Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I picked up a pair of rather small, but outstanding Algama's this summer. They fed on a couple of baby fence lizards at first, but are rejecting every thing else I've tried.

I have started tube feeding them with a mixture of egg yolk and vitamine supplements. It appears to be going well, but before I go too far with the technique I would like to know if anyone else has gone this route and what kind of success they had, any recommendations they might have and what would be the optimum formula for this approach.

Thanks,
Roger

I've been using Fancy Feast catfood for years with good results. As long as you get them feeding within a year it seems to provide good nutrition.

It packs on more wieght than pinky pumping with regular pinkies does.

It goes down easier than pumping pinkies.

It's harder for the snake to regurge than pumping pinkies.

It's cheaper than pumping pinkies.

I specifically use Fancey Feast brand because it is ground very finely and I have found bone chips in other, more coarsly ground brands.

I use Beef Feast, Beef and Liver Feast, Chicken Feast or Chicken and Liver Feast. Make sure it says "Classic" or "Classic Feast" because that means it's the regular ground style. The other kinds are like chunky and gravy or something like that and you don't want those.

I rinse off the gelatin and then just stir it up with a tiny bit of water. Sometimes I'll mix in a tiny bit of reptile vitamin/mineral powder but just a tiny bit, like putting salt on food.

I use a plastic tube cut down to about 4 inches at and cut at an angle at the tip. Run it under warm tap water for a couple minutes to make the plastic softer prior to insertion.
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www.hcu-tx.org/

I use a system very much like Aaron, but have used beef or chicken baby food. One thing to consider is the fact that most mt kings have shut down feeding for the year. Mine shut down a while back , and as long as they have good weight on them I would bromate them and try feeding again after brumation. If they have shut down, which they most likely have, then they will not eat on their own until spring. Good luck .

Joe

My pyros have also gone into brumation, both babies and adults. I have learned that how one presents the food to babies is very important to success in feeding. I set each baby up in its own little tub with deep aspen bedding, a hide, water bowl, moss hide and a little feeding cup. To present the pinkies to them I put the pinks in the feeding cup (cup prevents pink from wandering off and getting lost in bedding) and let the little snake find it on its own, usually around dusk. My 2012 batch of 18 babies only one required a lizard to get started feeding, which he ate on his own, since moving on to pinkies. These little snakes are by nature very timid and secretive. The snake room is a quiet place, as well.

Most will learn you are not a threat after awhile, some are always furtive when feeding.

I have never tube fed anyone, but did have one little dude I had to push a lizard into him a few times. This was from my first clutch in 2011 and before I instituted my find it in the cup method.
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.