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Freakishly small baby won't eat

S

SnakeNbake

Cuz that's how I roll!
Some of you may know me from the behavior forum (lol...long story) and you know I have a thing for rescuing animals. Well I think I got in over my head this time. :( Go easy on me here...my heart's in the right place.

I live in a tiny town that has all of one pet store and it's run by two old people who don't seem to know anything about animals. I go there when I need pet supplies but not animals for that reason. Today I was there to get supplies and I noticed they had corn snakes, which I've never seen there before. There were only two left (snows) and one was so little I seriously doubted them when they said both snakes were the same age. When I asked how old they are, the lady simply said, "Dunno. Does it really matter?" Well gee, lemme think about that. When I asked why one was so small she said it was "weird and going to die." How helpful. So of course I had to have that little snake. I asked if it ate well or at all and she just said, "Nope, too weak."

So I bought the weak little snow even though I know it probably won't live but I really want to try and help it if I can. I tried feeding her a cut up piece of a pinky mouse but she can barely open her mouth and ended up laying her face on it and not moving. She looks normal and even a bit active but she's too tiny to really do anything with. I can't get her into a vet until late next week at the earliest and I get the feeling she'll die before then.

If any of you have any ideas or experience with this, I really need the help. She's not eating, pooping, drinking water, etc. She just seems to be laying there waiting to die. :( I wish I could tell you anything about her like her age or general health but I have no information to go on.

If she dies, okay I expect that, but I have to try.
 
She just pooped on me. That's a good thing, right? Unless of course I just scared the crap out of her. In which case, not so good.
 
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It could be musk. If it is musk, then you frightened her. I suggest just letting this new snake settle into its enviorment for a few days before a feeding attempt. Then after that I suggest offering a small day old live pinky in a brown paper sack overnight. Remember, snakes that young can really put down some large meals, so if it looks big, don't worry to much.
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Ryan McCullough
 
Damn it I don't want to scare her :(
I'll try what you said and leave her for a few days before trying again. Thanks for your help. I appreciate it a lot.
 
Maybe, if she's so small and weak, and you really want to save her, you should have a vet show you how to tube feed her. Seems like everyone who buys one of those skeletal little ones loses them pretty quickly. I'm not sure you have time to go through the whole list of feeding tricks.

Nanci
 
There's a large thread somewhere on here titled "And the saga continues..." It's a long, and pretty much step-by-step story of a woman who had a snake that refused to eat, and she actually had to blend up mice, and syringe feed the snake. And from my last check up on the thread, the snake is doing well. So maybe there might be some good advice in that thread for you.

Good luck.
 
I was wondering...does she still feel firm when you handle her or is she squishy feeling? In my experience, if they get to the point where they feel squishy, then they rarely pull through.

In her case, you probably need to get a meal in her as soon as possible. Try feeing her a small portion of a mouse tail (about 3/4 of an inch or so). Get the tail damp and gently pry open the snake's mouth. Insert the mouse tail and gently advance it. Usually it can be pretty much slid all the way in their mouth. If she is able to swallow it down the rest of the way, she will. If she doesn't seem to be able to, then she may be too far gone to save...and you may want to humanely put her down. Think of it this way...you want to save her. Even if that means ending her suffering, then you have still saved her.
 
I was going to suggest anole tail but mouse tail would probably work better and obviously be on hand. That way too you'd still be able to use anole to tempt later on if need be. I'd also agree with Terri that you need to get a meal in that poor thing ASAP. You might end up scaring her some but if it means she gets some food so she can be on the road to recovery it's worth it IMO. Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

~Katie
 
As hard as it may be, try to refrain from rescuing animals from bad pet shops. The shop will not change and will take the money you gave them and put another animal into the same conditions.

Be that as it may, since you already have this little one, I suggest trying to tube feed it. It doesn't sound to me like it's refusing food, just too weak to eat. Get some meat baby food (I used chicken with mine since corns will eat birds in the wild from time to time), boiled egg yoke, and water and mix it all together. Push it through a tea strainer to make sure it will go through the tube. Thin it with more water if necessary. Maybe your vet will give you a feeding tube. It is like a syringe with a long rubber tube on it. If not, you can get one online from the Bean Farm. Start by tube feeding her 1 cc of the mixture every 4 days until she seems to gain some strength. Then see if she can take a pinky.

Good luck with her.
 
I agree with Becky

I agree with Becky. My local creatures and critters pisses me off. I get my fuzzies there. Well three weeks ago they get this hatchling snow corn in. Not only do they put her in a cage, inside of another cage. But they use blue substrate sand which I wouldnt be surprised if it hasn't already been swallowed by the snake. The substrate is all inside her water bowl and it is always dry when I go with no water in it. The snake barely moves and looks like it is mainly skeleton. I feel so bad and I want to say stuff to the owners about the fact that they should not even have that snake out front. And then they go ahead and try to recommend advice to you for your snake. Thats such bull****. Freakin hipocrites. I swear pet shops that pull this stuff really piss me off.
 
Becky,

What size feeding tube would you use for a hatchling?

Nanci

(The last thing I tube fed was an emu! I could practically stick my whole head in there! I used a turkey baster for him.)
 
I swear you guys are going to make me cry by how nice you are to take the time to help give advice. Thank you so much!

Ryan, thank you for the list. I'm going to print that out right away.
Nanci, the mental image of you trying to force feed an emu with a turkey baster made me laugh so hard I had tears running down my face. You never cease to impress me. :)

Well you guys, I think I'm screwed. Baby Sophie was more active today but I could hear a faint clicking sound coming from her and she kept opening her tiny mouth and I could see mucous strings in there. I've read enough on this site to know that's most likely an upper respiratory infection. Between not being able to get her into the vet until next week and how weak she is, there's little chance she's going to make it. I've warmed up her tank like people in another thread said to do in the case of URI but it doesn't seem like there's much else I can do :(

Oh and CornCrazy, her body isn't mushy but it isn't solid feeling either. I have no idea how to explain that any better.

I took some pics of her yesterday to show you guys her size but I need to figure out how to post them first. Hopefully they'll be up soon.

Thanks everyone.
 
Sorry if this doesn't work. I don't know how to post images just yet. This is a pic of Sophia with a tiny pinky mouse I cut up for her after this pic was taken to show her size. That mouse was half the size of my thumb. She sniffed it and then laid on it like a pillow but that was the only interest she showed. Sorry about the quality of the pics.

Picture2238.jpg


Picture2240.jpg
 
Warm her up!! I want to say 90F- hopefully someone who knows for sure will be along to check.

Wow, 10 f feeding tube. Babies in the ICU get 8 f.

SnakeNbake, if you need supplies- let me know right away- I can get them to you.

I don't think she looks so bad. Try a smaller prey. Try a live day old pink! At least she isn't triangle shaped yet, with her spine sticking out.

Nanci
 
And make sure the pink you're feeding her, if FT, is 100F- it's gotta be nice and warm.

Nanci
 
Nanci said:
I don't think she looks so bad.
Click to expand...

That's what I said when they told me she was going to die. She looked thick enough to make it if she just got the right care. Obviously she's tiny but she doesn't look skeletal, right? I think she's still got some fight in her. I think I read 95 was the right temp for a sick snake but I'll have to double check that.

I'm working on finding a feeding tube but it's not going well so far. I'll keep trying though. That's probably her best bet at this stage. Hey do you know how to get her little mouth open and keep it open without hurting her? She's so fragile compared to Sir Killsalot and I'm terrified I'll hurt her.
 
Nanci said:
Becky,

What size feeding tube would you use for a hatchling?

Nanci

(The last thing I tube fed was an emu! I could practically stick my whole head in there! I used a turkey baster for him.)
Click to expand...


This is the one I used. I cut the tube into a shorter length, though, about 3-4 inches. I kind of wiggled the tube into the corner of her mouth, then into the back of her throat. There was no need to hold her mouth open, just make sure you don't get any food into her trachea, though.

Sorry to hear about the RI. I hope the baby pulls through.
 
Seriously, PM me your address and I'll send you one. Would a pharmacy have it? Or just any vet, not necessarily a reptile vet? Or go beg for one at a nursing home or ER?

Nanci
 
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