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Baby lost weight?

C

ChristinaH

New member
We've had Doof for about 5 weeks now, I think. He has been eating well for us the past couple of weeks, every 6 days. Last time I weighed him, he weighed 10grams. He has since eaten twice and is due to eat again tonight. I weighed him this evening and the scale was bouncing between 7 and 8 grams. I have not found any regurges or anything, and he doesn't even seem to poop much. Shouldn't he be gaining weight, not losing it? Do we just need to feed him more often? He has seemed a little skittish the last couple of times I have handled him - I think he actually tried to constrict my wrist this evening!
Is all of this a sign something is wrong? I'm hoping it is just that he needs to eat more often. We were afraid to feed him too frequently because he was a difficult eater in the beginning. When we got him he had not eaten for 2 weeks because of shedding, then he did eat after 1 more week (total of 3), then he refused the next 3 meals we offered him (about every 4-5 days), finally ate again after 2 weeks, and now he has eaten the last 3 meals he was offered.
Please, if anyone has advice, I'd appreciate it!
 
Sounds like he is just working through the results of those rough spots. Are you slitting his feeders? They tend to poo less with slit feeders, also what kind of bedding is he on? At that size poo is hard to find unless you use paper towels. Stick to your schedule and he will come back around. Snakes take a while to lose weight as well as put it on so I would not be too worried just yet, ok?
 
I think that would be fine! Sometimes you'll see an artificial weight gain when you weigh a snake that hasn't pooped, and then the next time he will appear to have lost quite a bit of weight. I always suspect that is what's going on if I see a rapid weight gain. Plus, scales just vary some from one calibration to the next.
 
Oops, forgot to answer a couple things - no, we aren't slitting the pinkies, but I do give them a gentle wash with Palmolive. For some reason he doesn't like the smell of mouse! Also, we use Aspen bedding, he has several hides, temps are good via glass probe, etc. He's just a little skittish and has lost the weight. Could be from poop, didn't even think of that! He could also be getting close to shedding I guess - I've been expecting to see his eyes turn blue any day now but they haven't yet. I think it has been about 6 weeks since he last shed at the pet store.

Thanks for the help! I just left him with his f/t pinkie, so hopefully he will eat well again!
 
ChristinaH said:
Oops, forgot to answer a couple things - no, we aren't slitting the pinkies, but I do give them a gentle wash with Palmolive. For some reason he doesn't like the smell of mouse! Also, we use Aspen bedding, he has several hides, temps are good via glass probe, etc. He's just a little skittish and has lost the weight. Could be from poop, didn't even think of that! He could also be getting close to shedding I guess - I've been expecting to see his eyes turn blue any day now but they haven't yet. I think it has been about 6 weeks since he last shed at the pet store.

Thanks for the help! I just left him with his f/t pinkie, so hopefully he will eat well again!
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I would not use any kind of soap on my snakes food it might cause issues. Many babies act like they don't want to eat the first few feedings and need to be left over night. He could be having a buildup of residue from the soap :(

Yes he should shed soon, so watch for that. With an itty bitty I would use aspen to make sure he is passing poo, and that it is normal. If you cut a couple slits in the mouse before feeding it will help the snake digest easier and faster, also help the snake utilize more of the feed. Thus growing faster. At least that is what I have been told on here and I started doing it a couple feeds ago.

I might call my vet tomorrow and ask if soap on the feeder might cause issues, just so we both know.
 
Sorry for double post, I meant paper towels not aspen, paper towels make it VERY easy to watch for when they "go". Where as aspen can actually hide it and lead you to think they are not going when they really are. Just my thoughts.
 
What? No, don't clean the mouse. There's no reason to do it (if you see something wrong with it, throw it out!), and may harm the corn. I remember seeing a few pictures of your little guy, and I personally would be concerned with any weight loss.

Now, are you feeding him one or two pinks? How often? And a good suggestion would be to slit or cut the mouse. Use scissors or a knife to cut the back of the mouse, and maybe even the chest. Don't cut the stomach, though; I did that once and, eh, not pretty. Also, if you think he truly does not like the smell of the mouse (that's BS if you ask me though :| ), take a knife tip or ice pick and shove that into the mouse's head. The blood and brain matter should be irresistible to Doof.

Also, I would bump him up to feeding every 5 days.
 
We are feeding Doof one pink every 6 days at the moment, planning to bump him up to every 5 days. We haven't been slitting the pink but if it might help him gain some weight we will do that next time. Just slit the skin a little bit?

I'll have to go back and see who it was that recommended washing the mice. It seemed to help so I kept doing it.They also recommended scenting it with tuna or lizard, but I didn't have anything to do that with. I was planning to try not washing it anymore next feeding anyways since he has been eating better, so now I will definitely not wash it.

We're going to clean his cage tonight while he is in his feeding cage so we should have a better idea on if he is pooping. I only know of 3 times that he has gone since we got him.

Thanks!
 
Washing mice is a recognised trick that is frequently used to get picky feeders back feeding, or to get stubborn hatchlings going at first. Providing the soap (I believe a lot of people recommend Dawn dish soap) is thoroughly rinsed off then there shouldn't be a problem and hopefully you can slowly wash the mouse less with every feed, so the snake gets used to eating just plain thawed mice eventually :)
 
ChristinaH said:
We are feeding Doof one pink every 6 days at the moment, planning to bump him up to every 5 days. We haven't been slitting the pink but if it might help him gain some weight we will do that next time. Just slit the skin a little bit?

I'll have to go back and see who it was that recommended washing the mice. It seemed to help so I kept doing it.They also recommended scenting it with tuna or lizard, but I didn't have anything to do that with. I was planning to try not washing it anymore next feeding anyways since he has been eating better, so now I will definitely not wash it.

We're going to clean his cage tonight while he is in his feeding cage so we should have a better idea on if he is pooping. I only know of 3 times that he has gone since we got him.

Thanks!
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Slit more, I think. I slit my corn's mice enough to make blood ooze from them.

Washing is horrible idea to me, but a lot of people scent with tuna, I know. Hell, someone named one of their corn's 'Starkist' or something like that because the corn won't eat unless the mouse is scented with tuna juice. XD

If he's in aspen that he can burrow in, you will probably find poo in his burrows. I found lots in my corn's when I cleaned her cage out a few weeks ago.
 
Okay, I will slit the pinkie next time.
I do believe it is Dawn I am using, it's the environmentally friendly one. And I use just a teensy bit and rub it all off under warm water really well. I'll try not doing it next time since he has eaten well for us the past 4 times.
Hubby cleaned the cage and didn't see any poop. It's probably just too hard to see it in all the aspen bedding.
Thanks for all the help! Here is your reward - a picture of Dr. Doofenshmirtz with a full belly!
 

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ShenziSixaxis said:
Washing is horrible idea to me, but a lot of people scent with tuna, I know. Hell, someone named one of their corn's 'Starkist' or something like that because the corn won't eat unless the mouse is scented with tuna juice. XD
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Washing in Ivory or Dawn (and rinsing well) is usually the _first_ step people try with non-feeders. You'd probably be surprised at the whole list of scenting methods and tricks!

I agree- I always slit the mice until the snake is on adults. And don't be surprised to see a weight drop of a gram or two after a shedding period, too.
 
For the most part, I think your doing everything fine. Considering the snake didn't eat for over a month after you got it, losing a couple grams is probably normal. Now that I think you have it on a stabile feeding regimen, you should start to see in increase. It may be a small increase depending on the size of the feeders your using.

I believe snakes only gain 1/4 of the weight of the feeder they eat. So if you are feeding a 1-2gram pinkie, that works out to 1/4-1/2 a gram per feeding. Which isn't much and with handling sessions and activity, that could easily be burned off. With that said, I would make sure the pinkies you are feeding are of the appropriate weight and size.

At this point, I would go ahead and bump up the feeding to every 5 days, make sure your feeders are of the appropriate size, maybe stop washing with soap and use a good water rinse, slit the feeders and then keep us posted.

Good Luck!

Wayne
 
Pretty anery - looks like mine just with a smaller food bump - he's about the same size and will take 2 pinkies and beg for more...

one suggestion - try thawing the mice in warm water - not hot. My crimson claudia went off her food at one point - and I had changed from using warm tap water to using water from the hot tap alone - I think she could sense something in the mouse that was different and she wouldnt even look at them... I was starting to get worried, remembered I had made that change... went back to doing that and she struck at it so fast I didnt even see her move, to the point that just from a baby snake moving so quickly I could sort of understand why people are scared of them...

I hope your one keeps up with the feeding now - with a bit of luck you shouldnt have any more problems
 
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