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Assist feeding question

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Ball Python Forum ]

Posted by JM on May 12, 2003 at 10:30:09:

I've got two little 03' babies that have not been feeding. They were sold to me as "Feeders" but I rather suspect that is not true and they have never fed. ~ Both of these babies were in shed when I got them, and they only wieghed 62 grams for one, and 75 grams for the other.

So yesterday I tried this "Assist feeding" I had heard of. I dispatched a pinky mouse, used the mouses snout to force open the snakes snout, and stuffed the little pinkie in as far as I could shove it. Took a couple goes, where the snake spat out the pinkie, but within a reasonably short time both snakes just went ahead and swallowed the pinkie. Success! (I didn't expect it to work, and it didn't work with the pinkie rat I tried, couldn't get it shoved in far enough to keep the snake from spitting it out)

So now what?

I plan to offer another live pinkie in 3 or 4 days, but if they refuse.......when do I resort to assist feeding again? How long will the one mouse pinkie hold them before I need to worry about getting more nutrition in them? What are the chances that now that they have a meal in them, they will voluntarilly take the next meal?

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