Just an update. 4 of the Dipsas are doing great at just shy of a month old. Still eating worms and pinky legs. :yessir:

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj217/janeothejungle/Dipsadoboa/1monthold.jpg

The other 2 are having some issues. Ever tried to force feed an earthworm? It ain't fun.

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj217/janeothejungle/Dipsadoboa/forcefeedpinkylegs.jpg


~Kat

force feeding a worm...wow...I have an old pinkie pump I could send you but I'm betting the feeding tube is going to be way to large to even consider...

Congrats on the 4 that are eating well that is just awesome!

Force feeding worms????? Jeff might be on to something there. A pinkie pump with some kind of reducer on it. Congrats on the feeders and good luck with the others Kat.

Cool little wigglers! Force feeding a pink is hard enough but worms???? That would be like putting a dress on them!

Glad that the 4 are doing good. Hope the other two come around for you.

force feeding a worm...wow...I have an old pinkie pump I could send you but I'm betting the feeding tube is going to be way to large to even consider...

Congrats on the 4 that are eating well that is just awesome!

No worries bro. After much trial and error I found a fairly workable system. Now it's just a matter of seeing if they will get the message and start doing the swallowing themselves....


~Kat

Good luck with them Kat!!!!

Congrats on the 4 eating and hope the other 2 get the idea as well for ya

They're looking great Kat! How often are they eating? Do you open up your freezer to a bunch of limbless pinks?? :lol:

Wow Kat that's crazy, good luck with the slow starters!

congrats on the 4 and as for the other 2 they stand a great chance because you have them

Wow, they are so tiny! Congrats on getting the majority to eat. I hope the other two pull around and take to it as well.

Will you be selling any of these guys, or are you keeping them back?

Well, in the interest of full disclosure, 2 of the baby dipsas developed swollen spots midway between their vent and umbilicus about a week or so ago.

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj217/janeothejungle/Dipsadoboa/dipsababyswell09.jpg

It looked a bit like retained yolk, but it was soft so I just kept an eye on it. I had just moved the babies up a cage size into 'small' sized critter keepers with a perch and moss substrate when I noticed the swelling. The other 4 babies have no trace of it, but in the 2 that do have it, the swelling is in the exact same place on both of them, most likely ruling out physical injury.

Now the bad news. About 48 hours ago, one of the 'swellers' started showing signs of moderate neurological damage. As he was also one of the stubborn non-eaters, it was hard to say whether this was food related, or infection related or what. At this point, I figured there was nothing left to lose so I gave a ridiculously small dose of fortaz intra-muscularly just above the swelling. I also force fed him a pinky leg (I did this to the other sweller as well), which he mostly swallowed on his own after I got it past the angle of his jaw. He was also placed in a QT deli cup so I could keep a better eye on him (the baby dipsas like to hide during the day). He seemed more alert and was moving around a little bit yesterday so I had high hopes, but this morning I found him dead coiled in the bin.

The debate now is whether to assume it was infection that he succumbed to and treat the other with an antibiotic as a preemptive strike, or wait and watch to see if the force feeding improves him.

I think I'm going to go ahead and try and necropsy the deceased to see if I can pinpoint what exactly the swelling is from. This, unfortunately, is the down side of working with a species that has no body of knowledge attached to it.

The 4 robust guys are all still doing great and growing so I'm not too worried about them at this point, but the little dude that is still alive and has the swelling is a priority so if anyone has an educated guess on this, feel free to PM or email me.

~Kat

Man thats too bad Kat. Hope you find out what caused it.

glad to see most of them feeding on their own, you will learn something from the others as well to add to the knowledge of this species which is virtually unknown and undocumented.

Kat where did the red wigglers come from????
Just out of curiosity.And where they eating them as well as the others?




Ohhhhhh and by the way...Those things are ugly!!!!!:lmao::cheers:

Congrats on the ones that are starting out well! Cute lil buggers! Good luck with the remaining 'sweller.' I think it goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway!) that you should keep us updated!