End it now or........

[vinnimac]

I bought two 'possibly wild caught' females last year June, and one of them still has not eaten for me. I have gerbil, hamster, mouse, rat first live and then dead to no avail. I gave to another forum member for a while to see if they could get her to eat, with no luck. They seem to think there is something wrong with her lower jaw, and I agree with that. I have tried to give her a liquid supplement, but feel there is no way to save her anymore. She has lost a LOT weight at this point, and I feel very guilty, and miserable about the state she is in.

My question I post to you all now is, do I let her continue to starve to death, or end her life now, and if so, how? I hate the thought of her suffering so much still, yet the thought of actually taking her life is painful, too. Help!!!

[Wild Bill]

Have you taken her to the vet?

[joepythons]

Have you taken her to the vet?

Bill,you took the words right out of my mouth .If you have not taken her to a vet to be checked out then please do so.She might have internal worms or such that is surpressing(spelling) her appetite to where she does not want to eat.

[Evan Jamison]

All hope is not lost yet. I have nursed some rescued emaciated WC BPs back to health when all was left was literally skin and bones (each rib was visibly distinct from the next through the skin). I also recommend a vet visit to a qualified reptile vet. Even if she has been treated for parasites before, a treatment of metronidazole can help get her gut tract back on course, and may even be an appetite stimulant. Either way, you will likely need to tube feed her for a while to get some nutrients back into her. Ask your Doc for the correct supplies and food (I've used a few different animal diet products). Don't try to do all this blind though, qualified vets are a life saver when it comes to issues like this. Don't give up, they will make it if you do things right. Let us know how they are doing in the coming weeks.

-Evan

[muddoc]

Everybody above has given some great advice. I would follow it. And, just to relay a story for you, I have a WC female that I finally got to eat about two months ago. She has been steadily eating three mice a week since she started eating. I had her for 55 Weeks before she started to feed. Never give up hope, and continue to offer food items to her. You never know when they decide to make a comeback.

[vinnimac]

Sorry for starting something, and not responding. Way busy right now. I didn't take her to a vet because I didn't think they could tell me anything without a stool sample, and there hasn't been any of that since I had her. It's not that she isn't interested in the food offered. Seems like she hits it, but can't grab anything. I should probably get her to a vet, and see what they say. Thank you for the support!!!

[frankykeno]

Just my observations on the time we had Zoya here trying to help Vinnie getting her eating. She is very thin and extremely aggressive. She slams full force into the side of the tub if there is any movement anywhere near the tub. We tried all the tricks we did with Saoirse (our own WC adult female) and simply nothing worked like it did with Saoirse.

We watched quietly from a distance numerous times and it was a very odd experience. She would strike multiple times at the prey item (in this case various rat sizes from fuzzies to pups) and yet seem to be unable to grab and constrict them. There seemed to be a willingness to hunt prey yet an inability to open manage her jaws properly to grasp it. Apparently Vince has seen this from her and none of us are sure if it's a true attempt to hunt or just a defensive strike to drive the prey away from her.

Mike and I gently opened her mouth and it is healthy inside but we noted something odd. We only opened it a slight amount and yet one side seemed to completely unhinge and not come back into alignment. As if something was wrong with that side. It's hard to describe here but compared to our other BP's if we slightly open their mouths, they just snap back closed in perfect alignment. With this snake it was like a slackness or something just not right on the one side...sort of...floppy??? I'm sorry I can't describe it better and I'm no vet here...but something just didn't seem normal on that side.

We suggested to Vince that perhaps a vet could determine if she's done some sort of damage to her jaw with the repeated slamming into things as she strikes so wildly if you approach her enclosure. We did also suggest that if nothing can be done, that humane euthansia may be the only option rather than watch her slowly starve to death. She's extremely thin for an adult female.

I wish Mike and I could have had the success with had with Saoirse with this lovely female and it's heartbreaking that just nothing seemed to work with her yet she constantly struck at the prey...she just couldn't seem to grab on to it properly. Is there any real hope for a snake that hasn't taken a feeding since at least June of 05?