Snake Feeding Tips

[tigger79]

Originally Posted by alfies mum

Hi Alfie is 12 weeks old and we got him 2 weeks ago and it's 3 weeks since he fed the breeder said he had eaten, he is very lively and sociable. My son reckons he will have to force feed if he doesnt eat soon but I would hate to stress the little guy out in any way, How long should I leave him, my son works with reptiles so he has to force feed a lot of snakes but I think he will be ok for a bit .

Cheers

firstly what type of snake is alfie, 3 weeks is nothing for a snake not to feed,

then check that all the temps and husbandry are correct, that the snake isnt in shed, then

i would advise to leave the snake alone for a week, only go into the viv to change water every couple of days, then offer a food item, if the snake doesnt feed leave food over night and remove if he doesnt eat, if he doesnt eat try again a week later, if he still doesnt eat then try the tips stated above,

force/assist feeding should be done as a last resort and this is when the snake hasnt eaten for a period of time and is drasticly losing weight,

[alfies mum]

Thank you for all your tips on feeding . Alfie is still not interesterd on foor we bought him a chick and rubbed the fuzzy in it and tried to assist feed him, we put the fuzzy into his mouth and he would not take it, his temp are ok his is very lively his skin is ok but not interested at all. we will take him to the vets next week if it continiues.

[alfies mum]

Yes Alfie is a burmese python, we have left him alone and not handled him , we spoke to friend who has a reptile shop in wigan and he reckons Alfie is only about 4 weeks old, so we will continue just leaving food for him we are wondering if the little fella has ever eaten since birth even though the breeder told us he had , but with 15 hatchlings I am sure he may no have fed.

[pythonlover]

Excellent post.

[Talk To The Animals]

With some tiny snakes, especially our teeny tiny house snake, we've been cutting pinkies into quarters or thirds before defrosting them, otherwise they are too big for him to manage, and a mouse tail doesn't seem to have very much nutrition in it.

[kismetbeardie]

Hi there,

Thanks so much for the above thread i used some of your tips where my royal was concerned and it worked!!! im so happy as i was begining to worry about her, I have adjusted her temps and raised hummidty a bit, left her alone and didnt fuss over her for about 10 days offered her a smaller feed than usual with a nice big cut in its head and TAR DAR she chowed down!!

Thanks again im very grateful.

[kelboy]

I'd just like to add. When my snakes stopped eating after a mite infestation, I used reptiboost in their water, obviously this isn't a substitute for food, but it contains some nutrients that they wouldn't otherwise have had any access to, and I also feel it whet their appetite a bit, as next feeding attempt, they both ate greedily (smaller mice than usual). But great thread, I always enjoy reading "what if" information. It just makes it that bit easier when you encounter problems.

[Footie]

I have a royal that had to be assist fed, on advice of the vet. She was assist fed twice. On the 3rd occassion she stike fed and has had 4 successful strike feeds since. She is approx a foot long and 3 months old. I bathe her every other day, except days after feeding. I handle her regularly, again except after feeding. My problem is, now I am getting food in her, nothing is coming out the other end. She has had about 7 fluffs now. She had a small movement during an assist shed 2 weeks ago, and I found a small wee capsule yesterday.
Any ideas?

[Gizmo24]

When i was at college, (was like 12 years ago) one of their snakes hadn't eaten for weeks and using suitable glove and long tweezer implement we were taught to wind the snake up slightly by waving a pinky in front of it till it attacked it and ate it. Then it ate fine after that.
Don't know if this is what u r suppose to do, but that was what we were shown at the time.

[tigger79]

Originally Posted by Footie

I have a royal that had to be assist fed, on advice of the vet. She was assist fed twice. On the 3rd occassion she stike fed and has had 4 successful strike feeds since. She is approx a foot long and 3 months old. I bathe her every other day, except days after feeding. I handle her regularly, again except after feeding. My problem is, now I am getting food in her, nothing is coming out the other end. She has had about 7 fluffs now. She had a small movement during an assist shed 2 weeks ago, and I found a small wee capsule yesterday.
Any ideas?

can i just ask how often you are feeding the snake, also if you are only feeding small meals, the snake will absorb the majority of it and there will be no waste to come out the other end,

another thing, there is no need to bath snake every other day, and if feeding has been an issue you shouldnt really handle until feeding has gone back to a proper routine and the snake is happy.

Originally Posted by Gizmo24

When i was at college, (was like 12 years ago) one of their snakes hadn't eaten for weeks and using suitable glove and long tweezer implement we were taught to wind the snake up slightly by waving a pinky in front of it till it attacked it and ate it. Then it ate fine after that.
Don't know if this is what u r suppose to do, but that was what we were shown at the time.

This is NOT the way to do it, yes wiggle the food in front of the snake, if no reaction within a few seconds then just place food in fornt of hide and leave for 24 hours, if not taken dispose of it, leave for 5-10 days (depending on age of snake), then try again.