Five weeks seems like a long time but it really isn't. Snakes can go down for months if they have to. I wouldn't jump on the force feeding band wagon just yet. There are many ways to try that I bet you haven't gotten to yet. I would try a dark small escape proof container with a day old pink in each container first. Leave it for 24 hours, peek in after that. The more secure they feel, the more apt they are to do what they do. A smaller container also will enable they pink to keep bumping into the suboc, and with no place to go, a strike will probably ensue. I really think they like to hide and ambush when small. My girl would stay in her rock cave and pull the food in to her, rarely showing. She then became bolder and would come out to eat. Braining is another option, but I would exhaust all options before the force feed. I have only had to force feed one snake in my life, it was a brain damaged Schott's whipsnake adult that someone clubbed. He didn't make it but we kept it alive for several weeks, I think it gave up the ghost from both the trauma of the damage and the stress. My .02.



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Todd Hughes

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