Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought some hatchlings that were just beautiful creatures, they were sold as hard starts at a great discount. One fed on live and regurged a small pink that my smaller snakes have digested with no issue. The other fed and digested with no problem.The last refused everything. The baby that regurged i'm concerned with, she is tiny and i'm afaraid if I don't get her eating soon she'll not last long. I waited several days and offered her a half pink..she was not interested. She is a beautiful animal and I would love to get her through this crucial period.I'll try whatever tricks someone might advise. I read online about force feeding egg yolk with the smallest of syringes..has anyone heard this and is it worth trying? I have tried a brained pink and the snake kept on moist paper towels in a warm dark spot in a confined deli cup. her heat gradient and environment is all as it should be, hides on both ends included. What do I try next?

It is unforunate that not all baby snakes aren't born with a feeding instinct. I have listed some tricks to help inspire the unwilling critter to feed.

1 wash the pinky removing the adult mouse smell (Ivory Soap)
2 offer a live pinky
3 offer thawed pinky
4 feed at night
5 put the snake in a small container with food like a paper lunch bag or the deli cup it was shipped in
6 provide a dark secluded hiding place for shy eaters like a paper lunch bag
7 force feed mouse tails
expose the brain of the pinky by slicing or puncturing ....YUK...but it works in a pinch
8 scenting the pinky with a lizard
9 purchase a pinky pump & have fun cleaning it out after use
10 increase temp

This list is not all inclusive but they have worked for me.

best of luck

Scott Sweeney

Sweeney's Serpents .com

You do NOT!,...I repeat, do NOT want to try to keep feeding a snake that has recently regurgitated. It will only repeat another regurge which you want to avoid at ALL COSTS!. They MUST have time to replenish their stomach acids, enzymes, electrolyles and good bacteria flora that was lost during the previous reguge, or it will simply keep happening, and the snake will be doomed.

It is impossible to know exactly why the snake regurged, since I have no idea how it was maintained when this happened. But tiny hatchlings have to be in the very low 80's for proper digestion to occur.

You need to wait at least seven plus days to attempt another meal, and then it has to be a very SMALL prey item at that. If the snake regurgitates a SMALL pinkie, then you need to make a bee-line to a qualified reptile vet so he/she can administer a regimen of Flagyl(metronidazole) at the rate of 50mg./per kg. of body weight. This should be repeated in another 10 days or so. DO NOT feed the snake anything whatsoever during this treatment, as the medication kills the GOOD stomach bacteria that is also needed for the hatchling to digest properly. Wait 7 to ten days after the LAST treatment to attempt to feed again, and again, make it very small meals to help ensure they stay down and are digested without any issues. If the snake does hold these smaller meals down(and I am betting it does), then you can gradually up the size in small increments back to normal-sized prey.

Remember, the snake must be kept in the low 80's, and there are a number of reasons the regurge could have happened.

1) too low of temperature(caused meal to rot in the stomach)

2) fowled water(bad bacteria)

3) inadvertently consumed some fecal matter along with a meal

4) born with an internal intestinal problem

and so on.......

You have control of a most all of these possible problems except #4(internal deformation).

I strongly suggest you see a qualified vet so the snake can get some very effective doses of Flagyl. But at the VERY LEAST wait for 7 to 10 days before even attempting to feed it again, and keep it at 82 84 degrees,..and SMALL meal in 7 to 10 days.

These few things I mentioned are EXTREMELY important if the snake is to have any chance of surviving.

good luck with it!

~Doug
-----
"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com