Hatchling resisting assist feed - help?

Hi all, I have a clutch of hatchlings that are a little over 5 weeks old now. Two had refused to eat their first meal (tried f/t, live hoppers, feeding during different times, feeding at night with lights off, husbandry is fine) and as they were falling behind I did my research and made the decision to assist feed. One took to it fine and ate on the first try, but my other won't take it. We tried a couple times and it spat it out every time (it won't bite down, it holds its jaw open as wide as possible to avoid it). I'm worried this baby will starve to death if I can't get it to eat. What should I do now? Thanks.

Have you tried using one of these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_vL_nwmpG0?

At five weeks I wouldn't be too concerned about a non-feeding neonate at five weeks, assuming that it absorbed all of its yolk sack and it was a healthy weight when it hatched. If it had some underlying issue - pipped early, did not absorb yolk, runt from a "boob" egg, etc. - that would be different.

This video helped me a lot when learning to assist feed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HT2npbERKY

Personally I don't like assist feeding pinkies (whether mice or rat, depending on neonate size) because they're basically just squishy bags of water, and trying to force one down a snake's throat makes a gross mess. Instead, when I assist feed I start with something like the hind leg cut off of a f/t mouse or rat, followed by a whole prey feeder of appropriate size unless the snake is so tiny that the hind leg is a good sized meal on its own. Otherwise, the hind leg should be sized so it's a decent mouthful for the snake.


Have the warmed hind leg and whole prey f/t feeder ready to go. Grasp the snake's head with your thumb and forefinger just behind its eyes, but gently around the jaw so that it can still open it's mouth. The snake's neck should be supported by your other fingers.


Take the hind leg and fold it at the hock joint. Insert the folded end of the hind leg into the snake's mouth. This is easier than using a whole feeder because the long leg bone is perfect for prying the snake's mouth open. Push the hind leg back as far as you can.


The hind leg is very hard for the snake to eject since it will unfold and often gets caught behind the snake's teeth when the snake opens its mouth to spit it out. The snake will likely try to run away while attempting to spit out the hind leg. That's fine, just let it run through your hands.


When the snake stops running and starts swallowing the hind leg, quickly sneak the nose of the whole prey feeder into the snake's mouth so it follows the hind leg down the hatch. You may have to support or push on the feeder a bit but the snake should grab and swallow the feeder once the leg moves down the snake's throat a bit.


Don't get discouraged if the snake manages to just eat the hind leg on your first few attempts. A small meal is better than no meal. Also wait 7-10 days between assist feedings with the absolute minimum of handling required for daily care to give the snake time to de-stress, especially if you manage to get the neonate to eat a whole-prey feeder.

As someone who has been working on getting a baby feeding since she hatched on July 8th? 5 weeks isn't too bad at all. I finally just got her to take her third meal on her own today. Here's to hoping it's followed by many more.

You got some great advice already up above. A chunk of rat tail can work in a pinch too if you're a bit squeamish on the leg. Just not quite as meaty. If mine are more of a wriggler and not a runner, I try to hold them gently but firmly until they calm down enough to stay put or just run a bit instead of writhing like mad.

Happy to say this worked and it ate the leg :)

Thanks so much for your help!