Disabled Snake

[Maybeka]

You have gotten a ton of good advice.

But the one thing you have not tried yet, is to follow Deborah's advice. While its true that larger cages CAN be made to work for many snakes, even young ones, you will always have that young snake that is simply overwhelmed by it.

Hatchlings are a whole different matter then adult snakes. Most people that get a young snake usually get one that is already past those "beginner hickups". It has usually eaten on its own and it is what we call "established". Those sometimes fare better being housed in larger enclosures, as long as husbandry is correct of course.

Even completely normal and perfectly housed new hatchlings can be difficult to get started on eating. Yours has a disability. Yours has probably been pushed off to that big box store because the breeder knew that in that case it didn't really matter whether that hatchling was established or not. Petsmart just writes off the ones that don't make it.

They do use their tongue to realize what is food. However, they also use different senses for that. Quite possible that the snake would learn to associate the prey by heat and smell alone.

At this point the snake is still in good condition, so there is nothing to loose by trying.

Deborah has raised countless of clutches of snake hatchlings. There is nothing like actual experience. I only raised 3 "planned" clutches and even in those I had a couple stubborn ones and one that was near impossible and I almost gave up on that one. Thankfully its alive, well and thriving now.

It has already been established that moving those challenging hatchlings into a smaller and extremely private container can do the trick. Yes, it stinks after just having worked on the bigger tank to get it just right. It stinks that it will be a plain little tub and you can't see inside. It stinks to have to start over buying more stuff. All that and there is no guarantee that it will work. However, it has worked many times before with other hatchlings. Yours is a special case for sure, but I have heard of one Ball Python male with NO tongue that learned to eat on his own and is just fine.

Assist feeding for the rest of the snakes life is probably not a very good choice. For now I would do anything at all to see if you can get it to eat on its own.

If it was my little one I would set it up in a small tub, one third of the tub sitting on a heat mat that is controlled by a thermostat. I would make sure this tub was enclosed (of course leave air holes) on all sides but the front. Put a thin layer of dark substrate in it and possibly a very small hide and a small water dish. Nothing else.

Let the snake settle down for at least a week or so, then try a live mouse hopper. I know that is to small of a meal for a snake of that size, but you want something that is harmless to leave with the snake. A rat fuzzy might work too, they move less in case the snake is intimidated by a spastic jumping mouse hopper. Scent the rat fuzzy with dirty mouse bedding. You want the scent to be strong. (stinky)

Well, that is what I would try...

You will be hard pressed to find someone to take this on. Breeders that may have the know how and the correct setups for a difficult hatchling (tubs) will probably not want to bother. Esp. since strict quarantine will need to be followed. No-one is going to want to risk bringing some disease to their collection. And while an individual may have a good heart and take this on, will they really do better then you can?

If you have horses and had a senior, then you know how it is. Despite the best efforts and expense/time spent, you have to change things around. And again. And sometimes nothing works.

If it was mine, I'd give it my best shot, try everything, and if that doesn't do it, have it put down. That is better then giving it to someone that has no emotional attachment just yet and may eventually just let it starve, even though they promised they would take good care of it.

If things go wrong, don't let it turn you off from the hobby. There are so many snakes that can benefit from all the good care and love you have to offer. Just buy one from a reputable breeder, get a well established one, and start over..


btw. I have a senior horse, too, can only hope she makes it to 33. Have a feeling she may not, though, as she has a few issues..

Tried feeding ... She ignores all food.. So my son Assisted feeding tonight. Barely touched her mouth with it and she took it.



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