Hatchling Feeding

Feeding hatchlings- I prefer to use frozen/thawed rats, however some websites say it's impossible to start out on anything but live hoppers while others say it's do-able.

I've read that they are picky eaters, but if only given one choice wouldn't it be fairly easy?

Or do I have to acclimate them?
One website said feed live for the first three meals then f/th

Normally, I'd just go upon what the owner/breeder has been doing but I may potentially be purchasing a snake without the first shed or meal. So, he just plain may not eat at all.


So- opinions or personal observations would be helpful.
Although, reading more and more it seems like the answer will be very dependent on the snake itself. D:

The chances that an hatchling that has never ate a meal take f/t is very slim, it is their first meal, a learning process and stimulation is often necessary.

As for buying an animal that has not shed or has not have at least 3 successful consecutive meal, I HIGHLY do not recommend, some hatchling can be tricky to start even for an experience owner, they may require assisting and some may fail to thrive, in other word a gamble even more so I you have no experience starting an hatchling.

I personally refuse to sell animals unless they have at least 3 meals in them sometimes more.

What Deborah said X2. I've started some on f/t mouse hoppers, but not very many. Once they are eating live for a few feedings, they are much easier to convert to f/t.

I also agree with her about buying a baby that has not shed or eaten, unless you have the experience to handle a non-feeding baby. You may save on the price of the snake, but it could cost you the snake if it doesn't eat and you don't know how and when to take other measures.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

The chances that an hatchling that has never ate a meal take f/t is very slim, it is their first meal, a learning process and stimulation is often necessary.

As for buying an animal that has not shed or has not have at least 3 successful consecutive meal, I HIGHLY do not recommend, some hatchling can be tricky to start even for an experience owner, they may require assisting and some may fail to thrive, in other word a gamble even more so I you have no experience starting an hatchling.

I personally refuse to sell animals unless they have at least 3 meals in them sometimes more.

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x3 Most breeders worth their salt would be willing to hold your animal (paid for or on a payment plan) until it is feeding properly. One breeder even switched a hatchling from mouse hoppers to rat fuzzies/pups (at my request) while we were waiting for the temps to go down enough to ship last summer.

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Originally Posted by rirvinbrady

Feeding hatchlings- I prefer to use frozen/thawed rats, however some websites say it's impossible to start out on anything but live hoppers while others say it's do-able.

I've read that they are picky eaters, but if only given one choice wouldn't it be fairly easy?

Or do I have to acclimate them?
One website said feed live for the first three meals then f/th

Normally, I'd just go upon what the owner/breeder has been doing but I may potentially be purchasing a snake without the first shed or meal. So, he just plain may not eat at all.


So- opinions or personal observations would be helpful.
Although, reading more and more it seems like the answer will be very dependent on the snake itself. D:

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I've read in the Pythons of the World, volume II, the Barker's recommending to start on F/T and that they rarely have a problem with it...but me, personally, I have never been able to do it. I start my babies on large mouse fuzzies, "crawlers", where they are almost hopper size but their eyes aren't quite open. For that first meal, these sized babies are less jumpy than hoppers, and with their eyes closed they aren't a threat for chewing on the babies either. Once they eat that first meal, it's easy to offer the regular hopper/small mouse/mouse depending on how quickly the baby grows.

-Jen

I thought it was better to start babies on rats and not mice.

Sometimes mouse hoppers have better movement that excites baby bp's into a feeding mood. It is pretty easy to switch them over once they start to eat. The key is to get them to eat, then you can convert them to rats.

Eventually I try and get everything eating frozen thawed rats but most won't start on f/t. I try a feeding or two and then try live mice and/or rats. Some years I seem to have better luck but most of the time very few will take f/t for their first feeding. They seem to prefer hopper mice but some will take rat pinks. After a few live meals I'll start trying to switch them over. Once they have fed a few times it's pretty easy in most cases.

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Originally Posted by Wicked Constrictors

I thought it was better to start babies on rats and not mice.

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Once you get a hatchling started with a feeding response on mice, it's fairly easy to convert to rats, especially once you've established a strong feeding response.

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They can be really stubborn but if you give them what they want they will eat. Hopper mice have the perfect mixture of activity level and lack of danger to my snakes that I like. As Rabernet said once you get that feeding response instinct to kick in getting them over to rats is much easier.