Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My final result for my problem feeder Alterna is a pinkie pump. I've read VPI's info about the pump but I was just wondering if anyone with experience has any tips, tricks, or advice that I should know about before I go through with it?

I've done my share of p-pumping in the past. Here are some do's and a don't:

Do:
1. Put a little water or vegetable oil (very litle oil) on the tip to make it slide in easier.
2. Get the air out before you put it in the snake. This will mean squirting a little out before insertion (geez this sounds bad)
3. Use a thawed pinky, and use a razor to slice oprn the head for easier liquifying.
4. Inset ppump tip slowly and gently. You don't need to go very far down.
5. After squirting the contents of the pump into the snake, withdraw the tip nice and carefully.

Don't:
1. Don't put too much pressure on the snake's neck and body. These are baby snakes.

You can add other ingredients to the pump as well. I used to put some strained chicken baby food in there with the pinky. I even kept a baby snake going for months on just the baby food alone. I'm not sure of the health negatives of doing this, but the snake did fine on it until it ate on its own. The baby food is far easier to pump and gives some extra calories to the pink-strained meal. Draw your own conclusions. I got the baby-food tip from a breeder who worked with lots of montane kingsnake babies.

Pinky pumping can keep a non-feeder alive and well for a long time. However, I would try the other tricks (i.e. scented pinks, washed pinks, etc) after a few pump sessions. You don't want to have to be pumping a baby snake for a year if it isn't necessary.

My advice would be to not use it. The one time I tried I was not happy with what happened. I started to drop the plunger and something clogged built up pressure and then let fly. It was like firing a bb gun into the snakes gut. The snake survived but could have died immediately if things had gone slightly different. Forcing by hand a whole pinky has worked for me in the past but I'm not so sure that's a great idea either. I say brumate and try in the spring. Really how hard should we try to save a snake that is obviously not suited for captivity? Chances are, if it breeds, you'll have some babies that do the same thing.

Note: The snake that I did use the pump on, still has never eaten on it's own and is in brumation.
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Martin Whalin

"It is foolish to let singleness of purpose deprive one of the joy and delectation of the many wonderful sights and sounds incidental to the quest."
-Carl Kauffeld
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Ooh, I thought that was just me. My pinkie pump did the same thing except that it ended up everywhere BUT in the snake. I've used small grade rubber catheters and baby food for very tiny snakes, which I think is a tad less stressful, although I'd probably practice with the pump if I were facing a larger snake. The only snakes I've forcefed had been sick, were very young, and were of a species that doesn't brumate. (and all are doing pretty much swimmingly right now, fingers crossed)
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

My pinkie pump experience was a long time ago. In the space of three consecutive years my lone female Haitian boa, Epicrates cenchria cenchria presented me with a total of 106 live babies. Did I scope out a source for little feeder lizards? Nah, I was going to make the poor creatures do it my way – rodents first and forever.

After the inevitable difficulties arose, I borrowed someone’s pinky pump to give it a try. Afterwards, I was glad I hadn’t purchased one. Of course the babies were small and delicate and already past the time when they should have gotten some nutrition. I only tried it on a couple. I can’t recall if I killed just one or both, basically by suddenly slamming the plunger too far down. The action wasn’t smooth at all on the instrument. My hands are relatively small, I had difficulty operating it one-handed, and I was doing this by myself without assistance. In the last year or so, I’ve seen a trigger-style model which for about 5 seconds piqued my interest. It would probably be easier to operate.

I know some people have had good luck with these things. Obviously, Mark has. I think Roy Stockwell sings their praises for keeping difficult baby sand boas alive until they start feeding voluntarily. I really wish I had the confidence to think that a different model or more experience would improve my ability.

-Joan

Thank you all for the advice. One way I've heard to take care of the first initial plunge of pinkie into the snake is to pump the pinkie into a cup or something and then scoop the mush back up into the pump and then pump into the snake. I know it sounds kind of disgusting but if it'll save the snake from having a pinkie shot down it's throat I'm sure it's worth it. As far as using the pump it's my last resort after trying just about everything else.

Using the pinky pump should be the last resort. After you have tried all the rest and if something isn't done the snake is going to die, then you pump.

Several of the posts above said "I tried it once and it didn't work, therefore pinky pumps are bad".

I don't think that is a fair criteria. If you tried it once then you were probably inexperienced. The pump is going to be used on an undersized, malnurished snake that is on the edge of death. The pump isn't going to bring every one back.

I have used the pump on hundreds of snakes over many years and saved some, lost some. The ones I saved would have died otherwise. The ones I lost were dying before I pumped them. What conclusions should I draw from that?
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Wade's Weptiles & Wodents

Several of the posts above said "I tried it once and it didn't work, therefore pinky pumps are bad".

I’m not sure I think that’s a fair precis of all the cautionary remarks, so I would just restate that quotation as follows: “I tried it once or twice and I couldn’t make it operate the way I thought it should, therefore the pinky pump didn’t suit my purposes.” That’s what I heard, anyway.

I thought the posts were a good example of the message board concept at its best – experiences both pro and con from varied, real world users.

-Joan