how long can a hatchling go before eating?

So i've posted about this before, but we're having trouble getting some of our hatchlings to eat. 3 of them have already eaten 3 times (rat pinks). The other 4 haven't eaten at all. They hatched around the 24 of August, and all were shed by the 31st i believe. How long can they go before it gets to be a serious problem or before we have to try force feeding?

In my opinion, you still have a lot of time. Probably 3-4 weeks before you need to worry. You also need to exhaust all food types..live vs f/t'd, mice/rats/asf's. I would also adivse using rat fuzzies (fur starting to grow) not pinkies. Sometimes the snake needs movement to trigger its feeding response.

I do believe a hatchling does get to a point where its too far gone though and whether it eats or not, its simply too late. I lost a hatchling last year because of this. I tried everything to get the snake to eat but eventually she just died one day. She took to assist feeding but I was only assisting every 2-3 offerings. I wasn't going to assist feed the snake its whole life though, this went on for a few months.

Cheers
Mike

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Generally around 30 days is as long as they can safely go. I agree with the above as to trying different food options. However, I have done assist feeds for 3 - 4 feedings and generally they then take off on their own. I only do this much on assist feeds when absolutely necessary. Good luck!

It really depends on a few things, whether the animal absorbed it's entire yolk, whether the hatchling was a big hatchling etc.

I generally consider assisting after 6 refusals.

What I do is if after 3 unsuccessful feedings I offer another prey type, in your case I would suggest offering mice hoppers the next time around. It might not be what you prefer but not all BP start successfully on rats.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

It really depends on a few things, whether the animal absorbed it's entire yolk, whether the hatchling was a big hatchling etc.

I generally consider assisting after 6 refusals.

What I do is if after 3 unsuccessful feedings I offer another prey type, in your case I would suggest offering mice hoppers the next time around. It might not be what you prefer but not all BP start successfully on rats.

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Deb,
Having the same problem. Clutch of 8, 4 eating, 4 not. 3 feeding attempts but the first was rat pinks and none ate, the second was rat pups and 4 ate, third was rat pups and same 4 ate. Would you still try another with rat pups since the first attempt was pinks, or would you switch to mouse hoppers now?

I would switch to nice hoppers now if I were you, I'm going through the same thing and have offered rat pinks and rat pups but some just don't go for the rats right off the bat so now I'm switching to mice to see if it will get their feeding response strong again. I hope you can get them eating though, I know it's really stressful when young ones don't eat.


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my babys always started on fuzzys or hoppers . Pinkies were just too small

I only give f/t rats to my balls, and sooner or later they all eat. The most I had to wait was almost 2 months. A really hot prey usually works. Good luck and dont stress yourself nor the snake. They want to live and they want to eat, giving some days without even opening the tub can help to.

That's not necessarily true. I tried waiting Lex out for 2 months, we didn't know if she had eaten or not as she was an import and the vendor received them right before the show. I waited her out for 2 months, nothing worked, tried a larger live mouse fuzzy and she's been eating every 5 days without issue. I believe she would've starved herself.

If they don't recognize it as food they won't eat it

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Originally Posted by rlditmars

Deb,
Having the same problem. Clutch of 8, 4 eating, 4 not. 3 feeding attempts but the first was rat pinks and none ate, the second was rat pups and 4 ate, third was rat pups and same 4 ate. Would you still try another with rat pups since the first attempt was pinks, or would you switch to mouse hoppers now?

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You mean rat crawlers/fuzzy right, around here pups are 2 weeks old and eyes open pretty large for an hatching. ;)

I would go ahead and try mice, as I previously mentioned they don´t all go for rats from the start, but once they do get started they switch easily in most cases.