need feeding help

[Xochiquetzal]

I have 2 male dumerils (both 2010) brothers who have only eaten 3 times each in the year we have had them!!! One is my own and i have switched him from a tank to a bin, the other belongs to my son and is currently in a tank and is now living with us. Temps are good , humidity is good , I have offered variety of sizes and live once or twice as well (all mice) , but to no avail, I just want to get these guys eating regularly , any suggestions?

[stephanbakir]

Please post some pictures. It could be they aren't hungry.

Do the snakes have good body shape?

[Stormy Night]

Maybe they don't want mice. I had a stubborn one that would only take rat pinkies. Since they are small the food options are sorta limited. Its not like you can try chicks and gerbils yet. Pictures wild be awesome. If they don't look emaciated then maybe they are just off to a slow start. If they ARE way to skinny and malnutrition is coming into play and they still refuse food then there is always the option of thawing a proper sized rodent and "force feeding". If done properly its not traumatic. You DONT cram a mouse down there throats. But that's an area I wont get into yet. If they aren't near death there's no need for That.

[stephanbakir]

Don't ever force feed a snake without knowing how first, I've owned a total of about 60 snakes and I've never done it, and hope never to have to.

If done properly its not traumatic.

Even if done perfectly its bound to be stressful as hell, I would personally prefer to find the underlying cause and fix that then let the snake eat on his own.

[Stormy Night]

As an addition, I forgot to mention the important parts. There is probably something 'off' with their enclosure. Improper temps, water, hidey places. If They don't feel secure they may not take food. Possibly a mouth issue, Or illness. There's always the vet option. But if they don't look super skinny and your following everything "by the book"...they may just not want food right now. Maybe the food offered is to large. My baby eats pinkies. To small is better than to big.

[Stormy Night]

I agree. Its not something you jump to first. My boa baby came out of the egg and refused to eat for a month. So I ended up having to. Thawed pinky in one hand, snake in the other. Holding its head I applied slight pressure to its mouth and she opened it. I slid the pinky into her mouth and put her in a dark bucket. She did the rest herself. So its not all that bad if you know what your doing and have no other choice. I had to do this 4 times and now she will eat anything.

[stephanbakir]

Even babies don't NEED to be force fed, we had a baby come out of the egg and not eat for 4 months, it wasn't losing weight and still looked healthy so we just waited. Now its an eating machine.

[Stormy Night]

Mine was more than a month. I miss-expressed that. The Guy I got her from said he couldn't get her to eat. By the time I had her she was 3 months old. When I got her you could count her ribs and she didn't move unless you moved her. So i saw my options as limited. Either I make her eat or I dig a hole outside. Personally I'm glad I did what I did because she's all perky and happy now.

[Xochiquetzal]

Neither of them is at deaths door , one is a little thinner than the other , no mouth rot , lots of hiding spots , quiet room, good temps , Im gonna try pinkies , they were eating fine apparently when we purchased them and they have both taken a hopper and 2 fuzzies , each ,its frustrating I just want them to eat and grow, I waited a long time for my dumerils and Im feeling disappointed!

[Stormy Night]

Sounds good. I'd definetly go with the pinky trials. This is probably just a phase. Ive heard many times of young snakes being insanely picky then just like you flip a switch they turn into lil piggies and make up for lost time. Frozen is probably the way to go. If they don't eat it after a few minutes you may get a refreeze out of it.

[sickvenom]

Even babies don't NEED to be force fed, we had a baby come out of the egg and not eat for 4 months, it wasn't losing weight and still looked healthy so we just waited. Now its an eating machine.

Baby kings can be difficult.

[Coffee Black]

I only had to force feed once but this is what i did. Thawed pinky in one hand, snake in the other. Holding its head I applied slight pressure to its mouth and she opened it. I slid the pinky into her mouth and put her in a dark bucket. She did the rest herself. .

[Lankyrob]

If you are placing the prey into the snakes mouth and it then does the rest is this not "assist feeding" rather than force feeding? My understanding was that forcefeeding is a more aggressive process and extremely stressful for the snake?

[sickvenom]

If you are placing the prey into the snakes mouth and it then does the rest is this not "assist feeding" rather than force feeding? My understanding was that forcefeeding is a more aggressive process and extremely stressful for the snake?

Correct. Those are the general terms. People will interchange the two definitions, but I go by what you just said. Force feeding is actually pushing the food item down the subject's throat.

[Stormy Night]

Yep. Assist feeding would be the correct term. Force feeding is more like using a pencil to shove food down a throat. I've never had to go farther than assisting....I dont see why anyone would. Its always been enough for me.

[Coffee Black]

Alright then I only ever assist fed. Except for a sick water dragon. Had to pry her mouth open and shove a syringe down her throat to feed her food and medicine. Also had to give her injections which was terrifying because the vet said " avoid giving the injection too far towards her head or she won't benefit from the meds and DEFINITELY avoid going to far towards the rear or she will have renal failure and die."

[Stormy Night]

Damn man....that IS scary..I may have handed the vet a permanent sharpy marker and told him to mark the best spot! Lol.