Feeding After Passing Hard Belly

If successful pushing out the hardened mass how long do you wait to feed? I've often heard of people feeding hatchlings before shed if they are under 50 grams and I just treated a ball python with hard-belly that dropped to 35 grams after removing the mass. Also, is hard belly genetic? Should I be wary to breed this snake in the future?

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Originally Posted by bnydegger

If successful pushing out the hardened mass how long do you wait to feed? I've often heard of people feeding hatchlings before shed if they are under 50 grams and I just treated a ball python with hard-belly that dropped to 35 grams after removing the mass. Also, is hard belly genetic? Should I be wary to breed this snake in the future?

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Hard belly?? Explain please.. is this vet diagnosed? Never heard of this..

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Here's some info on it: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...hon-hatchlings

Luckily I caught the mass when it was softer than this snake's, but I haven't been able to find much information about care after removing the mass.

For a hatchling that small and recovering from hard belly I would start with mouse pinkies for the first few feedings. The feeders are soft and squishy so they'd be less likely to irritate his insides any more.

Would you recommend waiting a few days or should I be trying to get these meals in him ASAP?

I'm not sure how to, but this thread should be closed. I just heard back from Justin Kobylka who has great resources for dealing with this problem (most notably here). He said it's important to wait at least a few days after the ordeal to feed.

Justin Kobylka has a you tube video on how to manage removing a hard belly mass in newly hatched ball pythons. I would refer you to his expertise and information in handling and then following up care in a serious situation like this. You may even be inclined to email him directly for help. Good luck and I hope this helped.