Disabled Snake

[Ax01]

let's take a step back and look at the anatomy of a snake:

she should be able to eat fine unless she has a deformity like a kink in her neck or body that would prevent her from swallowing or passing prey or if she has a shark mouth, etc.

the issue is her locating or recognizing prey/food. it seems her short tongue is preventing her from gathering info on her surroundings. snakes use their tongues to gather scents which they feed to their jacob's organ. w/ her short tongue, she cannot flick it to gather enough scents and info esp. on her prey/food item.

but BP's have an evolutionary characteristic that helps them locate prey in another way - using their heat pits to locate prey/food via heat signature. is this enough for your BP locate it's food? i dunno but i hope so.

i haven't read your other thread and so i have to ask about her enclosure and husbandry. is everything fine in this department? could she just be an off feed bb? she had to have reached 104grams somehow. i would try Deb's method for a troubled feeder bb to the T: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-hatchling-101

good luck and keep us updated.

<3

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Back story is Mia, a snake we purchased at Petsmart (i know i know) having issues eating. Has not eaten one time in the month we've had her and losing a little weight. She is 102g.

So she has feeding issues since she has been in your care, how was she feeding prior? Obviously if when is 6 months old and 100+ grams while small she is feeding.

IMO your issue is not the snake but the husbandry, the first thing I would do is follow the link AX posted to a T and I mean to a T and see what happens over the next few weeks.

A tongue issue will not prevent a snake to eat it's food, Not sure what kind of hands on experience that vet has but right now I would not listen to any of his suggestion.

What kind of setup is she in? Size,temps,type of thermometers, hides (are they snug?)

[Phillydubs]

I don’t remember what ske your enclosure is? Are all the sides covered ?

are you offering food late at night ? If she’s very active at night or hunting which most so that’s when you will want to do it.

i agree w the other poster get a smaller mouse that can be trusted left over night and leave it later on when she’s due to roam. Turn all lights off. She could just be scared and stressed.

Id also do as suggested above maybe she jsit needs a small tight tub to get the basics down and not be so worried about what’s around her when she can’t really sense anything but heat.

[Maybeka]

let's take a step back and look at the anatomy of a snake:

she should be able to eat fine unless she has a deformity like a kink in her neck or body that would prevent her from swallowing or passing prey or if she has a shark mouth, etc.

the issue is her locating or recognizing prey/food. it seems her short tongue is preventing her from gathering info on her surroundings. snakes use their tongues to gather scents which they feed to their jacob's organ. w/ her short tongue, she cannot flick it to gather enough scents and info esp. on her prey/food item.

but BP's have an evolutionary characteristic that helps them locate prey in another way - using their heat pits to locate prey/food via heat signature. is this enough for your BP locate it's food? i dunno but i hope so.

i haven't read your other thread and so i have to ask about her enclosure and husbandry. is everything fine in this department? could she just be an off feed bb? she had to have reached 104grams somehow. i would try Deb's method for a troubled feeder bb to the T: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-hatchling-101

good luck and keep us updated.

<3

We had a LOT of help from another poster on here getting her set up set up.

My son has a Ceramic Heat lamp on a thermostat on one side, keeping her enclosures warm side at about 88.
Cool side stays around 77/78.
He has a humidity gauge...Humidity can be an issue as it goes up and down from 45 to 55. (my son is looking at humidifiers? or making his own)
He has one of those hand held infrared thermometers.

He has a hide on each side that are identical, water dish and a climbing branch (that she LOVES).
Aspen bedding for the bedding.

Vet did say she was somehow eating somewhere (obviously prior to my son purchasing her) because if not she would not be here. But we do not know if Petsmart was assist feeding her as they had mentioned that they have done that to other snakes before.

[Maybeka]

So she has feeding issues since she has been in your care, how was she feeding prior? Obviously if when is 6 months old and 100+ grams while small she is feeding.

IMO your issue is not the snake but the husbandry, the first thing I would do is follow the link AX posted to a T and I mean to a T and see what happens over the next few weeks.

A tongue issue will not prevent a snake to eat it's food, Not sure what kind of hands on experience that vet has but right now I would not listen to any of his suggestion.

What kind of setup is she in? Size,temps,type of thermometers, hides (are they snug?)

The vet we use has been a Herp vet for 30 yrs. He is the one we trust completely with our Bearded Dragon and our Sulcata Tortoises.

As for feeding prior to my son purchasing her, we don't know. The Petsmart person said that they have assist fed snakes before so we do not know if she was being assist fed also.

The breeder my son met that came over said our enclosure did look really good.

- - - Updated - - -

I don’t remember what ske your enclosure is? Are all the sides covered ?

are you offering food late at night ? If she’s very active at night or hunting which most so that’s when you will want to do it.

i agree w the other poster get a smaller mouse that can be trusted left over night and leave it later on when she’s due to roam. Turn all lights off. She could just be scared and stressed.

Id also do as suggested above maybe she jsit needs a small tight tub to get the basics down and not be so worried about what’s around her when she can’t really sense anything but heat.

Yes the sides are covered.

[hilabeans]

Gotta say, if you follow the link AX posted and Deb referenced EXACTLY as described, it may turn this whole situation around for you. BPs are prone to being shy eaters, even the perfectly formed and healthy ones. And your girl's reluctance may have more to do with her being young and insecure, than her tongue issue.

I keep my 140 gram baby in that very setup. I will upgrade to a large display tank when he is far older and established.

[SDA]

My son is not a young child. My son is 23 and has a full time job and is going to college, but he is still living at home. He is definitely no stranger to the loss of an animal, but he is such a big ol' softie that it just kills him.

Whoa whoa whoa, I meant no disrespect. There was no way to know the age of your son. I am 45 years old and just had to make a huge decision to save a snake after accepting to let her go so age means jack about learning life lessons about letting go. I spent a week distraught because I was ready to end my snake's life so I think I know a little about making hard choices.

Listen to your vet, we might have ideas but nobody here is a vet and we are not qualified to give medical advice about reptiles. Vets have experience we can't have. Once you find one you trust like you described, they are your best source of care.


This snake was abused by being housed and sold by petsmart. It has a genetic defect that no respectable breeder would sell so it was dumped off and now you are stuck with it. Your vets advice is sound and you should not feel guilty for not taking care of something that is not thriving.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

The breeder my son met that came over said our enclosure did look really good.

Sorry but a 40 gallons for a 100 grams snake that is not eating is not gonna cut it, might look nice but it's not working.

If the breeder had any experience troubleshooting young animals that fail to eat for their new owner that is the first thing he would have told you to do and it would have been to fix your husbandry.

You have nothing to lose you can either follow that link to a T and see how it goes over the next two weeks, or keep following advice from your vet and that breeder which obviously have not helped at this point.

[Maybeka]

Whoa whoa whoa, I meant no disrespect. There was no way to know the age of your son. I am 45 years old and just had to make a huge decision to save a snake after accepting to let her go so age means jack about learning life lessons about letting go. I spent a week distraught because I was ready to end my snake's life so I think I know a little about making hard choices.

Listen to your vet, we might have ideas but nobody here is a vet and we are not qualified to give medical advice about reptiles. Vets have experience we can't have. Once you find one you trust like you described, they are your best source of care.


This snake was abused by being housed and sold by petsmart. It has a genetic defect that no respectable breeder would sell so it was dumped off and now you are stuck with it. Your vets advice is sound and you should not feel guilty for not taking care of something that is not thriving.

I'm sorry, i did not take it as any disrespect. I was simply letting you know about my son and his age and how with our animal loving family, we have been thru our fare share of animal losses. My son is a HUGE animal lover and a softie when it comes to animals.

My sons first loss was my old horse. I got the horse when he was just a yearling and i was 15 yrs old.
When my son was born 20 yrs later that was his first horse.
That horse passed away 10 yrs after that when he was 33 yrs old and my son was only 10 yrs old.
That was a hard loss for him.

I really took no disrespect in anything you said.

[SDA]

Good as I meant none. I am used to huge losses myself so I understand completely.

I think pictures will help of your enclosure. We can't give you medical advice but we can give husbandry and feeding advice to make your snake less stressed and more apt to learn to eat on its own.

P.S. I applaud you and your son for taking on a special needs snake. I have one and am going through the thick of it too so I feel for you