Why do we wait to feed them?

[Cornishpythons]

Hi Everyone.

This is my 1st post,I have been lurking on the forum a while but only got registered last night,I have read a lot of the previous posts and also used the search function to answer my question but I didn't find this question raised before (unless I missed it!)

Almost everyones opinion seems to be that hatchlings are to be fed a short time after their 1st shed.

I was just wondering why?

Is it that they are unlikely to feed?,that it may harm them in some way? or just to stimulate a "hunger" to encourage them to eat for the 1st time so they get into a routine?

In the wild are they observed eating before their 1st shed?

All input appreciated.

Thanks

[LadyOhh]

Like any animal, you can try.

The reason that most don't, including myself, is that they have a full belly when they come out of the egg.

The yolk is completely absorbed, so they are technically full to the brim when pipping.

Will they eat when full? Some do...

Should you try and feed them? Probably not. It is more of a stressor to a newly hatched BP than a benefit.

Plus they are pretty much on the verge of shed when they pip also, so they are doing a lot with their little bodies, and do not need to worry about food to top it all off!!!

Bottom line, let them chill...

Welcome to the world with a rodent shoved in your face is not the best way, in my opinion...

[MarkS]

They're just unlikely to feed until after their first shed. Actually they're unlikely to feed until after they've digested their yolk which they suck up into their bellies before they emerge from their eggs and is what they live off of for the first few weeks of life. Feeding them before their first shed won't do them any harm, but more often then not it's an exercise in futility.

[mooingtricycle]

lol i asked this same question from my first clutch ever this year.

fact is, they just DONT want to eat. ( some do, supposedly, but really its just better to wait)

its been quite a few weeks after my guys shed, and two only JUST took their first meals yesterday. one has been eating a bit longer than the others and is doing splendidly. Lets hope the other two take their next meals

[Cornishpythons]

Thanks for the advice everyone.My 100% het albino female had laid her 1st clutch of 9 eggs,8 of the eggs went full term and hatched (2 of which are albino )

The average weight of the hatchlings is about 46g.

They just seem so small,but I am going to wait till their 1st shed before feeding them.

Thanks again.

[West Coast Jungle]

Many still dont eat right after their first shed, the truth is they eat when they are ready, not when we are

[frankykeno]

I tried the feeding before shed, then feeding immediately after first shed and it was an exercise in futility. Then I smartened up, re-read the good advice I was given and gave it another 5 days and bingo...most of them snarfed down their meals. The few that held out eventually got the idea after a little help down the road.

Can't rush the babies, they have their own natural time clocks.

[Rapture]

It seems like the timing of the first shed and metabolizing all that egg yolk usually coincide with each other, which is why it's just easy to say to wait to feed them a few days after they shed. I did have one hatchling this year that didn't shed for a good few weeks after all its clutchmates did... that hatchling ate 3 or 4 times before its first shed. I know there are some species of snakes that take a lot longer to shed than ball pythons do, and those snakes get fed numerous times before their first shed.

[Sputnik]

Many still dont eat right after their first shed, the truth is they eat when they are ready, not when we are

That sums it up....

I have some that eat same day they have their first shed and others that wait 2 or 3 weeks.... it's up to them I find.