Tiny Hatchling

[Elise.m]

Yeah, feeding and drinking will fix that up quick. She's a cutie!

[CRAZY]

Don't have any new advice. Your snake looks beautiful. Hope everything turns out ok!

[kc261]

One time I acquired a really tiny (29g) hatchling. I received advice all over the board, but what made sense to me was to feed it meals that were a little on the small size, even for its tiny size, the idea being that any food was better than no food, and it would help build the snake's confidence. I went with that, and my "Tiny Baby" as I still call her, did and is still doing very well.

Here is a link to the thread I posted at the time. Some of the advice I received was in PMs and in person, but it will at least give you some ideas:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=75654

I don't think I mentioned it in that thread, but I got her from a breeder I trust, and was told she was eating fine, although I did not ask specifics about how many meals. So it is definitely possible for a "started" BP to be as small as yours.

[nicktreb]

One time I acquired a really tiny (29g) hatchling. I received advice all over the board, but what made sense to me was to feed it meals that were a little on the small size, even for its tiny size, the idea being that any food was better than no food, and it would help build the snake's confidence. I went with that, and my "Tiny Baby" as I still call her, did and is still doing very well.

Here is a link to the thread I posted at the time. Some of the advice I received was in PMs and in person, but it will at least give you some ideas:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=75654

I don't think I mentioned it in that thread, but I got her from a breeder I trust, and was told she was eating fine, although I did not ask specifics about how many meals. So it is definitely possible for a "started" BP to be as small as yours.

Awesome, thanks a lot for the info.

[Emilio]

Be patient assist feed til she starts looking good, it might take a couple feedings but as long as you do it right and the prey is small it won't be stressful. I hatched an ivory this season that weighed about 20g from an ugly clutch of small egg's he is now 65g and has been feeding on his own for a couple months. I'll check my records but I believe that I had to assist feed him about 5 times til he took a meal on his own.

And from the pic I'd bet that the meal you gave her was her first.

[nicktreb]

I did some investigating and found out she was from a clutch of 5 eggs, 3 duds, 2 good eggs, and one went bad. She was the only survivor, so that would probably explain something..

The assisted feeding was with a undersized mouse for sure. I didn't want to stress her out too much. It's been 3 or 4 days now, I'm going to try on the weekend and see if she eats.

[nicktreb]

I just checked on her and she REALLY looks like she wants to eat. I may even try tomorrow.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

wait a full week period.

[kc261]

I agree with Mike. You've got some food in her now. Don't stress her out by feeding too often.

[nicktreb]

alright, I shall wait till Sunday.