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Zip-tie as Regurge Prevention?!

jenneses

Confuzzled
I was talking to someone the other day. He mentioned that with his non-feeding ball pythons he will forcefeed them then zip-tie their throat so they can't regurge. I am still horrified by this, but he acted like this is something all big-time breeders do. Is it really?! Am I wrong to instinctively react in horror at the thought of a snake or any animals throat being zip-tied tight enough to prevent regurge?
 
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I've never heard of that, but I guess it's possible.
When we have to feed non-feeders, we put our thumbs against the throat of the snake to make sure the pups stay down as they will bring them back up in some cases...
We only do this for a short time until we know the food has gone down.....
 
Unreal. I'm sure it can't be common practice. Rather than preventing a regurge, it sounds like it's to stop force-fed snakes spitting back up immediately, but then how soon after the feed would they remove the tie, how would the snake drink?
 
you think that would be the sort of thing that would be at least referred to...i mean, i'm pretty new to this whole snake thing, but I tried to really really do my homework. Perhaps its my ignorance showing...but that does not sound like a good way to treat a snake.
If this is a regular practice, does it work? i kinda think that if the snake tried to regurgitate and could not because of a zip tie, wouldn't the food just sit in its throat?
also...if this were a common thing, why haven't i seen reference to it in any of the problem feeder threads that i have looked at on here?
I am doubtful.
 
I don’t know about snakes but when my body decides to regurgitate it regurgitates. If you tape my mouth shut it will find another way out but it’s not going to stay in my stomach. I would think you would have snakes aspirate and die of pneumonia or some other respiratory problem. Or have their heads pop off.
 
Zip-ties to prevent a regurge.
I can see how a commercial breeder wouldn't have the time to spend holding each and every non feeder until it swallowed... And a zip tie put on loose, would be the same as holding the snake until said swallow....
I'm not sure I would be comfortable doing it to my snakes, but a non feeder is going to die... It may be an alternative to letting snakes starve to death....
The thing is it's been put on here as a regurge, and technically it is I suppose, but IMO it's different. The feeders that I see are more spit out....
You get them into the throat and you think they are going down, but as soon as you loose go the snake contorts and brings it back up... They don't even reach the stomach... By placing your thumb against the throat the snake has no alternative but to take it right down.... Which is the same a a zip tie.... If you left the zip tie on for a few days I could see a problem, but we don't know if it is.... Or even if it's a swallowing aid as we only have regurge to go on as it's in the title...
 
I would think that the OP was referring to putting a zip-tie on the snake, to prevent the "lump" from coming back up. Or both ways that have been mentioned.

I don't know if it's me, but I can think of many reasons and on many levels, why this seems wrong. Imagine if there was some underlying problem with the snake, causing the regurge and now you are preventing it.

I would rather do my best, humanely, and fail, then use some method that could be construed as inhumane and possibly succeed or still fail! Imagine if some Vet, told you to do this to your dog?

Geesh!

Wayne
 
I would think that the OP was referring to putting a zip-tie on the snake, to prevent the "lump" from coming back up. Or both ways that have been mentioned.

I don't know if it's me, but I can think of many reasons and on many levels, why this seems wrong. Imagine if there was some underlying problem with the snake, causing the regurge and now you are preventing it.

I would rather do my best, humanely, and fail, then use some method that could be construed as inhumane and possibly succeed or still fail! Imagine if some Vet, told you to do this to your dog?

Geesh!

Wayne
We need the OP to go back and ask the breeder exactly what was meant..... I'm taking it as not a regurge thing more a swallow thing until I get an answer off the breeder.....

I wonder if a zip tie would work for birth control?
No..... We call them Arab rings and they do quite the opposite thing.... ;)
 
What was said to me was, "I zip-tie their throats to prevent a regurge." This same person also told me that he uses glue traps for escapees. I told him about the bottle trap idea as I think that is a more humane choice. He didn't say he zip ties it to prevent the snake from spitting it out, but to "prevent a regurge." He did say he "tubes medicines to prevent them from spitting it out." He states he is an experienced herper and knows all the "big names." I can only go off what he says.

I will ask him to clarify next that I speak with him though. As for using zip-ties as birth-control, maybe if you ziptie it to your leg? Or tight enough to cut bloodflow? Who wants to volunteer for that?
 
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What was said to me was, "I zip-tie their throats to prevent a regurge." This same person also told me that he uses glue traps for escapees. I told him about the bottle trap idea as I think that is a more humane choice. He didn't say he zip ties it to prevent the snake from spitting it out, but to "prevent a regurge." He did say he "tubes medicines to prevent them from spitting it out." He states he is an experienced herper and knows all the "big names." I can only go off what he says.

That's horrible! I especially love the "all the big breeders do it" comment!

Wayne
 
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