I Feel Horrible...

[Havalian]

So after Pythagoras not eating for many months (actually since October 14) we visited the vet.
He has gone without eating before and has always decided on his own when to start eating again but it has never lasted this long.
The vet recommended vitamin injections and a force feeding, and when she said that is what she would do if my snake were hers, I rolled with it. After the force feeding and the massaging to make sure he kept it down the vet tech even commented that his moving forward was a good sign and that if he were going to regurgitate he probably would have done it by now. I pay, I leave, drive home (roughly 20 minutes) and in the time I go open the doors (to the house and to his enclosure) and come back to take him inside I can see the dark stain on the pillowcase. I would say that at least most of the mush they pumped down his throat came back out and there was even a tiny bit of blood mixed in (very, very small hint of red).

I feel terrible that I subjected him to that and I feel even worse that it apparently was all for naught. Of course I'm not happy that I paid over $160 for them to make my snake vomit for the first time in his life either.

Does anyone have any experience with a snake regurgitating a force feed?

I just feel sick right now and there is no way I can do nothing until I call the vet tomorrow morning. I already called the emergency vet but they just said keep an eye on him unless he looks much the worse for wear.

[T&C Exotics]

I have never had a vet say force feeding was needed. With that said by you having him force fed and then the regurgitation you may have made matters worse. The only time to every force feed is if there is extreme weight loss. How much weight has he lost? Also you may want to find a new vet.

knowledge is earned not learned

[OsirisRa32]

I've had a snake that hasnt been eating since before that...BPs can go months off feed and be fine...

[myztic24]

Never had a vet say force feeding is fine either

Sent from my LG-LS970 using Tapatalk

[Havalian]

I have never had a vet say force feeding was needed. With that said by you having him force fed and then the regurgitation you may have made matters worse. The only time to every force feed is if there is extreme weight loss. How much weight has he lost? Also you may want to find a new vet.

knowledge is earned not learned

uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuughghh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The idea didn't sit particularly well with me but she was going on about getting the GI tract restarted because it had been so long and once she said that's what she would do if Pythagoras were her snake I deferred to her judgement.

Avian and Exotic Animal Care in Raleigh, NC.

She didn't say it was necessary, but she left zero doubt in my mind that she thought it was absolutely the best course of action. While there was definite weight loss I wouldn't call it drastic.

How much worse could this have made things?

I already feel torn up inside and like he's never going to trust me again.

EDIT: Also thank you for your reply

[T&C Exotics]

It could cause the hunger strike to last a lot longer. Do you have a scale to track his weight?

knowledge is earned not learned

[Montypython696]

I would find a good gram scale and start monitoring his weight, that way you know for sure how much weight he has lost.

My biggest went off feed right around the same time yours did, (10-25-13) and only recently started eating for me two weeks ago. In that time frame he only lost about 150 grams. Its completely normal for a ball python to go off feed for months, I'm pretty sure we have people on this forum who's snakes have gone 11-14 months without eating.

Personally unless you can notice a drastic change in behavior, and weight in the snake, there is no reason to force feed it anything. To be honest, by force feeding him you could prolong the hunger strike and just make matters worse for yourself.

[J.P.]

i'm not qualified to challenge the vet's call on forced feeding, but i find it unusual that the vet did not advise you to leave the snake with them until the food was digested. transporting a snake that has just eaten is a big no no, even if it fed on its own, even more so in your case since it was force fed.....

[Havalian]

I do not have a scale at the moment but it has been on my to do list for awhile now honestly. I've never really seen the need for one because even though he has done this before it has never lasted this long and weight loss has never been an issue for me. I wish I had exact figures now, believe me.

Any recommendations on a particular scale or place to obtain one?

Thank you everyone for your help as well as your candor.  I might never forgive myself if I really just allowed myself to be persuaded to prolong my snake's hunger strike. If he goes long enough he can start to experience liver damage can't he?

What do you guys suggest about blood work or other tests which I'd be willing to bet this vet will try to sell me?
Also, can anyone recommend a different vet? I've taken Pythagoras there before but this was the first time they performed anything other than a physical exam. I live in Durham, NC.

Anyone think I have a halfway decent shot at a refund? At least for the force feeding?

[Inarikins]

I have one (my first) that ate for the first 4 months I had him, packed on a good 400 grams, and has eaten only a handful of times since then (June 2012 was when he stopped!!). He's sitting at about 500 grams and has been that way for almost 2 years. He doesn't gain any weight or lose any weight and will occasionally eat but only occasionally. I took him to the vet for suspected worms last summer (definitely looked like there were parasites in his poop), but all tests came back negative, so I'm just waiting him out. I don't have access to african soft-furs and frankly feeding him gerbils would be idiotic because I know he'll get stuck. Since he isn't losing weight, I'm just waiting him out. He's still alert and not sluggish or looking sick at all, he just won't eat.

Good scales can be found at pretty much any store. You want a digital kitchen scale that weighs in grams (you don't need anything too hefty, I wouldn't bother with one that can handle much more than 10 pounds unless you get a good deal). Other than that, it's all up to choice.

I wouldn't bother with taking your snake back, though I would definintely talk to them about the regurge. First, force-feeding was unnecessary and may have just significantly prolonged the issue, and two, regurges cause major upheavals in the snake's digestive system.

Don't take the snake back. Give him a few weeks (two at least) to settle in, recover from the regurge, start offering slightly undersize live rats or mice (slightly thinner than the widest part of your snake). Offer once every two or three weeks and just be patient. Patience is the most important thing with snakes that aren't eating, especially ball pythons. They go off of strikes for apparently no reason.

Double-check your husbandry, give your snake time to settle in, and be patient. Don't force-feed again and monitor his weight. If he starts dropping weight rapidly, then something is wrong with his habitat or his health, but if it stays mostly the same, it's a self-induced fast and it should be waited out.