I took Bella to the vet.....

[L.West]

After nearly 7 months of not eating - I took her to a reputable Reptile Vet in Toledo Ohio.

The vet said she looked really healthy but was concerned with the amount of time that has passed since she last ate.

I had no record of her pooping since her last meal back in Dec. '09 so he did an enema to ensure she was not constipated - nothing came out though.

He gave her a shot of B12, and also put her on an injection of Fortaz every 3 days (not completely sure why) I think it was a preventative antibiotic just in case something was brewing.

They also fed her with a tube to get some nutrients in her.

So, in the end I didn't leave there with a reason for her not eating. I felt sooo bad putting her thru all that but I didn't know what else to do - she was soooo good thru it all.

She is home resting now. I was told to wait 10 days and then try to feed her a rat to see if she would start eating.

Can anyone tell me if what I have written about her visit sounds like the vet was on the right track.

Thanks everyone.

[BPelizabeth]

Well it sounds like due to nothing coming out with the enima...they were unable to do a proper fecal and thus check for parasite overload.

Have you tried switching back to mice...live...asfs...etc.? I am sure you have...just wanted to put that out there.

[L.West]

Hi Bpelizabeth, You are correct - we had hoped to get some poop to check it out but were unsuccessful.

I have tried f/t mice, f/t rats, live rat but am just now getting ready to offer her a f/t ASF - is that what you would reccommend.

Thanks

[J.Vandegrift]

I think everything they did was probably not needed. 7 months is not all that long to be off food.

How old is the snake? CB or import? Cage temps? What are you feeding her?

If it were me, I would throw a live gerbil in with her. They are rarely turned down. An african soft fur may work as well, but nothing works better than a gerbil in my experience. She is probably going to need live to knock her out of the fast. Usually once they take one meal you can go back to rats and they will get back to eating regularly. Good luck.

[L.West]

pfan151 - I kinda wondered that myself and probably just wasted alot of money but I was worried and wanted reassurance that she was okay.

She is 3 years old - and this is the first fast that has lasted this long. Her temps are 91 hot side - 81 cool side with 55/60% humidty. She is housed in an RBI Plastics cage with two identical hides - heated with an RHP controlled by a helix.

I am going to try an ASF at her next feeding - I pray that will work.

[CoolioTiffany]

Sounds like everything is spot on.

I've read that Ball pythons can refuse food for no appearant reason, they just do it no matter how accurate everything is.

[L.West]

It is soooo frustrating to sit by and watch them miss their feedings. I just didn't know what else to do.

I just hope that the vet visit didn't hurt her in any way.

[Twisted Reptiles]

I'm with pfan here, sounds like a lot of unnecessary treatment on the part of the vet. 7 months is not that long to fast, especially during this time of the year. Based on your description of the vets diagnosis, I'm not sure I see any reason to be giving that snake Fortaz. Sounds like they are either just trying to get as much money as possible or the less innocent explanation being they just didn't know and were taking a shot in the dark.

Tube feeding? I would have opted against it. You're trying to get this snake to eat. It didn't sound like it was in dire circumstance, this in my opinion is probably counter productive to your cause. Tube feeding is very stressful and I doubt it would entice your snake to eat in another 10 days. I'll be more than happy to be wrong though.

Glad you went the extra mile and took your snake to the vet, always good to err on the side of caution, it just sounds like maybe the vet was a little gung-ho in the course of treatment. Hope everything works out well for your BP though, which I'm sure it will. In the end, that is all that really matters.

[Danounet]

I have read that some antibiotics have a secondary effect of getting snakes back on feeding. I'm not sure about Fortaz though. I hope it works!

[L.West]

Geez guys, I am really hesitant to go thru with the Fortaz injections - if they are not necessary I don't want to give them - I really need some help here.

I spent $200 bucks on this vet visit and feel like I got no where. And to think that I may have even done more damage to my snake - I really feel awful now.

He did suggest I bring her back for more tube feeding but I had already decided I wasn't going to do that.

I guess the main thing I need to know at this point is - should I give her these injections every "3" days??? Someone knowledgeable, please advise.