Problem feeder

[keithc]

Hello everyone, I have trolled this site for yrs but never registered to post before but I have a question for everyone..I have been breeding BP's for about 4 yrs now and have hatched around 7 or 8 clutches total but I have never run into a hatch ling that wont eat until now.....I have tried every suggestion on this site that I have found but nothing works....I house my baby's in a hatch ling rack I ordered for Animal plastics and all my temps are correct but she just wont eat.....well today I tried something I'm not sure what the right idea or not but I was desperate because its been 2 months and its starting to lose weight..I mixed 3 parts chicken baby food 1 part raw egg and 1 part reptile calcium and a seringe with a plastic tube and run the tube down the throat a bit and gave it about 1 tablespoon of the mixture...it took it well I suppose, she moved it down her throat like it was a rat pup and seemed fine but I wanted to know if this was a safe last resort? Thanks so much for your time

[vegastoy]

Well I've never heard of the chicken/egg/etc. idea but I have heard of placing the food item in the hatching's mouth and allowing it to swallow it on it's own. Did you try this? Almost like force feeding but just the head of the mouse/rat. Best of luck! Joe

[keithc]

yes I attempted to place a dead rat fuzzy in the mouth, I tried hooking it on the row of teeth but she kept spitting it out...after about 3 or 4 times i quit trying...Im sure the Bp was stressed....I hate to even do any of this but Im worried she will die If I dont do something.

[Homegrownscales]

That's called an assist feed. In retro spect that's not half as invasive as an actual forcefeed. Now your forcefeed recipe I've never used but if anything I'd think a better shake to use would be just blending a bunch of pinkies or a rat pup with a little water. The one you used isn't the best option. The egg Is not a natural food item so it will probably give her the runs pretty badly. Baby food for any reptile is just an awful option. With an anorexic reptile a much better option is to just stick to the natural diet blended to make a shake or vets sell canned food called Science diet A/d formula. I've never used it on any of my snakes but I have used it with a few beardies/ other gecko rescues. Do you have any knowledgeable breeders around that know how to forcefeed? That is usually the most stressful procedure and not for the faint of heart and it is also the very last option sort of thing. This involved taking a smaller than normal food item and actually making them swallow it. It's very invasive, and it can hurt them if it's not done right so I would really like to stress that it should be done by a knowledgeable person. But I would also recommend double or even triple checking the tub she's in. Trying to give her a hide, and leaving her alone for at least 2 weeks. It sounds like you've tried alot and you may not be giving her enough time in between refusals and making the issue worse accidentally. Have you checked her feces for signs of possible parasites?


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[ptate]

Have you tried leaving a live fuzzy mouse in with the snake overnight. I know its a lot smaller than a fuzzy rat but sometimes you can get them to take a really small meal on their own.

[llovelace]

You can leave the eggs out of your recipe, I've used the chicken-calcium-water recipe to tube feed a peoblem feeder.

Welcome to BP.net

[cinderbird]

Is there a reason why you just won't force feed a pinky or rat pup? Ive had babies refuse assist feeding, (literally, all the way into the mouth and they will still manage to spit it out). They stop being able to spit it out if you move it all the way down to their stomachs. It's a slow process, just make sure the rodent is WELL lubed, water works perfectly. F/T only. I had one baby that needed 3 or 4 force feeds before she started taking food on her own.

Rodents come prepacked with no tubes involved.. That's the only logical reason I can think of to use a f/t rodent over a slurry.

[Boxerblue25]

Leave a pinkie overnight
That's what I did I have a hatchling that is about 3 months old that didn't wanted to eat I try force feeding it wouldn't swallow it so I left a live pinky rat overnight next day I check and the pinky wasn't there. Problem solve hopefully this works for u

[keithc]

Leave a pinkie overnight
That's what I did I have a hatchling that is about 3 months old that didn't wanted to eat I try force feeding it wouldn't swallow it so I left a live pinky rat overnight next day I check and the pinky wasn't there. Problem solve hopefully this works for u

I have tried that a few times...I have went over every trick i could find on these sites and cant seem to get anything to work....I have gotten some negative feedback on the tube feeding but she is starting to look better...have done it twice so far and its better than her dying, I have tried assist feeding her but she just spits them out. Id rather use the tube feeding then shove a pinky down her throat...Im afraid I would damage it...the tube just slips right in and they dont even wiggle all that much....Thanks again for all the help guys....Ill keep you updated....Im gonna wait a week or so then offer a fuzzy to her overnight