Ftt

[Saji]

How long would most of you let a 6" Thamnophis Radix go without eating before you humanely put it down? Or would you continue to try to feed until time of death. I am not jumping the gun. I want to be prepared. Hope for the best plan for the worst.

Saji

[guidofatherof5]

First, how long has it gone without eating?

[Saji]

11 days for one, I know its not uncommon but for a scrub it seems extreme. It ignores all food. My latest try was Pollock.

Saji

[chris-uk]

Depends on the snake, whether it's loosing weight quickly, whether it loses body condition, whether it's drinking regularly...
I went six months with one marcianus scrub, she had never eaten with me and possibly never ate with the breeder. I went nearly eight months with her sister who ate sporadically for the first month or so, then stopped. The first I euthanised when it was clear she wasn't going to survive, the second was when I found her convulsing in her viv - I probably left her a week too long.

At eleven DAYS you are a whole measurement factor of time away from having to make a decision. However, if your radix is wild-caught and you live in the middle of radix country, I'd probably avoid euthanasia and just return the scrub to the ecosystem - it would have an outside chance, or it would contribute to the food chain.

[Saji]

Captive-Bred. Just wanting some input from you guys. Thanks.

[Stefan-A]

http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/site...10831-hey.html

[Saji]

little late on that one, bud.

[snipstedy]

What usually is the cause of them to stop eating?

[guidofatherof5]

What usually is the cause of them to stop eating?

That's part of the mystery surrounding FFT. Could be developmental, genetic, poor immune system, etc. FTT is just the name given to a whole group of possible causes. Then again it might just be one thing that hasn't been discovered.