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First time feeding is tomorrow...

Energi2er

Energi2er

New member
Well Tomorrow is the day that I will be feeding my snake for the first time.
The pet shop feeds all thier snakes every thursday so I am going to continue that feeding schedule. I called them today and they said what they do for hatchlings is cut a large pinky in half and feed it the first half then wait 45 minutes to an hour and feed him the other half, so Thats what I will do.
Ive never fed a snake, or even seen one eat before. But I think I am ready. I already took the pinky out of the freezer and cut it in half and but the halfs in the fridge, So tomorrow Ill just warm em up using hot water and give it to him. I will definately let you all know how it goes... You guys are awsome, I wouldnt be able to have a snake without ya..
 
Hey there again!

Don't worry about waiting 30 mins. Normally corns will scoff whatever you put in front of them for a limited time and then after 15 mins or so the 'stuff yourself stupid' urge subsides and they crawl away to digest so you can just offer the 2nd ½ straight after the first is going down the neck.

I'd say that after a couple of weeks at the most you'll just be able to feed whole pinkies in one go rather than chop them in ½...unless of course you enjoy that!!!

They can stretch a helluva lot more than most of us give them credit for...new hatchlings will often eat food items that weight up to 1/3 of their body weight.

There's a thread somewhere here about slitting pinks (someone want to post a link?) to aid in digestion..that might be a little more pleasant!
 
I'd like to add that pinkys thaw out very quickly, so it might be better to re-freeze it if its not really thawed, and take it out about 10 minutes or so before you feed tomorrow.
 
feed it whole, dont bother cutting it and waitting 45 mins, if it cant take it whole (it should be able to) just feed the other half after the first half goes down his neck, besides, wouldent a cut in half pinky have is guts gush out :shrugs:
 
That's why it's better to just pop the head off a frozen pinky, much less mess, no guts to deal with. Then you feed heads only for a few feeds and then boddies only for a few feeds before moving onto whole pinks...but yes, you sould be able to go straight onto whole pinks with no trouble.
 
Well.. I fed him this afternoon, Put him in a 5 gallon bucket with the first half and all he did was crawl around it and try to climb up side to get out. He smelled it and licked it a few times but never even opened his mouth, I left him in there about an hour and the pinky was cold. so I put him back in the viv.. I went to the pet store and bought a smaller pinky (half the size of the other one) so I am going to try again tonight with a whole pinky when he is more active..
 
He might feel a little too out in the open. Try putting him in a small box with a lid, or like I do with my psycho B girl, I just use her old shoebox viv and some paper towel for her to hide under while she eats. If he's really too shy, you might change your substrate out, just put in paper towel and feed in the viv for a while. I've done that with two of mine until they mellowed out a bit. I've never had problems with them trying to bite when I open the viv because I took them out to handle them fairly often so they never knew if it was feeding day, or holding day.
 
Ok, I tried feeding it in a dark box, tried in its viv, left it alone with it, dangled it in front of his nose until I was blue in the face.. He just does not seem to be hungry. I dont know what to do, his skin is not that loose but it is a little, I dont think it is as tight as it should be. Is my next step force feeding, or should I wait a few days?
 
Heaven's no!! Force feeding should be used as a last resort when the snake hasn't eaten long enough to become thin and they are either force fed or die (the force feeding can kill them too). I would just wait another 5 days for your next normally scheduled feed day and try again then in a dark box, or in the viv. Usually, I try handling them for a short period before feeding so that they've calmed down a bit. If I feed in the viv, I wait to see them at their hide entrance and put the mouse right by the entrance where they can easily get it without coming out in the open. Young snakes can go several weeks without food before they're in danger of starvation. You haven't had yours for that long. He may still be getting acclimated. Just don't try to feed too often. If he won't eat now, wait until his next normally scheduled feed time. For hatchlings that are on pinkies I would recommend every 5 days. Once they're on fuzzies, they go to 7 days. Full grown adults, every 10-14. I would not recommend thawing and refreezing the mice. Throw out any that aren't eaten, and get a fresh one next time.
 
You might have better luck with a small, live pinky next time. Also, don't handle the snake until you get it eating. I 'killed one of mine with kindness' (stressed it out too much) because I thought snakes want to be handled. In reality, they are more content to be left alone, at least at first. Hopefully you have an UTH or some heat source.
 
The only thing Larry, is that he stated that the pet store has been feeding f/t cut in half. He's used to f/t. As I stated in my other post at the end, it is not recommended to refreeze thawed mice. I think you just need to give your new snake time to get used to his new place, and give him another 5 days.
 
Yes, but the pet store didn't say that this particular snake has eaten or been eating. Frankly, I would wonder if they knew what the heck they were doing, if their usual procedure is to feed two 'halves' of a pinky, with a 45 minute interval. At least they didn't recommend feeding crickets.
 
Snakes can go months with out eating. Give hime 5 days like suggested earlier to relax with nio hanling. Tell us a little about his cage, Heat, substrate, hiding places!! That will help us all. DO NOT EVN CONSIDER FORCE FEEDING!!! stresses the snake to high heaven and can kill them!!!
 
Yeah, I think he just needs some time to get used to his new home. So I guess Ill just have to leave him in the viv until the next scheduled feeding, the pet store said he did eat 2 halfs a pinky last thursday and I know he wasnt handled there as much as I handle him, so thats why I think he was eating there and not here. I do take him out ALOT.. Like several times a day. as far as the viv, it does have a UTH and the pet store suckered be in to buying a basting lamp too to get another 20 bucks out of me, so I do use the basting lamp in the day time, and turn it off at night. He has a half log hide on the warm side, and cardboard hide on the cold side which is where he spends most of his time. Aspen substrate, and a small 1 oz water dish. The viv is 5.5 gallon with a screen top..
 
Do you have a thermometer that can give you an accurate temperature at the substrate level? What are the temps like? Cool and warm side.....I hope you didn't answer this in your first post....I was too lazy to go back and review! :)
 
Well The overall air temp is 85 degrees day time, and 75 degrees at night. All I have is the stick on thermometer, I know I need to get a probe thermometer. Do I put the probe underneath the substrate, in the middle of it, or on top of it? The substrate is about a inch and a half thick.
 
You'll need to put the probe at the substrate, or slightly into it. You would also be doing a little better if you had a cool side and a warm side, not just one temp. One side should be around 72 or so and the other around 82. I have a feeling you're going to find the temps are much higher than you think they are. The stick on temps are usually reading the glass temp. not the air.
 
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