can't get a fecal sample because she won't poop for me

My friend has been telling me to force feed my snakes for a while. the one time my snake didn't eat for a month she was jumping on me to try. i wasn't comfortable with it, and i didn't let her. Bobo went back to eating normally after a month so i wasn't worried. Now she wants to force feed Hadiya and telling me i'm going to waste my money on the vet. I'd rather waste the money and have the vet tell me i'm paranoid than stress out an already unhappy snake.

Please inform your friend to come join our group so we can help her learn the proper ways to care for her snakes.If force fed incorrectly you can KILL the snake