I took Bella to the vet.....

[Skiploder]

I think you should of been weighting the snake and if the snake was losing too much weight then a trip to the vet is the correct thing to do. but if the snake was decent size and wasn't losing weight, I think you panic and put your snake thru a stressful day at the vets. and if she was getting ready to go back on feed again. It might be longer now with the added stress. I had a snake that I had to give injections to, every time I came into my snake room that snake knew that shot was coming and went into a ball. she didn't do this before getting the shots and now many months later doesn't ball up when I enter the room. talk about stress, she didn't eat for a couple more months after the shots.

Ball pythons fast. Boas fast. Colubrids fast. In the case of balls, they can fast for a long, long time without any detrimental effects.

Unless the animal is showing signs of sickness, losing inordinate amounts of weight, etc, a trip to the vet to get a load of shot in the dark treatments will do nothing but stress the animal out even more.

..........and recommending a dose of metro/flagyl to stimulate appetite? Yeah, I know of several people who are proponents of this but have you considered that animals fast for a reason? These reasons can be as complex as environmental/security factors or as basic as the fact that most balls in captivity are eating way more than their counterparts in the wild.

Before going out and buying some flagyl ask yourself this? Are you artificially stimulating this snakes appetite because the snake needs to eat or because it will make you feel better if it's feeding again?

Why muck with her anymore? Make sure all of your husbandry parameters are correct, monitor his weight, add some crumpled up newspaper to her enclosure and let him de-stress from the vet visit. In a couple of weeks try feeding her again. In the meantime, just leave the animal alone.

[mechnut450]

hey sorry to here she noy eating but are you sure it a she i know some males refuse to eat during the breeding season. i know most of my snakes did not at from january till the last 2 weeks and i only breed 3 females but i know most stopped eating during this time..(prolly could of bred most the females i got )

[L.West]

Thanks everyone - all your advise has been appreciated.

Do any of you know the purpose of a B12 shot?? Just curious.

I just find the whole situation soooo aggravating - if you cant trust doctors/vets to give you good guidance - what does that leave those of us that don't know all about possible health issues.

I come to this forum for guidance all the time but even with that - people always say you can't trust everything you read online.

I just feel really confused on what is the right course of action. All I can do is take everyones advice into account and go with my gut instinct.

[cinderbird]

Thanks everyone - all your advise has been appreciated.

Do any of you know the purpose of a B12 shot?? Just curious.

I just find the whole situation soooo aggravating - if you cant trust doctors/vets to give you good guidance - what does that leave those of us that don't know all about possible health issues.

I come to this forum for guidance all the time but even with that - people always say you can't trust everything you read online.

I just feel really confused on what is the right course of action. All I can do is take everyones advice into account and go with my gut instinct.

I have a female that routinely only eats 3-5 months out of the year.

You need to go to an experienced specalist, or, what i do if im having a problem that can't be addressed is get advice from someone with experience. Sure, it does not come from a vet but as we've seen (and as far as I'm convinced) sometimes the person with the experience is more versed than the person with a fancy degree.

Once i get the info from the experienced person, i will THEN take it with me to the vet. If the vet is not giving me good advice or a course of action i get another vet. (like the vets that try to tell me that bps can be sexed just by looking at them, etc).

[WingedWolfPsion]

The purpose of the B-12 shot:

There's a common myth that getting a B-12 shot will stimulate the appetite. It has not been shown to do so in any clinical trials, but the myth persists.

Most vets feel it is better to do something than to do nothing. This is not always true, but it is how they feel.

A B-12 shot won't do any harm, and might be helpful if the snake has a B-12 deficiency for some reason.

[L.West]

The vet that I took her to has 25 years experience with reptile veterinary care and was the herp vet for a city zoo - I really thought I could go to him and trust his advise but after reading all these posts - I just don't know.

I have to say that this has been the worst $200 bucks I ever spent - I really went to the vet for piece of mind - well that didn't happen - I'm more confused now.

I keep teetering onthe fence as to whether or not to give her the shots or not - I have to make a final decision and go with it - she is due tomorrow for another shot - I really need to figure out how to go.

I have gotten such mixed responses from everyone - but from what I can tell the majority of you guys on this forum is to not give her the shots.

I called the vet today to discuss my concerns and as expected his actions were defended.

[cinderbird]

The vet that I took her to has 25 years experience with reptile veterinary care and was the herp vet for a city zoo - I really thought I could go to him and trust his advise but after reading all these posts - I just don't know.

I have to say that this has been the worst $200 bucks I ever spent - I really went to the vet for piece of mind - well that didn't happen - I'm more confused now.

I keep teetering onthe fence as to whether or not to give her the shots or not - I have to make a final decision and go with it - she is due tomorrow for another shot - I really need to figure out how to go.

I have gotten such mixed responses from everyone - but from what I can tell the majority of you guys on this forum is to not give her the shots.

I called the vet today to discuss my concerns and as expected his actions were defended.

25 years experience is pretty good, but the problem with a lot of vets is that they have experience with "reptiles" and not specific species. So addressing species-specific problems becomes another problem in itself.

Bps go off feed seasonally, but other species like beardies and corn snakes do not so when a vet sees that, they treat the problem like they would in any other species when it IS ACTUALLY a problem for those other species.

Im absolutely not saying this is whats going on, but it has been my experience.

[L.West]

Well, since I am running out of time before her next shot is due - I guess I will go with the majority rule here and not administer any more shots - she only got one from the doctor - he gave me like 10 shots to go home with - seemed extensive.

Her next meal will be an ASF - if she wont eat at that point I will hand her off to my breeder who offered to take her in and get her eating for me.

Thanks again for all the opinions and advice.

[angllady2]

Poor dear, you came here for reassurance and instead ended up with even more confusion.

Ok, let me start by saying, this is YOUR snake, YOUR baby, and if you were worried enough to feel a vet visit was in order, then it was, period! It doesn't matter in the slightest what he or she or they or I would have done, this is you and your snake. So yes, if you thought a trip to the vet was needed, it was.

Second, hearing and reading about how ball pythons always fast does not make it any easier when your baby is the one not eating, believe me, I know! No matter how many times you tell yourself it's normal, you still fret like a new parent every time they miss a feeding, or at least I do. The only advise I can offer you is this: It's a lot harder on us that it is on them.

Third, regardless if the antibiotics the vet gave you were needed, I'd finish the course anyway. Antibiotics are pretty safe to give, so you won't harm your snake by giving them, and who knows, it may just help. Like someone else said, better that than to end up with a resistant bug from NOT finishing them.

Fourth, good vets are hard to come by, whether for snakes, birds, what have you. And fancy degrees and titles have little to do with actual knowledge I'm sorry to say. I once had "Missouri's leading avian vet" strangle my pet bird to death. So there you are. I have found the best way to locate a good vet, is to ask fellow owners of animals I have who they use and why.

Lastly, know that your baby will eat in time. But in HER time, not yours. Keep trying once a week or every ten days. Vary what you offer. Go smaller, that sometimes works. If she used to eat rats, try a mouse. Go live if she eats F/T, or vice versa. Try a different color, that sometimes works. Try feeding at a different time of day. If she eats in her enclosure, try a feeding box, or leave her in her enclosure if you usually move her. Be patient, be persistent, and eventually she'll eat. Just keep telling yourself, "It's not the end of the world, it's not the end of the world. She's not going to starve, I know she won't, PLEASE EAT SOMETHING! It's not the end of the world......"

Gale

[L.West]

Thank you to Angllady2 - you obviously know exactly what I am going thru and picked up on how stressed I have been with all of this.

My only concern with giving her the shots is: will she become aggressive because she does not like to get the shots or is she not capable of such a thought process.

She has always been my most docile snake - my favorite snake and I don't want to ruin her personality.

Your thoughts on this??