I might try and get some tweezers to move the pinky head around. I might try scenting the meal with something. Hot dogs, chicken broth or grease from fried chicken, bacon grease, tuna or salmon are possible choices which are easy to access.
My own go-to for scent is lizards; they nearly always work. I know that you said you don’t have easy access to a lizard. It’s there a pet store nearby? If so, they may be happy to let you have some soiled bedding from mice or hamsters or something. You can put a handful in a baggie with the pinky head for a bit. They may also have lizards, and you could do the same with their bedding or even get a shed to use. Sometimes that works.
Some of the stubborn babies I’ve dealt with have eaten when they were held in my hand, with the prey item held quietly right in front of their nose. This can take a little time, but sometimes that focuses their attention. The next step, if they don’t grab the food, is to touch their nose with it. Often they’ll go ahead and grab at that point.
Edit: I just want to add, don’t give up. I know it’s hard when a baby seems determined to starve itself. Bambam seems in good spirits, still active, passing some waste. These are all reasons to be encouraged. And again, congratulations for getting Pebbles established! Great job!
I do have a local pet store that sells things like beardies and gekos so they might have something. They also sell the usual hamster too so they should have something.
Also would another thing worth trying also be to put a smaller tub in their main tubs with the food work? That way they wont be moved around as much but still only be focused on the food. Also at what point should assist feeding be considered which im really hoping wont be needed . But thanks for the encouraging words! I also just attempted to wiggle the food around but bambam had other ideas one of them being trying to escape for freedom as soon as the tub opened. Hopefully i wake up in the morning to see that bambam has eaten.
This is absolutely worth trying, yes! In fact, It’s something I’d do tonight with this feeding. if possible.
This is a tough question to which there’s no single answer. To begin, the answer partly depends upon how one defines assist feeding. Some people never do it; others go all out. For me, when a baby is visibly losing condition/weight and I’ve tried a variety of things without success, I’ll try assist feeding. I very rarely do this before a month of efforts. The exception is for tiny babies (maybe like Bambam) who have less reserves. For me, this initially means holding the baby & pestering it with the prey item. Touching its snout, trying to get it to grab the prey. If this doesn’t work, I’ll try and kind of pry the snake’s mouth open with the mouse’s nose and get a bit of it into the snake’s mouth. Once I do, I freeze. Often the snake will think about it and decide to eat.
@shadowspiderjack Just out of curiosity, do you have a actual reptile/exotics vet in your area? I’m assuming since you have a few snakes and are breeding them you do have a reptile vet lined up in case you need one?
That’s great! If it comes to assist feeding for Bams an experienced reptile vet can tube feed a snake with caloric nutrient food to give it a jump start while coaxing it to accept rodents.
Granted it is stressful for the snake but if calories are desperately needed this method may be necessary. There will probably be people who disagree but I have seen this done where I worked and I had to have one of my boas that quit eating for months and was losing weight fed this way before he started eating on his own again….
I am just bringing this up as a LAST RESORT of course……
Can you get a recent picture of bam? So people can see his body condition. It may be time to assist feed using the methods @caryl has outlined. Then if assist feeding doesn’t work after a few tries you may need to try more of a force feeding like @caron suggests as a last resort.
Bams looks good in these pictures so it’s really a matter of imho going by weight so if he has lost 2 grams in a month he only has 2 more to lose. I would keep a close eye on his weight.
Of course @caryl, @noodlehaus and @solarserpents know the breeding and feeding side. I am just looking at the vet assist side. Who knows, the little one may take a pink right from your fingers as @caryl suggested.
Yeah thats what i was thinking too. Its quite worrying. Ill try and get some lizard shed from my local pet shop tomorrow and offer again on the weekend so hopefully thats the trick that will get bambam to eat.
@shadowspiderjack Sounds like a plan. I don’t mean to alarm you but each day without eating is not on the plus side for little Bams so I am just thinking ahead…… I see @caryl is replying so we will see what she says……
He does still look decent and being active is a good sign. They all drop a little weight right after hatching before they begin feeding. That said, if he were mine, with that amount of dropped weight, I would get more assertive at feeding time. If you can get something to lizard-scent the next meal, give that a shot. You can also try getting him interested by wiggling or dragging it, as @lumpy does for Leakey.
If he doesn’t take the food within an hour, I’d take him in hand and get that food in his mouth. He needs to start eating soon. Digestion takes calories and energy, too, so he needs to get a meal while he’s energetic.
If you do hand-feed him, he may take it easily. He may clamp his mouth shut. Be as firm as necessary, while as gentle as feasible, but get it in there. When you do, hold it there and hold still. He may resist, turn away, etc. Keep at it. Usually, once the item is in their mouth (especially once it’s a far as the throat area) they’ll go ahead and swallow.
If this is necessary, Bambam will probably not like this process but he needs nutrition. Don’t worry that it will turn him into an unfriendly snake later. He’ll get over any skittishness with regular, gentle handling- but save that until after he’s feeding regularly.
It’s really hard with these tiny ones. It is easy to overwhelm their tiny digestive tract, and a regurge can be fatal for these little guys. I wouldn’t use a whole pink with a 2 g snake. A tiny pinky head should be okay. It isn’t the easiest thing in the world to hold onto the snake in one hand and the food in the other, then get it down him. But it can be done.
Another possible option is a “drumstick” from a tiny mouse or even a section of the tail of an adult mouse. Tail pieces aren’t the best choice nutritionally but they’re easy to get down reluctant throats. After a couple of meals (YMMV) they get more excited about eating.
Btw, if you do this @shadowspiderjack, it’s sometimes easier to hold the baby if he’s got a bit of tissue or cloth or sometime to wrap his body around whole you hold his head/neck.
I think @caron is right, he doesn’t have much weight left to lose! Like @caryl suggested if he doesn’t eat this weekend I would also assist feed, I personally have had luck with the mouse tails and small legs, then tiny pinks. Good luck👍
I tried doing this yesterday and they still showed no interest.
Since they can only eat a pinky head would I only put the head halfway into bambams mouth?
Would a medium mouse be suitable for this method? Ive got lots of them in at the moment since thats what most my corns are on.
Concidering their weight should I attempt another feeding tomorrow or Friday? Also would it be a good idea to try and offer the pinky and if they refuse the tail after? Ill try get some lizard shed tomorrow so hopefully doing that gets them to eat.
On a more positive note it seems that pebbles is going into their second shed!
Yes, that’s what I would do. The trick is just being able to hang onto both the snake and the food item.
Yes, it would. When I do this, I cut about a 1"-long piece. The goal is to get somethinginto the baby. Food passing through the digestive tract helps to stimulate hunger in the future.
You’re on a different time zone and honestly, I sometimes lose track of what day it is where. I would try again 36-48 hours after the last attempt. Yes, I’d try the lizard scenting in a feeding container (which ideally would already be on his enclosure so that Bambam can be accustomed to its scent/presence). If Bambam didn’t eat after an hour or so alone with the prey item, I would pick up the snake and go from there.
. But thanks for the encouraging words! I also just attempted to wiggle the food around but bambam had other ideas one of them being trying to escape for freedom as soon as the tub opened. Hopefully i wake up in the morning to see that bambam has eaten.
