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#1514711
CaseyGoneCoastal
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HELP! BIG mistake... Fixable? 
Ok, I think I may have just made a fatal mistake with my baby hognoses. They hadn’t eaten in a very long time (at least a month I think), and they weren’t going for any of the tricks with the pinkies. I thought the worst thing I could do was let them go any longer without food, and I wanted them to have at least something while I worked on getting feeder toads. I did a lot of reading and reasearch before deciding to try gently force feeding (I know, I know...I should have consulted a vet). Both babies took the pinkies down fine. I was so proud that I got them to eat. Well, when I got to really thinking about it, one of the easterns was looking dehydrated. So I started researching what to about a dehydrated snake. THEN I learn that force feeding a dehydrated snake is a big no-no. Of course that makes sense to me now. But I feel like such a dolt for not considering that earlier. I’m now very concerned about the welfare of my easterns. I know you guys are going to tell me to take them to a vet, but if that can be avoided I prefer to avoid the vet. Should I try soaking them in tepid water even though they just ate? How long is too long for the pinkies to take to digest?
Advice from experienced herp-enthusiasts would be so greatly appreciated. I’m on the verge of panic-mode.
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11/15/07 10:51am
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#1514832
M4tt
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Message To: CaseyGoneCoastal In reference to Message Id: 1514711
HELP! BIG mistake... Fixable?
It usually only takes a couple days for them to digest a pinky and maybe another day or two before you fianlly see evidence of it being fully digested (poop). I don’t know about your snakes but some snakes get very squirmy when put into water. If you can very gently handle them not causing them to get upset or squirm around alot and if they will hang out in the water calmly then it should not be a problem. Normal movement is fine just avoid getting them stressed out. Good luck.
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11/15/07 01:41pm
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#1515529
JackAsp
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Message To: M4tt In reference to Message Id: 1514832
HELP! BIG mistake... Fixable?
Mild dehydration for two days is safer than having them throw up. I’d say wait two days. Then, soak them in a very shallow tepid mixture of 50 per cent water 50 per cent pedialyte/ whatever other unflavored pediatric electrolyte solution is handy. You don’t want the flavored stuff, because a vent full of sucrose can.... grow things, but the plain stuff is amazing. You can actually compare pre-soak and post-soak results and see the difference on a gram scale, and that’s with very small snakes! You can also put the same mix in their water dish, but make it cooler. often they’ll come out of the warm bath and go straight to their water dish and drink some more it to cool off, so you’re gettingthem at both ends.
Remember that "bath" is a misnomer. If you’re using a deli cup for a hatchling, you want it just deep enough that the whole bottom is ncovered by fluid, instead of all the fluid fitting in that lowered ring around the perimeter. Their cloaca is underneath them, and that’s all you need submerged. Their large intestine will do the rest. A lot of people think that more is better, and puttting a snake that doesn’t really feel like being in deep warm water into deep warm water adds nothing to the equation except for stress. They don’t need exercise and they aren’t likely to want to drink warm fluid when they’re warm; they just need more fluid absorbed into their bloodstream through the intestine, and the intestine could not care less which end that fluid comes from.
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11/15/07 11:02pm
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#1515534
JackAsp
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Message To: JackAsp In reference to Message Id: 1515529
HELP! BIG mistake... Fixable?
Jus to clarify, I was ayin you want the whole bottom "covered." Not "uncovered." The way I accidentally hit that extra key, the sentence may have been unclear.
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11/15/07 11:03pm
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#1522046
CaseyGoneCoastal
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Message To: JackAsp In reference to Message Id: 1515534
HELP! BIG mistake... Fixable?
Ok, I’ve got good news and bad news...
Bad news first - I lost one of the babies. It was a real heartbreaker.
Now for the good news - The second of the two is doing GREAT! She’s fully digested the pinkie and has had several healthy bowel movements since then. I’ve seen her drink water and is so much more active than she was. I’ve got a picture of the little beaut below...
Fingers crossed that we can keep her going!
I also want to make a shout-out to JackAsp. I’ve got a lot of respect for your advice and experience. Thanks for taking the time to help me out. And M4tt... thanks for responding so quickly!
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11/21/07 01:27pm
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