Hatchling going south

[Jay_Bunny]

I wasn't able to take him out there today for the pump feeding (meeting at work, ugh!) but I'm taking him out there tomorrow after work.

When I tried the tube feeding a while back we had the tube in about an inch (we hit resistance and figured it was him bending himself) and pumped egg yolk. Some of it came back up and I saw that some was sitting in his throat. I ran my thumb down his throat to move the egg down and I felt it move as if it couldn't go down and it felt bubbly. My mother in law said it might be that his digestive tract won't allow anything to pass down and he may never be able to eat. It almost seems like his digestive tract just stops at that last kink. The kink doesn't seem all that bad and doesn't feel that bad, but that is where the food stops, both the pink and the egg, so we shall see. If he can't eat, he can't eat.

He's never left a urate or a poop, so I'm really starting to lean towards the idea that his digestive tract is underdeveloped.

[J.Vandegrift]

I wasn't able to take him out there today for the pump feeding (meeting at work, ugh!) but I'm taking him out there tomorrow after work.

When I tried the tube feeding a while back we had the tube in about an inch (we hit resistance and figured it was him bending himself) and pumped egg yolk. Some of it came back up and I saw that some was sitting in his throat. I ran my thumb down his throat to move the egg down and I felt it move as if it couldn't go down and it felt bubbly. My mother in law said it might be that his digestive tract won't allow anything to pass down and he may never be able to eat. It almost seems like his digestive tract just stops at that last kink. The kink doesn't seem all that bad and doesn't feel that bad, but that is where the food stops, both the pink and the egg, so we shall see. If he can't eat, he can't eat.

He's never left a urate or a poop, so I'm really starting to lean towards the idea that his digestive tract is underdeveloped.

Yea, with what you have said about him getting dehydrated I think his chances of survival are very slim. I have a friend that had incubation problems with a clutch last year. Had a bunch of kinked babies and one by one they would get dehydrated like you described and they all eventually died off. Even the ones that were feeding.

[Jay_Bunny]

He is staying hydrated as long as I change his water 1-2 times a day and mist him twice daily, so we shall see how things go. This is his last chance. It will be horrible if I have to have him put down but I will if I need to end his suffering. I'm crossing my fingers that this season will be better. I don't think I had any incubation problems so I'm lost as to what caused all these problems.

[Blue Apple Herps]

I hope that maybe he will pull through for you.

Unfortunately, just not all of them are meant to make it.

[Jay_Bunny]

And I understand that. Still want to give him a chance though. I'm leaving now with him. If they find that his digestive tract isn't fully developed or he has no ability to swallow his food, then I will make plans to have him put down.