I'm new, and sorry for the long post. I'll try bolding the important bits.



I acquired a juvenile BP the day after Christmas (a gift from my husband; I'd been asking for one for a while). The pet store gave me the feeding chart indicating that they got her in late November. She refused 3 feeds before taking fuzzies the last two weeks before we purchased her. We brought her home 48 hours after her last feed and she was blue-eyed.

She had a beautiful shed about a week later; settled in nicely. She wasn't taking any meals, but we weren't concerned as she had just shed, it was a new environment, and it was winter. When she refused her 3rd meal, she measured out at 20in and 60g, which I knew was on the small side, but I wasn't sure about her exact age and she was very active. She was drinking, defecating and urinating on a regular basis.

Towards the end of February, she started acting more lethargic--hiding more, and acting limp and indifferent when being handled. She weighed out at 53g and was starting to look dehydrated. I immediately took her to the vet.

The reptile specialist walked me through everything that could be wrong. I had already tried everything I could to get her to eat. I adjusted her housing and heating, tried a few things that I hadn't done yet (feeding live, shoebox isolation, etc.). When she dropped down to 49g, the vet taught me how to tube feed her.

I fed her 1.5ml of reptile food nightly, as instructed by my vet. My baby gained weight steadily, jumping back up to 60g within a week. Pooping, peeing, drinking, heat-regulating. By her 8th feeding or so, it was hard to get the tube in because she was so active. The tube doesn't seem to bother her at all, and she's back to her active self as soon as the tube is out. She's never been a snapper/striker, which is now starting to concern me (for feeding purposes). I called the office and the tech (not the vet) told me to try fasting for a few days and then introducing solid food. She dropped weight so rapidly before, I really am scared of fasting her again.

Nagini was on f/t fuzzy mice at the pet store. I dropped down to pinkies, but she's acting indifferent, if not scared of them. I've tried both live and f/t. This is my first BP. She's gotta be at least 5 months old. Isn't 60g still really low for 20in? What should her target weight be?

I'm wanting a second opinion on how to feed her (my vet is out of the office until Tuesday). I'm really worried about the fasting and want to continue with the tube until she's at a healthy weight--but I'm concerned that she'll either get stressed out by or dependent on the tube feeding. How long can she be tube-feed before it's just a helpless cycle?

I've been thinking to maybe try force-feeding solid food. She is surprisingly tolerant of having her jaw forced open--has never once tried to tag me. I picked up some frozen pinkies tonight. I offered her a fuzzy last night (I originally offered it live a week ago, then froze it and offered thawed). One of her hides is an upturned bowl with the bottom cut out of it. She doesn't have a problem getting in and out of it. Dropped her and the mouse in this hide overnight in the darkest room in the house. Woke up to a very stinky cage and an indifferent snake, both still in the hide.

Next Steps?

60g today; last meal 48 hours ago. Weight held. Urination regular.
Last meal offered 24 hours ago, f/t fuzzy, isolated overnight.
When should I (try to) feed her next?
How long should I continue to force feed?
At what weight should I consider her healthy?

My vet will be back in the office on Tuesday, just wanted some other opinions.