food value is in the thigh section you may wish to
only feed this piece. You may also wish to consider
leaving the entire skin intact on the leg to add some
roughage to the diet, but I find that this necessitates
the use of a much smaller mouse, meaning the food
value is probably reduced. It is important that there
are no jagged pieces of bone at either end of the
drumstick, as this could be injurious or fatal to the
snake.
Assist-feeding with fish is a similar process, but
never use fish with spiny fin rays, as these can
lodge in the snake’s oesophagus, again with
potentially-fatal consequences. Also, long-term
feeding with some oily fish can result in thiamine
deficiency because of the presence of an enzyme,
thiaminase, which breaks down this essential
vitamin. The best way to avoid this is to feed fish for
only as long as necessary until the snake will take
pinkies or other food.
an introduction to having the snake recognise
substitute foods as something it can eat naturally.
After about every three assist- or force-feeds try
leaving a food item in the enclosure or offer it on
tongs or forceps. Neonates will vary from only
requiring one or two assist- or force-feeds to those
frustrating individuals requiring dozens of interven-
tions over many months.
How often should you try to assist- or force-feed
your neonates? This is a difficult question, and the
answer depends upon the size of the meal and how
cooperative the snake is. I opt for smallish meals
every 5-7 days. Feeding too infrequently can lead to
a reduction in condition and feeding or attempting to
feed too frequently can stress the snake and delay
voluntary feeding. A good rule of thumb is to wait
until each meal passes through the animal before
attempting another feed, however I do know some
keepers who feed very small meals every 3-4 days
‘In general it is better to err on the side of small food
items, as they are easier to manage and harder for the
snake to reject.’
One of the difficulties in both assist-feeding and
force-feeding can be getting the neonate snake to
open its mouth. Some will aggressively attempt to
bite the moment food gets near. Other species such
as copperheads (Austrelaps spp.) and some Red-
bellied Black Snakes (Pseudechis porphyriacus)
may refuse to open their mouths. In such cases the
mouth may be gently pried open with a clean
surgical probe - some people have had also had
success with thin credit cards.
Force-feeding is merely an extension of assist-
feeding whereby the food is pushed far enough
down the throat to minimise the chance of rejection.
I say minimise because some neonates may still be
able to regurgitate their meal. A tell-tale sign that
this is imminent is when the snake coils into an ‘S’
shape and moves its head sharply from side to side,
followed by attempts to move backwards. Often
under these circumstances there is little you can do
but to try again on another day. Force-feeding can
be made easier by lubricating the food item with a
little water or beaten egg, and by feeding long items
like fish or rodent tails - particularly the latter
because they have rear-facing hairs that make
regurgitation difficult. In general, it is better to err on
the side of small food items, as they are easier to
manage and harder for the snake to reject. Blunt
probes and forceps with rounded tips are useful
implements, but make sure they are clean and be
very careful not to damage the snake’s oral mucosa
or oesophagus.
Force-feeding and assist-feeding should be seen as
and this seems to work for them.
Specialist feeding techniques.
Two further techniques deserve mention. I have
never used them myself, but they are included for
the sake of completeness and because others have
used them with great success.
Oesophageal tube feeding.
This involves injecting a semi-liquid, high-protein
meal straight into the deep oesophagus or stomach
via a solid, wide-gauge needle or soft plastic tube.
Commercially-available ‘pinky pumps’ employ a
version of this method and comprise a syringe-like
tube that is filled with thawed pinky mice that are
macerated on the way through the barrel of the
device, then forced down a metal needle into the
snake’s throat. Alternatively, syringes fitted with soft
plastic tubing or ‘crop needles’ used for feeding
young birds are readily available online or from
specialist pet/vet suppliers. I remember as a keen
young herpetologist in the 1970s reading an article
about William Haast of the Miami Serpentarium who
fed his adult King Cobras (Ophiophagus hannah)
using an automotive grease gun and plastic tubing
to deliver a meat mixture direct into their stomachs!
Apparently this was the only method available for
maintaining the species, which in the wild feeds
largely on other snakes.
Well known elapid keeper Shane Black is a strong
advocate of tube feeding small elapids. He uses
turkey mince supplemented with calcium powder