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Health Issues/Feeding Problems Anything related to general or specific health problems. Issues having to do with feeding problems or tips.

Feeding the Unwilling
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Old 08-04-2007, 06:54 PM   #11
jaxom1957
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thoth
Maybe this is a stupid question, but if you cut a mouse in half (even a pink), don't the insides just kinda spill out, making it even harder to force into a tiny unwilling mouth?
Yes, but their insides also spill out when a pinkie splits while trying to feed, so I'm used to that. Luckily, I'm not squeamish. It does feel like trying to force a spoonful of jello into the end of a drinking straw sometimes.
Quote:
Kudos to you, btw, for doing what I think most of us would be unable to do.
Thanks. I've spent several portions of my younger past living out in the country and raising animals, so husbandry is second nature to me. I think I was eight years old when I learned to skin a rabbit to eat for dinner; innards don't phase me anymore I keep in mind WHY I'm doing this: to save a life and provide either myself or another hobbyist a pet to love. I have the time and I have the know-how; to my thinking, that means I have an obligation to use them as well.
 
Old 08-05-2007, 04:17 AM   #12
Cat_Eyed_Lady
How to word this... I guess the most simple is Thank you!!! from the very bottom of my heart. I am so new to all this baby snake stuff... never planned on doing but.. well, here I am. Plus I ordered some babies out of the shell Yep, thats me. Well, of the 16 little hatchlings I have... 6 will not eat.. nothing I did worked.. I tried everything except accosting my geckos and dragons (scenting) nothing was working at all... I was really starting to loose all hope for my 6 little lovely babies. Well, I knew about force feeding but I never ever thought I would be able to to it.. but.. Jaxom wrote out Exactly what he did and how... OMG!! I did it tonight on all 6 babies... my mom helped me... I am 39 and yessss I still call my mommy to help me She is wonderful now that I helped her over her fear of snakes so... anyway... Jaxom, the way you wrote and how confident you were and how much experience... well, it gave us the courage to do it and tonight we were able to force feed all 6 babies a pinkie head I am so happy and greatful that you went to the trouble of explaining so well how to force feed. Very thankful indeed, I have hope back hours later I am still sitting here and I want to cry, it was almost as tramatic on me and my mother as it was for the babies. But I also get very emotional about the fact that you have given me my hope back. My babies are so special to me and you have given me the gift of being able to try to help them. Big Hugs to you and I wish I could say more than thank you but please know how greatful I am!! Cat
 
Old 08-05-2007, 04:49 AM   #13
jaxom1957
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cat_Eyed_Lady
My babies are so special to me and you have given me the gift of being able to try to help them. Big Hugs to you and I wish I could say more than thank you but please know how greatful I am!!
My heart swells to know I could help. My snakes, all of my pets, mean so much to me, and I am a wreck when one of them is ill or injured. Keep posting updates on how your hatchlings are doing, how feeding goes. It will get easier with practice. I stopped crying after my third or fourth time feeding ShoeString
 
Old 08-05-2007, 04:53 AM   #14
Cat_Eyed_Lady
I will and thanks I didnt want to highjack your thread but at your invitation I will do so They were forced about 8pm this evening (8/4) and its 4am here on the 5th and so far non have regurged. How long til the biggest danger of that is over?? 24-48 hours?? ( I dont disturb them.. they are in 3cup gladware containers that are clear on the sides and I just kinda peek )
 
Old 08-05-2007, 08:04 AM   #15
jaxom1957
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cat_Eyed_Lady
I will and thanks I didnt want to highjack your thread but at your invitation I will do so They were forced about 8pm this evening (8/4) and its 4am here on the 5th and so far non have regurged. How long til the biggest danger of that is over?? 24-48 hours?? ( I dont disturb them.. they are in 3cup gladware containers that are clear on the sides and I just kinda peek )
I've actually never had a baby I force fed regurge I think that stroking the throat helps the pinkie get down far enough to discourage regurging, and the fact that most pinkies split while I am trying to get them in makes them easier to digest. No slitting necessary! If they keep them down until the next day, the bulge will be practically gone and the risk of regurge is minimal. I still don't handle them until the third day, just to be on the safe side.

You are using containers about the same size I am, 25 fl. oz. (3 1/8 cup), and the snakes should be fine in them until they roughly double in size. Did you put some holes in the tops and sides? I put about a dozen small holes in the lids and three near the top of each side for ventilation. I use a soldering iron, but a drill with a small bit works, too. The side holes allow me to stack the containers on top of each other to save space. Since I currently have twenty-one hatchlings and six more coming in a couple of weeks, I have to squeeze where I can. I've found I can stack three columns of them, six per stack, in a ten gallon aquarium. This prevents anything from knocking into them and keeps the temperature stable by blocking any drafts. I can still see in the sides of each of them, so I can check the babies whenever I need to. The same containers, without holes in the sides, make great water bowls, and I'm using them for all of my 06s and 05s.

What are you using to provide water? Dean uses caps off soda bottles, which is fine if you make sure to check and refill them often. I've used the plastic lids off small jars in the past, and they double as bathing pools at shedding time , but they do take up a lot of floor space in the GladWare. For the current batch, I cut down plastic dixie cups to about an inch tall, and that's working very well. The small lidded containers that dip comes in with take-out food work okay, but they tip a little too easily for me.

As I said, keep posting about your hatchlings and how your feeding attempts go. Your contributions are very welcome.
 
Old 08-05-2007, 08:16 AM   #16
jaxom1957
The first casualties

After examining each of their spines, I elected to euthanize Hypo 1F and Hypo 2F. Both had numerous kinks severe enough, IMO, to greatly hamper their chances at survival. When coupled with the absence of any feeding response, this was enough to convince me to put them down. After conferring with other hobbyists, I chose to use the freezer method. At their small size and with their inability to control body temp, that should be as quick and painless a passing as I can provide.

Hypo 1F had actually developed more kinks just in the past two day; I wish I understood why this happens so frequently with non-feeding hatchlings. I examined all eight of the hypo babies. Two of the males have a small kink each, and I will keep an eye on them in hopes that this doesn't worsen. The remaining 2.2 don't appear to have any kinks, and I hope it stays that way.

Now that I've made the decision and taken the action, I'm going to go mope in front of the TV while I try to convince myself I did the right thing What I really want to do is
 
Old 08-05-2007, 08:50 AM   #17
diamondlil
So sorry to hear that Jaxom. You know you at least gave them a fighting chance.
 
Old 08-05-2007, 11:26 AM   #18
Cat_Eyed_Lady
I have a dremal so I used that to put holes into the sides of the containers because I too have to stack them up. I have some really small bits so that worked out really well because it didnt leave any sharp feeling places inside the containers. I dont have the containers in any tank.... they are on my kitchen counter against the "splash guard", then between them and the wall I have placed a heating pad on low. Seems to be working pretty good so far

As for watering, I had bought some little condiment cups at walmart but they were just too heavy for useing because they made the containers too unstable in my opinion so I asked at the deli department there and got some little sample cups from them. They hold about the same amount of water but are thin plastic and light weight They seem to be working but they do tip easier and I have to watch because I have a couple babies that seem to really enjoy tipping their waters over. lol Its not a big deal so far because they are kept on paper napkins so makes for an easy clean up.

I wasnt sure about the regurgeing so I had to ask So far none have upchucked so they should be good. But 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??)
 
Old 08-05-2007, 11:28 AM   #19
Cat_Eyed_Lady
I am sorry to hear that you had to put down a couple but atleast you did try and yes, you did the right thing.. me saying that wont help you to feel any better but I know how much you care and when you care it hurts... thats what makes you human. Good luck with the remaining babies
 
Old 08-05-2007, 11:46 AM   #20
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
 

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