Babies won't eat...need suggestions please
This is my first clutch ever and I had thought I was doing everything right but now I'm not so sure. If anyone can give any suggestions, I sincerely appreciate it. I read the sticky here and have checked with some other guides but I'm still stumped. I'm in no way a new snake owner but this is my first clutch.
I have four babies that pipped on April 20th.
It took 5 days for all of them to emerge.
Baby #1 shed @8 days post hatching and ate an offered F/T pinky rat.
Baby #2 shed two days later and refused a F/T pinky rat.
Baby #3 shed one day later and refused a F/T pinky rat.
Baby #4 shed two days later and refused a F/T pinky rat.
April 30, I tried live pinky rats on the #2, #3 and #4 babies. All refused.
May 4th, I tried live fuzzy mice on Baby #1 which ate and Baby #3 which ate. Babies #2 and #4 refused.
May 6th, tried braining fuzzy mice and both Baby #2 and Baby #4 refused.
I have repeatedly tried to feed them (only attempted every 5-7 days) but I am getting seriously worried now. Isn't this an overly long time for newborns to go without food?
Temps and humidity are spot on, they are on paper towels and have a water bowl and crumpled paper towels in their tubs. These are some KILLER morph babies and I am beginning to get a bit freaked out about them not eating.
Thanks for any and all advice.
Re: Babies won't eat...need suggestions please
Hey Zam, no worries about them. Yes they need to eat but try this. With the rat pinks, a lot of times they don't move enough to catch the snakes attention so I bump it up to the next size which is fuzzy rats. They still have their eyes close and I leave them in all night and check the next morning. If that does not work, a hopper mouse 99% of the time will do the trick. Again, leave it in all night and don't bother the baby at all.
Re: Babies won't eat...need suggestions please
I agree...live hopper mice.
Re: Babies won't eat...need suggestions please
Thanks for the info guys. I have tried hoppers. They lived in there with the snakes for a few days until I removed them. The snakes were NOT interested. It may be that they weren't ready just then and they are now. The problem is that I don't raise my own food. I buy f/t and can get live from my friend's pet store (great quality) but she only gets deliveries on Fridays. That's a LONG time to wait don't you think?
I don't worry about it with my other snake that's picky and will only eat live, she's almost 3 and it won't hurt her to miss an occasional meal but these are such itty bitty guys.
Thanks again.
Re: Babies won't eat...need suggestions please
I don't hesitate to assist feed within a couple weeks after shedding. It's easy and they either go for it or don't. I'll try this for a few times and then switch to force feeding (go with smaller prey to start). They will usually transition from force to assist to f/t off tongs without any problems. The time it takes will vary but they almost all get there.