Feeding the Unwilling

Originally Posted by Cat_Eyed_Lady

I will say this... the second one I put a head down I thought I had killed it at first... Just after I got it in her throat she stopped moving. I was panic striken I went to touch her again to see if I could get the pinkie head to move and if she was alive and she jerked away... was never so happy to see that! whew But after I got the pinkie into their throats I had to hold their mouths shut and then massage the pinkie down til they started to move it down themselves. I kept ahold of them til it was atleast 2-3 inches down their bodies and then I put them back in their containers. (did I do it ok??)

That's exactly what I do, so you're doing great The stress of being force fed, especially the first time, can be pretty harsh. You put the snake down and it just lays there, nothing moving at all. Your heart stops and you hold your breath... yep, been there alright They stress out less as time goes on.

Originally Posted by Nomed

I'm so sorry about the ones you had to put down :[ I really hope that the remaining ones will do good for you. And I want to let you know I think what you are doing is amazing

Thank you. I'm doing it for selfish reasons: I feel amazing joy when they finally eat on their own.

Hi Jaxom....I am very sorry to hear of your loss. I know you feel strongly for the animals you care for and feed so it was not a easy decision for you and was very hard to carry thru.
I wanted to say a big thank you for this thread. You and this thread may be responible for helping save many other hatchlings.
You have helped my daughter Cat_Eyed_Lady help her hatchlings. I must say it was horrible to watch but it needed to be done and she did a great job with your help. We were both nervious wrecks. I was a big help tho as a couple of chest pains made me say ok its break time. ..Bless you and thanks again...

Originally Posted by Msterry

You have helped my daughter Cat_Eyed_Lady help her hatchlings. I must say it was horrible to watch but it needed to be done and she did a great job with your help. We were both nervious wrecks. I was a big help tho as a couple of chest pains made me say ok its break time. ..Bless you and thanks again...

Cat's Mom! Welcome to the thread I was so glad the two of you were able to put what I wrote into action. As I've told Cat, feel free to post updates so we can follow the progress of her hatchlings at the same time we follow mine. That'll will be a valuable addition to the discussion.

Last evening's feeding went about as expected. Each of the hatchlings was offered a small pink, fresh from being washed with soap and water and patted dry on a paper towel. Their reactions ranged from, "That's okay, I'll move to the other side of the container." to "Hey, hot water bottle. Lemme curl up around this and take a nap." Since they were force fed last time, this time they get to go hungry. Maybe that will make them go for the food next time. Until then....

So you didn't get the 'oh, a thing to poop on!' reaction that was Lil's favourite at this stage?

Originally Posted by diamondlil

So you didn't get the 'oh, a thing to poop on!' reaction that was Lil's favourite at this stage?

ShoeString used to do that with regularity. So far, the babies haven't learned that prank

well, on monday night I offered food to all 6 of the ones who are not willing to eat on their own. Of course, all 6 still refused. After waiting almost 2 hours to see if they would, we decided to force feed them again. We rewarmed all the pinkies then decided we would try to see if we could get the Whole pinkie into them this time... omg... was more gross than I was expecting LOL but we were able to get 4 of them to 'eat' the whole pinkie. The other 2... it was abit odd feeling. After I would get the heads into their throats... well, it almost felt like they were tightening their throats to try to prevent me from forceing more in.... is that possible?? or maybe their throats are small?? I didnt feel this on the other 4.. it felt very different. Eventually we were able to get down about 1/2 a pinkie in the other 2 so, I would say it went well. Next time I will offer food but if they dont eat... they will get skipped and see what happens the next time after that when food is offered.

Originally Posted by Cat_Eyed_Lady

we were able to get 4 of them to 'eat' the whole pinkie. The other 2... it was abit odd feeling. After I would get the heads into their throats... well, it almost felt like they were tightening their throats to try to prevent me from forceing more in.... is that possible?? or maybe their throats are small??

Sounds like it went really well. Yes, some babies do a better job of clamping down their throat, and it feels like all you're doing is pushing it down into their lower jaw. That's why I use the piercing taper (yes, most people don't have this ). Any rod with a smooth end that's smaller around than a pinkie skull. Since we know a skull will fit, we know a rod that size will fit. A push rod gives you enough leverage to push past their muscle reflex and get the food into the throat.

This is what I do, but I'm not saying it's what you have to do. It's also okay NOT to fight with the baby. So long as you are getting a half pinkie into them at a feeding, and you don't mind doing it every three days, they should be fine. They won't grow as fast as the hatchlings you are able to feed a full pinkie every four days, but they should still grow for you. As they get bigger, getting them to take the pinkie gets easier as well, since their mouths and throats are larger. I haven't noticed much difference in size between snakes that started slowly and snakes that ate right off the bat. Over time, I've seen that the slow feeders catch up and are as large and as healthy as any other yearling snake.

Keep up what you are doing. You seem to be getting the hang of it quickly, and your babies are getting the nutrition they need. I'll keep my fingers crossed that they start eating on their own sooner rather than later

And say Hi! to your mom

well, last night I offered the 6 thawed, washed and very warm pinkies.... but of course none ate... so I took the pinks out and just left them be.. didnt force feed this time. I will wait til next time and see if they eat and if not, then force feed.

How are your's doing Jaxom??