Awesome news-- and requesting some advice

[CitricPrincess]

Greetings all, it's been a long while since I've posted here, I haven't been lurking much lately, but I've been no less active in my reptile keeping.

Earlier this year, I paired corn snakes for the first time, from which I obtained 17 healthy eggs and no slugs on may 3rd. I was very excited and surprised 'cause while my female was pushing 500g, she was also a first time mother, so I was kinda expecting 12-15 by what I'd read? Regardless, I got 17. And then I incubated them in the most makeshift incubator possible (I lined a shelf in a closet with waterbottles, put the eggs in a 6qt tub with vermiculite, heated the ting with a space heater. The egg tub kept at an amazingly steady 81 degrees, only occassionally rising or falling by 1, rarely 2 degrees. It was just so makeshift I can't help feeling I should've found somewhere to use ducttape just to complete the look)

So to my great glee, on July 4th and 5th, all 17 of the eggs hatched revealing 17 healthy baby hatchlings. And that was the fun part. The mother was Rifter, my first snake, who is anery het hypo, diffused, motley/stripe (I'm pretty sure motley now), and I think dilute but I'd have to find my notes. The father is Dwimor, a ghost of unknown origins. Turns out he's het for motley. So I wound up with:
6 anery
5 ghost
3 motley anery
3 motley ghost.

I'm pretty happy with those stats.

I'm keeping two of them, one's a female anery with a cool messed up pattern, and the other is my favorite of the motley ghosts, who I'm pretty sure is male.

(I do, of course, have more pics of the clutch if y'all want me to post them later. I'm just trying to type this out before work right now ^.^; )

So, 9 of them have already eagerly eaten three times and are well on their ways to being little cornsnake gluttons to make their parents proud (Rifter, stop staring me down, I'm eating cooked chicken, this is not corn snake food and you ate only a few days ago. There'll be a mouse with your name on it Wednesday.) And luckily for me, these well off little ones include my two keepers, and the one my coworker is going to buy from me. That leaves 6 that are ready for me to find homes for them, and all well be well.

That leaves the other 8, and this is where my 'requesting advice' comes in. 7 of them haven't eaten at all, and one ate once on the 19th and has ignored feeding attempts since.
To the eaters, I give food every 5 days, to the ones that haven't eaten I've been offering every 2-3 days, but have been doing my best to disturb them the least amount possible otherwise. They get thawed pinky mice, slightly warmed in warm water and brained. I lay these in their tubs and leave them overnight, and remove the uneaten ones when I awake, so that they have the darkness of night to brave feeding. All hatchlings are kept in 6qt tubs on two layers of paper towels (so they can go under or between layers for their security), with one small hide (cut bottom of plastic cups) and a water dish. They are kept in my bed room, with admittedly no extra heat- the room always remains in the high 70s, and it is how I keep the adults who have had no problems. They all had successful one-piece first sheds between the 13th and the 16th.

As time without food continues to increase for these 8, I'm started to get a little worried. It may just be paranoia, but I feel like their energy levels are dropping, and I'd like to get food into them before they are too weak to claim food. I've had such good luck on clutch size and hatch rate, I'd hate to lose it on survival rate. So I'm looking for suggestions and advice on this.
Is there some way I can improve preparing the rodents?
Do I need to get the hatchlings, at least the non eaters, some more heat?
Did I forget or fail something of major importance?
I know force or assist feeding is a last resort, but how long to I fight that and when do I concede I've reached 'last resort' requirement?
Help?

[Bogertophis]

Have you tried live pinks? or using tongs to wiggle the pinks? some may even bite defensively w/ a "tap on the shoulder" & then go on to consume once

they've tasted it. A bit more warmth might help?* How are they being kept? (not in one cage, I hope?) Do they have hides? Incidentally, I've raised my

share of corns & other snakes, & they don't all respond identically. I'm not a fan of "force-feeding" actual prey items, but I managed to raise some tiny

desert glossy snakes by first gently tube-feeding thinned/w/water Gerbers chicken babyfood...you are correct that it's risky to let their energy level drop too

low, then the more drastic measures to feed are the only hope. *You might also take them outside for some sunshine to perk up their appetite: about 10-

15 minutes at suitable temperatures, then try offering food later that night. Snakes seem to have their own personalities: for most, handling is a turn-off,

but years back I got 4 of the corns I currently have now from another breeder, and they were poor feeders unless I HELD them in my hands (!?!) where

they seemed to feel secure? Craziest thing I've ever seen...so keep trying things & make notes of what works for which ones...once you get them feeding,

they'll probably all be fine...but these need extra help for now. Don't wait. And btw, I've never seen any advantage to "braining" pinks, it makes them a

little harder to grab also. Even if you start some on live pinks, they normally switch to f/t easily...corns love to eat, & usually love the chase also. You can

also try putting them overnight in a smaller container (deli type w/ air holes) with f/t pink...it may work for some. They didn't all read the same manual...

Another thought, their hides may not offer enough security: you can even use a paper towel cardboard roll, but whatever, crumple some paper towel &
stuff some inside; if using open-ended roll, tightly pack one end, & loosely stuff paper in the other end. Baby snakes love to snuggle into paper crevices.
Then if they use the hides, you'll typically see them peeking out...that's when they typically grab food (live or wiggled or even f/t left) from where they
feel safe. Good luck!