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Force Feeding!

I

isobel

Isobel
Hi Everyone
I have got trouble with one of my snakes. He is nearly four months old. I made every attempt to encourage him to eat but he has never given in. In the end i had to force feed him along with two other babies. The other two starting eating after being force fed once but this little monkey won't give in.

i feel as though i am being cruel by force feeding when he obviousy doesn't want to eat.
Can anyone give me any advice? would it be kinder to just let him pass away?

very upset isobel
 
Isobel I'm so sorry you're having so much trouble with this little one :( they can be so stubborn sometimes. We'd need to know more about his situation to be able to say whether we think there's any hope of if it would be kinder to let him go.

For instance.. How often does he eat, what are you force-feeding him and how long has it been going on? Otherwise is he healthy? Not regurging, is he defecating and drinking properly?

I haven't done a search for you because it sounds as though it's not the act of force-feeding you're having problems with, rather whether you should carry on or not. However if I'm wrong there, I can remember a few threads that will help you out no end and I'll be able to find them for you if you need them.

Best wishes,
Tracee
 
Hi Tracee
Thanks for your reply. He is 4 months old and i starting force feeding him at 11 weeks old after i had exausted all other options.
I feed him every 7 days just so i don't upset him too much but i do always offer him a pinkie first just incase he wants to eat it himself.
Up to now i have been force feeding him small amounts if a pinkie, i have found that the head is the easiest part to get down him.

He has never regurged and he drinks well. He defecates regulary.
He appears to be very healthy, quite lively at times too. I just can't understand why he won't give in and eat something. :shrugs:
Thats why i wondered if i was being cruel instead if kind.

Isobel :cry:
 
WARNING: I have no actual experience in the matter and the following information should never be taken as fact. Viewer discretion is advised!

Now that that is out of the way, maybep your little guy is all like, oh yeah, this is the life, warm home, clean water, good food and I dont even have to do any work! (picture scantily clad men or women feeding you grapes and fanning you with palm leaves). Just a thought... Hope he starts eating better for you though :)
 
No that is one thing i haven't tried, do you mean insects or live mice?
I have read somewhere that in the wild their first feed would most likely be an insect. is this true?

Well he certaily has a life of luxury but i really don't fancy force feeding him when he is four foot long, could be difficult :eek1:

Isobel
 
I would be wary of feeding live if he's not feeding at all alone. Insects are a no no!

I can't imagine he's just lazy and thinks it's easier to be force fed, it can't be the most pleasant experience in the world. If he's otherwise in good shape I personally wouldn't be able to let him starve to death either.

How long have you left him alone with food previously? Maybe you could leave him to it without disturbance and force feed the next day if he refused it. By 'leave him to it' I mean put him and a thawed half pinkie in a smaller container, overnight if possible. Give him a loonng time to think about not eating, before resorting to forcing him.

He'll have to give in eventually?
 
Well, I had a butter hatchling that was on f/t at the breeder but refused f/t at my place for like 5 weeks. Than I dropped in a live pink and she ate within 2 mins... so I would have tried live mice way earlier, but that's a personal thing. I suppose it's less stressfull than being force fed and pinkies can do the snakie no harm at all. Mine eats f/t like a wolf these days.
 
I've never had much luck with force feeding, but the ones I've force fed have always regurged as well. Maybe try leaving him alone with a live pink overnight? Scenting the pink with an anole? Someone just posted a thread about defrosting a pink wrapped in raw chicken skin to get a snake to eat on its own. Maybe you could try that...
 
thanks for all that advise, i will try anything to get him eating. I have put him in a smaller container with a pinkie overnight but he still refuses and i have tried putting chick fur on it (that has worked for some of my other hatchlings) but this one is just plain stubborn lol.

I don't think i can give up an him just yet he is gorgeous

Thanks everyone
Isobel
 
Maybe your best option is to try live.. I would be loathe to, but it is always there as a last resort. Scenting is another good idea from moonshadow.

Keep us posted on how he feeds (or doesn't).. Fingers crossed!
 
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