Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Earlier this summer, i hatched out a clutch from a het albino spider to a het albino, with decent results. One albino spider, three spiders, and two normals. All of them began feeding with gusto almost immediately, save for this little guy. He was the last out of the egg, and was the smallest in the clutch.
He completely ignores any prey I put in his enclosure until I place it between his jaws. He refused all food until I force fed him. I forced him twice when he suddenly turned into an assist feeder. I place a rat pup in his mouth, he coils and swallows. He's been very consistent for the last few months, and is gaining size. I made an interesting observation the other day. He doesn't appear to have a tongue. I've never seen him flick it. I've never seen any evidence of a tongue even when I have his mouth open for feeding. I noticed when I open his bin, the muscles around his jaws appear to be flexing as though he has a tongue and is using it. I'm pretty certain that he doesn't have the fenestration between his rostral and mental scales.
I'm trying to get some high definition video and high resolution pics of his head to show what I'm talking about. I'm not going to cull him, though the thought has crossed my mind. I would appreciate any feedback I can get. At the very least, this guy makes for an interesting conversation piece. Has anyone ever heard of something like this? Has anyone assist fed an animal for a great length of time?

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I had to assist one for about 5-6 times until it started to it by itself.

Now she just jump at any food present.

Is there any problem with it's jaw ?
It's your choice, if you want to keep it or not. But a snake that CAN'T eat by itself, shouldn't be kept.

I think the first spiders that were produced should have been put to sleep.
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love this world, don't hate it.

There is no problem with this guys jaw, as far as I can tell. The problem appears to be somewhere between the supra and sublabial scales. skeletal structure appears to be completely normal, but I'm not springing for x-rays either. Musculature also appears to be normal.
I know the title of my post is misleading. There is no way I'm culling this guy. He eats, regardless of how, he is thriving with my assistance.
Having said that, I'm not stupid. I wouldn't breed him for the simple fact that he is a normal male and possesses no desirable traits for me to try and reproduce.
As far as putting the first spiders produced down, all I can ask is; why? I have several spiders in my collection that are completely normal in both behavior and physiology. Maybe there are spiders out there that suffer from neurological issues, but even they thrive under the right care.

If he is thriving and you don't mind assist feeding him, I say let him live. If you don't want him, perhaps give him to someone as a pet and tell them his story.

I wouldn't ever want to breed him though.

As of a couple weeks ago I had two assist feeders (which I dread, stressful for both of us and doesn't always work although I am getting better with practice). Each hatched with one bad (white, weeping) eye. The 2012 male normal (possible het caramel, lol) started eating after 4 months and has attacked the last couple hoppers. If he keeps this up I hope to find someone to give him to. The 2011 (heartbreak of a gorgeous female chocolate) has both a bad eye and a crick in her neck. Not sure what went wrong with her in the egg but at one point in the last year she actually constricted and ate on her own a couple times in a row but then reverted to needing assist fed. If she is hungry she takes over pretty quick after I get the hopper in her mouth but at this rate not sure if she'll get big enough to get past this or not. Don’t feel I can pawn an assist feeder off on anyone so am really hoping she’ll eventually start eating on her own for good but of course would never breed her (not that I think it’s genetic, just can’t imagine she would be up to it).
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Randy Remington
anyone@snakemorphs.com
www.SnakeMorphs.com
FaceBook.com/SnakeMorphs

I had a pastel male I assisted for 9 months before he began to eat on his own. He is now a great pet for a friends kid. He is going on 2 and eats fine with out assistance.