force feeding pics

[da_donkey]

prior to what?

Force feeding

 

[stencorp69]

Thanks for the pics.

I had some issues with a WC stimi which refused to feed and I had to force feed (or at the time tough I'd have to force feed). Her weight dropped from 313g when I got her (about 3 years ago) down to 210g (18 months later). After 12 months of not eating I decided to for feed a couple FT mice. After that she didn't eat for another 6 months and I was about to force feed again when she decided she would eat on her own and is fine now (eaten 13 adult mice since oct 06).

I put it down to change of environment. I think she needed time to aclimatise to the heating and lighting regime of my enclosures. My suggestion is to force feed sparingly and monitor the body weight, you should find that after a period of time she'll pick up feeding again.

Stephen

 

[gosforddreaming]

yes i have tryed all sorts of things

 

[gosforddreaming]

thanks stencorp, im hopping he will come good next spring

 

[gosforddreaming]

also i would like to add that it helps if you wet the meals head with water or vegi oil first , just to assit with going down ....i have keept pythons for well over 15 years and this is the first time ive had to force feed....

 

[Glimmerman]

hes was in with about 60 other snakes that had one way mouse doors on the avairy so thay all only eat wild mice he was one of the only ones that has had probs with eating but he was the best looking ,so i took the risk... ....

It must have been a bloody big aviary. Do they have a mouse plague out there?? 60 snakes together and only fed wild mice....wow :shock: ....

Does he look emaciated? I can't tell by the pics. If not, just because he hasn't eaten is 2 months does not necessarily mean it requires force feeding. I have personally had hatchies go 3 months before their first feed (forced or natural).

I am not having a dig at you so if your back hairs are up, relax :lol:

I believe force feeding adds additional stress and can also make your animal lazy. I have a childreni which I force fed for 2 years (Only reason why I didn't freeze it was due to my wife & daughter being attached). I finally had enough & decided not to feed it for 3 months. The next time I offered it food it struck and ate it instantly, and has so from that day forth. I think I actually force & assist fed it that frequently it realised that it didn't have to do anything for a feed, as it was shoved in its mouth on a regular basis.

 

[gosforddreaming]

yes it was a very large avairy 12x6 and all thay eat were wild mice and what ever crawled in ..yes he was looking very lose in hes skin .. and i will have to point out again , only force feed if you have no other choice ....weather or not you have no other choice will of cause be up to you...and like i said most keepers will have to doit once or twice in there life. i hope these pics help as i couldnt find any when i was looking for help....also most of the 60 snakes were last years babys , so i think thay had plenty of room

 

[Jonno from ERD]

G'day gosforddreaming,

The reason your snake isn't feeding is almost certainly husbandry related. Force feeding such a large snake is nearly always avoidable.

Cheers

Jonno

 

[hornet]

i find it hard to believe 60 snakes can be fed off mice that just wander in

 

[cement]

interesting thread. thanks for the hard earned advice. Hope it works out all good thats a nice looking diamond

 

[Splitmore]

i find it hard to believe 60 snakes can be fed off mice that just wander in

Im with you hornet, sounds like a very fishy story. How could you keep hatchlings in an avairy without them escaping??
With respect to gosforddreaming I'd put my money on that snake being straight out of the bush, hence why it's not eating. I don't believe for one minute someone could house and care for properly 60 snakes in the one cage with the only food being the odd mouse that wandered in.

 

[Jungletrans]

If you need a supply of wild mice l have the answer . A " Ketch-All " multiple catch mousetrap . They are amazing , square metal box with a spring loaded platform inside a tube that passes through it . No bait involved it works on the fact that mice are inquizitive . When they stand on the trigger platform they are flung into a holding cell . You get up to 10 mice before rewinding - all live and unharmed . They used to be available here but l got mine from USA . About $75 including postage . Just Google .

 

[gosforddreaming]

belive what you want , the threads about force feeding not how many snakes the guy i got him from keeps ..and if you make the statement of ( must be the husbandry ) than back it up with some advice i havent already tryed..big mouth know it alls arnt welcome here..

 

[hornet]

noone here has acted like a big mouthed know it all, we just stated out opinion, if you dont like it, leave aps.

 

[gosforddreaming]

If you need a supply of wild mice l have the answer . A " Ketch-All " multiple catch mousetrap . They are amazing , square metal box with a spring loaded platform inside a tube that passes through it . No bait involved it works on the fact that mice are inquizitive . When they stand on the trigger platform they are flung into a holding cell . You get up to 10 mice before rewinding - all live and unharmed . They used to be available here but l got mine from USA . About $75 including postage . Just Google .

thanks for that ,,, thats the sort of feedback we need more of around this place , positve and construtive, not negative and destrutive

 

[gosforddreaming]

you were hornet , the threads about force feeding not about how many snakes you can keep in a cage ,, just because you havent done somthing dont mean its not posiable ... thats what i love about you city folk you got no idea what goes on in the REAL world , no idea

 

[whiteyluvsrum]

i dont think a snake that old needs to be force fed so much.

 

[gosforddreaming]

do you mean as often or as many pups fed

 

[whiteyluvsrum]

as often, snakes can go witout food for some time.

 

[waruikazi]

People who haven't seen or had to personally force feed really don't know how much stress it puts on the snake. I really don't beleive that anyone would be doing it if they didn't have to.