Hatchling Care

[LadyOhh]

What do you do when you have waited two long months for baby snakes, and all of a sudden they are actually there???

Heads are poking out of shells, but you are not sure what to do after they come out!

Well, here's what I do.

1) Wait until they hatch out. This seems like an obvious thing, but honestly, don't freak out until they are actually out of the egg.

2) Rinse the babies off individually, as when they hatch out, they tend to be covered in goo. You don't need soap, just water.

3) Set up the tubs. I like to put each clutch in together until they all shed, for record taking purposes as well as a space saving technique. The tubs should be lined with paper towels lightly misted with water to make the humidity nice and comfortable for the new little ones. I put my babies in hatchling tubs, which equate to shoebox size.

4) Wait until they shed. This will take from 5-14 days, depending on the baby. Some shed faster than others, but if they DO NOT shed, this can indicate a problem with the baby itself. I tend to wait a few weeks, and if it hasn't shed, that's when the baby goes on "danger watch".

5) Feeding: After they shed, split them all up, sex them if you haven't already (some people sex babies out of the egg...I know I do), and put them in individual tubs. Give them a day or two to acclimate to being alone, and then attempt to give them food. Some people start with rat crawlers, some people start with mouse hoppers. I try the rats first, and if they do not take in a few feedings, I switch to mouse hoppers. Mouse hoppers are candy to babies, and they usually do the trick, but I prefer my babies on rats primarily, so I tend to avoid the use of them unless necessary. If that doesn't work even with the mouse hoppers, try giving the babies less space... Put some crumpled paper towels in the tub with the babies to give them the sensation of being able to hide. Leave them be for 3-5 days, and try again with a mouse hopper.

Force-feeding is something I do not enjoy doing, nor do I think should be a resource unless absolutely necessary. Final resort, so to speak. If the baby is not eating after a couple of months out of the egg, I would suggest considering force-feeding. This is a very stressful process for the snake, so take that with a grain of salt. Take the back of the head of the baby, open up the jaws slightly, and gently force the DEAD small food item (mouse pink, usually) into the jaws to the point where the baby cannot push it out. Put it back in the tub and wait to see if the baby attempts to swallow it or not. Be very careful, because as I said, this is traumatic for the snake, and can be unsuccessful.

6) Problems... With hatchlings, there are plenty of problems that can arise. Hard bellies, deformation, attached umbilicus. If you do see these problems, do a search on them to see what other people have done. These are all very specific and exhaustive topics, so I'm not going to go into them individually, but realize that yes, they can happen, and yes, you should be prepared.

7) ENJOY THEM! Hold them if you want, love them if you want, but know that this is the snake's infant period, and they can be touchy (aka stressed out). I would suggest not playing with them often, as this can set back the feeding and growth of your snake for a bit if they get too stressed.

Congratulations, you have successfully produced Ball Python babies.