How long has it took your new/baby BP to start eating?

[Katie07]

Not a first time owner as I've had a few BPs before - an adult male and a hatchling so I'm aware of the various tips and tricks to help snakes settle in and begin eating but also entice picky snakes to eat.

However, I've got two hatchling females at the start of the week - one at 175g (hatched 12/07/2019 UK or 07/12/2019 for Americans) and the other at just about 100 (hatched 1/09/2019 UK or 09/01/2019 for the Americans).

I'm aware that they require a settling in period with preferably zero handling, so that's what both girls will be getting - I won't be trying to feed them until at least Monday, a full week after they moved.

My question is, as the title might have hinted at, how long has it taken your new or baby BPs to start eating? If you've had multiples, what's the range of time it's taken between the fastest adapted and the slowest?

I also would like to ask in the worst case scenario, if the smallest girl doesn't eat, at what point would you or should you be worried?*

*I'm more worried about the smaller girl as she is a lot younger and weighs the least out of the two. The breeder said the larger girl at 175g is a very good eater but the smaller one has only lately began to strike feed hence making me paranoid she might be a finicky eater in the future and struggle to put on a healthy amount of weight. ATM, she's a decent shape and size - spine is traceable but her body is sloped and her ribs can't easily be seen or felt.

I figured I should post on here asking for peace of mind based off of what other people's personal experiences are but also brace myself for the worst case scenario if she drops too much weight before beginning to feed again. She's lived in a tiny box since she was hatched - maybe 5L - I'm not exactly sure and I've placed her in a tub around 1.5ftx1ft covered in lots of fake foliage in order to create a darker and more enclosed space for her to try and minimise the stress from the increase in size.

[Gocntry]

I ended up with 2 baby BP's about 2 months old or so when I got them on Aug 31 of this year

1 weighed 79 grams (the problem one) the other was 92 grams when I got them

Both were supposedly eating when I got them, 1 I've had no issues feeding, 1 9 or 10 gram mouse every week good to go

The other regurged on the 2nd feeding, and with guidance from this forum, she's back to eating 5 and 6 gram mouse and working

up to bigger sized food.

[Moose84]

100 & 175 grams sound like they have a few meals in them already.. Maybe I'm missing something here? Any reputable breeder will tell you they wait for the snakes first shed and 3 meals minimum before selling... Im not sure if this post is about curiosity or you are having a real problem? If this is the first time you have had snakes that small I would ask, what are your plans with feeding them and what were they eating before? I wouldn't start to panic at all at this point as if both of them hadn't eaten up until this point they wouldn't be alive more than likely or they would look severely emaciated..

**after re-reading your post I might have confused myself even more.. These snakes are eating from the breeder... Thats good.. Check that box.. The weights seem fine.. I think the only thing you would have to worry about at this juncture would be repeating what the breeder was feeding them... If he was feeding live fuzzy rats and you go straight to a FT after their environment shift you will more than likely have problems... Hope this helps...

[Katie07]

100 & 175 grams sound like they have a few meals in them already.. Maybe I'm missing something here? Any reputable breeder will tell you they wait for the snakes first shed and 3 meals minimum before selling... Im not sure if this post is about curiosity or you are having a real problem? If this is the first time you have had snakes that small I would ask, what are your plans with feeding them and what were they eating before? I wouldn't start to panic at all at this point as if both of them hadn't eaten up until this point they wouldn't be alive more than likely or they would look severely emaciated..

I'm just asking for people's personal experiences and what to expect as I know it can take babies a while to acclimate to their new surroundings. As I've stated, both were eating before I got them - on rat fuzzies. I just don't want the smaller one to drop too much weight before she acclimates and begins to eat in her new home here. I just want to know what the norm is for that sort of "buffer" period for settling in. When they are eating, I'll probably do the same I had done with my other hatchling and feed them a rat fuzzy every 5 days until they reach around 300-400g.

edit: yeah, that's what I meant (: Live-feeding is banned here and they were on f/t rats so I'm not too worried about that aspect - thank you.

[Moose84]

Gotcha.. In my experience, I haven't had one go over 2 weeks IF it was on feed from the breeder.. I however, replicate it's former environment nearly 100% until the snake has good size... I don't like throwing hides at them right away (i use a rack system) because it tends to be like a pacifier to them.. With that being said I do have and have had picky ones that will get hides as well and that has normally fixed the problem of a missed feed.. I don't think you will have to worry as long you didn't change their environment dramatically... They have been eating already..

[Katie07]

That makes sense - I'm glad I opted for a smaller tote then for the time being then. Thank you so much for all your help and advice, the reassurance is really helpful (:

[Snakemom85]

When I got my Jake he weighed 123g. The pet store was feeding him mouse fuzziest (way too small) and told me they fed on Monday's. I brought him home on Sunday. While at the store I went ahead and bought a mouse fuzzy. When I got him home I put him in his new tank...a 20g L. The next night I thought I would try to feed him since it was his usual feeding day and I knew he must be hungry since he was being underfed. He took it no problem. Waited 7 days and the fed him a rat fuzzy. He ate overnight. Since then I have up the size of his fuzzy and he eats great every 7 days. I really think it depends on the snake but so far my experience has been great.

This is the day I brought him home.



And this is his current set up once all his stuff arrived.



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