Your snake hasn’t eaten in a while and it is loosing weight, you have tried everything to get the snake to eat. It is time to force feed the snake which can seem a difficult task below is the basics of force feeding.
Get a reptile vet to assist you with force feeding if you are unsure of your snake handling ability.
Force Feeding Using Solid Food
- Cut the head off a pre-killed pinkie mouse
- Grasp the pinkie mouse head in a pair of tweezers
- Hold the snake gently but firmly just behind the head
- Slowly and very gently push the pinkie head against the snakes lips until the snake should open its mouth and grasp the pinkie head
- The snake may begin to swallow the pinkie head on its own
- If the snake does not want to swallow the pinkie by itself use a thin steel or plastic rod to gently push the food down the snakes throat
- Once you have pushed the pinkie past the snakes neck massage the pinkie towards the snakes stomach using your fingers
- The snakes stomach is situated about a third of its lenght measured from the head.
- Once the pinkie head has been swallowed leave the snake alone in a warm cage dark cage to digest the food.
- It is easier to force feed solid food to smaller snakes.
Tube Feeding
- You will need a plastic syringe with a 3ml to 5ml capacity.
- For the tube use a soft rubber or silicone tub. Aquarium tubing works well
- Attached the tub to the end of the syringe
- Fill the syringe will liquidised cat food or beaten egg.
- If using beaten egg add calcium and vitamin powder.
- If the snake is an adult get a friend to hold the snakes body
- Hold the snakes head and open its mouth by gently pressing on either side of its jaw.
- Lubricate the tube with water.
- Push the tube down the snakes throat just past the neck.
- Slowly push the syringe and empty the contents into the snakes stomach.
- Remove the syringe and keep the snakes mouth closed for a few seconds to prevent regurgitation.
- Place the snake back in its cage and make sure it has adequate heat.
- Tube feeding is easier with larger snakes.
Be very gentle as snakes have extremely delicate skulls and skeletal structure.
Timothy Zedi
Tim Zedi is a seasoned reptile enthusiast with over 25 years of experience in keeping and breeding a wide variety of reptiles. Tim was the former chairman of the West Rand Herpetological Association and volunteered at the Transvaal Snake Park.Tim has been instrumental in creating knowledge in the reptile community. He is a regular contributor to Practical Reptile Keeping magazine, where he shares his expertise and insights. Through his work, Tim has become a respected figure in the herpetology field, dedicated to educating others and promoting responsible reptile care.