Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a baby solomon island tree boa. he ate when we first got him but now he hasnt eaten in a long time. he was on the tiniest pinkies bc his head is so little. he is getting very very skinny and i wanted to try to hand feed him. i work at an animal hospital so i do have some knowledge on hand feeding but not snakes...i have some oral syringes and i was wondering if i should mix an egg, some pedialyte and maybe some meat baby food? any help will be wonderful! please!

Help!

When force feeding snakes, you usually feed them what they would normally eat. You open there mouthes, start the animal in, and then "message" the animal to help it swallow. However this is NOT something you should do unless you have ben shown how to do it. Force feeding snakes is extremely stressfull to the animal, and 10 times more so if you do not know what you are doing. I recomend takign the snake to a local pet store, have them try feeding it, and if it refuses to eat let them force feed it for you.

Well... its possible there are some factors that could be contributing to him not eating:

1. How warm/humid is his cage?

2. Where is his cage positioned in the house? In a high traffic area or a low traffic area?

3. Do you have any dogs, cats, or other animals that are around his cage that could be causing stress?

4. Have you tried leaving the food on a plate in his cage overnight?

5. Have you tried feeding him live pinkies?

If I remember right solomon's can be a little picky...

I would suggest taking him to a veterinarian instead of a petstore, as most petstore employees don't know what they're doing, especially with reptiles.

Pinkie-pumps are also an option, provided you can find one locally in time. Kinda a nasty idea, but it works well.

Good luck
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Current Collection:
0.1 Antherystic elaphe guttata guttata - Corn Snake
1.0 Elaphe vulpina gloydi - Eastern Fox Snake
0.1 Leucistic elaphe obsoleta linheimeri - Texas Ratsnake
1.1 Morelia spilota cheyni - Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Tiliqua scincoides intermedia - Northern Blue Tongue Skink

Your baby may not be recognizing a pink mouse as "food", instinctually preferring lizards instead. I didn't see your post on the Candoia forum--those folks will help you out. Best of luck with your little one!
regards,
althea