Posted by:
FR
at Sat Jan 12 17:49:35 2013 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by FR ]
Hi Rex, first, its all about context. Harm is more then physical, it can also be behavioral as well. Lets put behavior on hold for a second.
Normally if a snake, or any reptile stops feeding, there is a reason. When winter sets in, reptiles normally stop feeding because they no longer have the ability digest food. As in, its not hot enough. If that is the case, if they consumed prey, it would rot and be regurgitated.
If thats the case, then putting food in its stomach with theres no ability to digest that food, is not a good idea. Hence harmful
If the snake lost the ability to feed for some other reason, its still not a good idea to force it to feed. In context, that is, this snake, it apparently was of good weight, feeding and growing. Then stopped in Sept. Which by the way is not winter and in nature, a real active month for hognose. But then, we do not have any solid information to say why it stopped feeding, but sept is real early for normal winter behavior to occur.
ALso about context, yes to save an individuals life, then force/assist feeding can be used. But again, this does not appear to be the case, as the snake is(was) of good weight.
I would look for WHY the snake stopped feeding. In many cases a simple moving to another cage can often allow the return to feeding. Again, we cannot say, as there is very little info to work with.
Back to behavior, its never a good idea behaviorally to force a "normal" food item down the throat of a animal, with the hopes it will feed on that item in the future. I think a better choice is a pinky pump. As snakes are not going to be feeding on metal or plastic at a later time.
My point may be very difficult to get across here as many folks TREAT these animals as only biological units totally lacking in behavior. If they do not allow behavior, then losing it is not a big loss.
The reality is, these animals are behavior and their biology supports that behavior.
For instance, my pair of hogs are active, even thought last night the cool part of the cage was 51F and thats where they were. THey are now on the warm end(61f where it was) and the male is looking at me as I write this. Just ten minutes ago, the female was looking at me. My bet is, if when they do that, if I smacked them in the nose, they would stop doing that. Sir, thats behavior, they learn from both negative and positive stimulus.
So yes, we disagree, but more then that, we really should be in the same context in order to agree or not. Cheers
[ Hide Replies ]
|
RE: We need ideas/advice - FR, Sat Jan 12 17:49:35 2013