Q: What reasons have you found or suspect causes hatchlings to refuse to eat on their own?
I ask because in talking with others I find that it is fairly common for hatchlings not to eat on their own. Not that all baby ball pythons refuse their meals, but that perhaps out of a few clutchs you may have one animal that refuses to eat on their own. I mean, can't all baby pythons hop in the car and drive to pick up some pizza and grab a root beer from the fridge? (just kidding - I know they can't see over the dashboard just yet)
Seriously, what reasons do you find that might cause live meal refusals under ideal/perfect conditions?
*??
*??
Besides these conditions listed below, what conditions do you believe can cause a snake to refuse a meal?
*mites (or being treated for them)
*inconsistent temperatures or temps out of ideal range
*inconsistent humidity or humidity out of ideal range
*not offering at night
*not offering appropriately sized live prey
*not feeding in appropriately sized container
*lack of "perfect substrate" - aspen bedding
*not sufficient security for animal (i.e. too few hides small enough to allow animal to touch all sides with their coils)
*others??
Feel free to also share how you have adjusted the living conditions to get the animal(s) to eat on their own, or many times you've needed to assist feed and/or force feed your hatchling(s) until they ate on their own, or any other notes you care to share about your experiences.
As you may have guessed, I have been working with two stubborn feeders I purchased from a breeder. They acquired mites at some point, and have been treated with PAM and Reptile Spray. They also needed to be placed into tubs on aspen to better regulate the heat and humidity and offer a little more security. I feel they are on their way now, but this question begs to be answered, separate from the circumstances of my little boogers.
I look forward to reading your responses.
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