Update on Hatchling

[nixer]

How would I assist feed her? She's 37g.

this sticky should help

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...assist+feeding

[Jay_Bunny]

Thanks. She didn't take the fuzzy last night. She just kind of sits there and if it comes near her she moves away from it. Should I pull the fuzzy out and feed it to something else and try again next week or start thinking about assist feeding her?

[nixer]

Thanks. She didn't take the fuzzy last night. She just kind of sits there and if it comes near her she moves away from it. Should I pull the fuzzy out and feed it to something else and try again next week or start thinking about assist feeding her?

thats really a tough call. because shes so small perhaps shes not ready yet. or it could be the shed issue. it could just be that she has not caught on to feeding. ive had a few ch babies that did this same thing. perhaps someone with alot more experience could shed some light on the subject

[Blue Apple Herps]

You can definitely put her in something smaller. I have the AP rack for the 1756/54 tubs. But for hatchlings I put them in 6 qt tubs with the lids on in that rack. I can fit three of them side by side. This is better for me anyways as I don't want to buy a hatchling rack that won't even be in use all the time.

So I'd try that. If you still dont' want to, at the very least put lots of fake plants, crumpled paper, hides, etc so she is totally secure.

[Jay_Bunny]

I will definitely try to make her feel more secure. How long can she go without food though? I have adult females that went 4 months, but those are adults. Rubii is a little baby. I can't imagine her going so long without food.

[muddoc]

Jay,
I see that someone has linked my post above on how to do it. I have two snakes that need assisting this weekened. I think I will try to do it tonight, and post up some pics in that thread (since I did promise that anyway). I waould say that at that size, I typically do not wait too long. I would go ahead and assist that snake now. Sometimes assist feeding helps them to realize that they need to eat, kind of like a reminder. I would assist with a large mouse pink/small mouse fuzzy. In other words, something smaller than you would normally feed.

With all of that said, one of the animals I am assisiting right now has had 4 assisted meals, and is about a month old, and just shed yesterday. Sometimes they do that. In my opinion, what happens is they are dehydrated from a lack of absorbing enough yolk, and the skin does not slough efficiently. Make sure you keep the animal sprayed, and they will usually shed within 4 weeks of hatching. I would bet your's will shed after a few meals.

Also, if you need to, please feel free to give me a call.

I hope that helps,

[Jay_Bunny]

Thanks! Something I'm wondering about though. She has an ever so slight kink right behind her head. Will this be a problem with assist feeding? I'll go get a picture of it so you can see.

[rabernet]

She is in a 16qt in the main rack. I know that is too big. I wasn't able to get a hatchling rack like I needed because we hit a financial snag halfway through incubation (husband lost job). Now we are just waiting till he gets his paycheck and I'll be ordering a hatchling rack.

I haven't tried anything but mice since she's so small. I don't have access to anything but mice and rats. She doesn't even look like she's ready to shed yet. She's still shiny.

So I could try moving her to a smaller container, but I don't have anything smaller.

Go to Walmart and buy a six quart tub, line it with paper towel and a water dish and stick her in the incubator if you don't have other heating for the tub. The six quart tub is $1.

Then after a few days, put the live prey item in the tub with her and leave her be for at least an hour.

At some point, if she's still refusing, you're going to need to consider assist feeding her.

[Jay_Bunny]

I will do that right now. Thank you.

[muddoc]

Thanks! Something I'm wondering about though. She has an ever so slight kink right behind her head. Will this be a problem with assist feeding? I'll go get a picture of it so you can see.

Depending on severity, it could be a problem. With that said, if it looks like she can eat on her own, in regards to the kink, then she should be able to be assist fed.