• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Freakishly small baby won't eat

Try the mouse tail down her throat. It's not the most nutritious thing but it might wake up her "hungry" mode. You can also try scenting with anole. I had a 3g snow that I got for free because the breeder didn't want to have to bother with a non-feeder. Took him home and put him in with the smallest pink I had and part of an anole tail and he took it down right away. I definately wouldn't give up yet.

~Katie

P.S. - Out of curiosity are their checkers on the belly?
 
I would say that ALL vets have red rubber caths. I am a LVMT (licensed veterinary medical technician). If you want to send me your address, I can get one for you. I also keep a handy supply of syringes here. Let me know and I can mail the stuff to you tomorrow.

I agree that she doesn't look so bad yet. Try putting some liquid vitamins or pedialyte in her water. That may help her also (if she is drinking). I have gone so far as to soak a weak baby in pedialyte in order to hydrate it.

One more thing, I personally do not like cutting the red rubber catheter shorter. The smooth round end is MUCH easier on the snake's esophagus than the cut end. With a long tube, you do have to prime it first. Before feeding the baby, be sure that the tube is full of food, then feed 1/2 to 1 ml. You should moisten the tip of the tube before gently sliding it into the throat of the snake. Also, you will want to gently advance the tube a couple of inches or so into the esophagus. If you don't then a lot of the food may come back up and that can make it easier for her to aspirate the food into her lungs.

By the way, If you can get a weight on her, I can probably get you some meds to add to the food to try to help with the RI, as well.
 
CornCrazy I was just looking through your website and noticed the little male snow motley hatchling you have is almost identical to my baby. The only difference is yours looks meatier and healthier. I'm guessing my sick baby is around the same age as yours.

Your silver queen ghost is absolutely beautiful! I can't believe how inexpensive she is compared to what she would cost here. I'd have to pay about $160 for her here.
 
SnakeNbake said:
Yep she has checkers and they called her a snow motley. Does that change something?
Click to expand...
A motley won't have checkers on their stomach. That surprises me though - that's an awesome pattern on her. I believe some motleys have checkers every now and then but don't quote me on it.

~Katie
 
So far there's not much change but she hasn't gotten worse either. She's still not eating so I tube fed her once (only a tiny bit of blended mouse and pedialyte) and then left her alone. She hasn't regurgitated so that's a good sign. CornCrazy is sending her some medicine...I still can't believe she offered to do that. I cried like a baby over it. :p

Sophie (the baby) is by far the sweetest snake I've ever seen. Maybe it's just her lack of strength keeping her from trying to main me like Sir Killsalot does but she is unbelievably gentle. If you put your hand into her tank she'll use all of her strength to pull her little body into it and curl up in your palm. She's got some fight in her though...thank God. She thrashed around when I force fed her and then made me laugh after when I was cleaning her up. It was a hilarious coincidence but I said, "I wish you'd open your mouth so I could see inside" and I swear to God she turned to me and opened her mouth as big as she possibly could..lol!

It's feeding day today! I always get excited about feeding Sir Killsalot. He eats frozen/thawed mice but he squeezes them until their guts come out and then stands straight up when swallowing it. The carnage! I'll try to get some good pics of both snakes today. :)

Countdown to carnage....5....4.....
 
Glad to hear she's hanging in there. Did I tell you there is a guy on the Kingsnake Hognose forum who kept an adult Eastern hoggy alive for two years on tube feeding, and then one day she decided she actually _would_ like to eat by herself? There's lots of hope for her!

Nanci
 
Hi Nanci! :)
Not much to report. She still refuses to eat on her own so I've had to tube feed her twice. I absolutely hate having to do that because she's so tiny even the smallest tube looks like it'll punch through her skin if not inserted properly and carefully. What I find really odd about her is that she's alert and will look at you if you talk to her but she rarely moves around. If I pick her up and then put her back down, she'll stay in the exact spot I put her.

When she's out of the tank she'll slither around and check things out but she doesn't do that in her tank...at all. Yesterday I put her down on a random spot on the cool side and when I checked on her this morning she was in the exact same spot and in the exact same position. She won't look for heat or a hidey place. It's like she's frozen to the spot. I can't figure out why though. The temps are at the right setting, etc. It's just weird. Her weight hasn't changed at all either. She's not gaining or losing and yesterday she finally pooped so that's good to see. I really think that if she gets some weight on her and starts eating on her own she'll do great but we're not at that point yet and I'm still really worried about her.

Any ideas on why she doesn't move around her tank at all?
 
My fostersnake didn't move much at first. She was only 3 grams though, so probably didn't have the reserves or muscle mass to move much. She's on a 4 day tube feeding schedule at the moment of 1-2mls and is now a lively 10 grams. I'm sure your baby will be more active when she grows a bit more
 
Well, not losing weight is a good sign... No idea why she won't move. Where I work, we place feeding tubes all the time, and stick tubes in tiny people's bladders, etc. You don't have to worry about it stabbing through something.

You know, I have a snake that has _never_ voluntarily eaten a meal for me. It's ok- she's growing and gaining weight and is active and normal in all other respects. Hopefully yours just needs a little time, and to regain some strength.

I'm glad to hear she is maintaining. The poop is a good sign. I _finally_ found Addy's first microscopic poop, and I've had her since October!!!

Nanci
 
diamondlil said:
My fostersnake didn't move much at first. She was only 3 grams though,
Click to expand...

Holy you-know-what!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How much does a normal hatchling weigh, anyway??

Nanci
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top