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adamanteus · 03-06-2007, 04:50 PM

Good topic. I have mixed views on the subject. Should force-feeding be a standard tool in every snake keepers arsenal of techniques? Perhaps not. Okay, it has it's place, but surely only as an absolute last resort.

My feeling is that if an animal is refusing food we should be looking at the reasons why, rather than just ramming pinkies down it's throat. It is every animals' instinct to eat and to survive, presuming you have an otherwise healthy animal refusal of food is indicitive of underlying problems. 99% of the time this will be faults in the husbandry techniques we are inflicting on our animals. I'm sure healthy animals don't refuse food in the wild.

Evey aspect of your snakes' behaviour gives you signals as to how well or how badly you are catering to its' needs. If your snake is refusing food for longer periods than you would consider "normal" (presuming the snake is healthy and free of parasites), you should be checking temperatures, photo-period, humidity, provision of hides, spacial requirements, types of food being offered etc.

Certain species are notoriously "difficult feeders", but in my experience the problem is always incorrect husbandry. I have kept European Adders (Vipera berus) in the past, and they steadfastly refused all food items offered until I gave them an enclosure with a floor space of 6' X 6' furnished with live, growing grasses and copious bracken. I rarely saw them again but they immediately started to accept live Common Lizards (Lacerta vivipara) and then soon progressed to taking dead mice. Once they had settled to this diet I tried to move them back into more conventional vivaria, they stopped feeding straight away. An extreme example, I know, but I think it illustrates my point.

There is also the problem of stress. The act of force-feeding is obviously extremely stressful for the snake. They don't know you're trying to help! I've heard of snakes dying in their keepers' hands during force-feeding.

So, to sum it up....If the snake is healthy but not feeding, we're doing something wrong. (Obviously, I'm not including times when a snake is preparing to slough, or in breeding condition). So we should be looking to improve our husbandry, rather than forcing. My thoughts on that!

03-06-2007, 04:50 PM	#2 (permalink)
adamanteus Moderator Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Cheshire. (Near Manchester). Posts: 7,867 Country:	Re: Force Feeding Good topic. I have mixed views on the subject. Should force-feeding be a standard tool in every snake keepers arsenal of techniques? Perhaps not. Okay, it has it's place, but surely only as an absolute last resort. My feeling is that if an animal is refusing food we should be looking at the reasons why, rather than just ramming pinkies down it's throat. It is every animals' instinct to eat and to survive, presuming you have an otherwise healthy animal refusal of food is indicitive of underlying problems. 99% of the time this will be faults in the husbandry techniques we are inflicting on our animals. I'm sure healthy animals don't refuse food in the wild. Evey aspect of your snakes' behaviour gives you signals as to how well or how badly you are catering to its' needs. If your snake is refusing food for longer periods than you would consider "normal" (presuming the snake is healthy and free of parasites), you should be checking temperatures, photo-period, humidity, provision of hides, spacial requirements, types of food being offered etc. Certain species are notoriously "difficult feeders", but in my experience the problem is always incorrect husbandry. I have kept European Adders (Vipera berus) in the past, and they steadfastly refused all food items offered until I gave them an enclosure with a floor space of 6' X 6' furnished with live, growing grasses and copious bracken. I rarely saw them again but they immediately started to accept live Common Lizards (Lacerta vivipara) and then soon progressed to taking dead mice. Once they had settled to this diet I tried to move them back into more conventional vivaria, they stopped feeding straight away. An extreme example, I know, but I think it illustrates my point. There is also the problem of stress. The act of force-feeding is obviously extremely stressful for the snake. They don't know you're trying to help! I've heard of snakes dying in their keepers' hands during force-feeding. So, to sum it up....If the snake is healthy but not feeding, we're doing something wrong. (Obviously, I'm not including times when a snake is preparing to slough, or in breeding condition). So we should be looking to improve our husbandry, rather than forcing. My thoughts on that! __________________ James.