Feeding Small Hatchlings

[Dracoluna]

I purchased 3 hatchlings at a show about a week and a half ago. None had fed since hatching but I've never had a problem before getting them started. The pied sided at right away (started out at 9g) but the 2 fires have not shown any interest at all. The reason I'm asking so soon is because when I weighed them, the male is only 3g and the female is 4g. I've never dealt with such small hatchlings and I don't want to wait until it's too late. They've been offered f/t both for a couple hours and overnight. They were hatched around 7/21 and had their first shed on 8/1. Today I tried braining for the first time ever and they both ignored the pinkies. The other stats that you might want to know is that they are being kept in shoebox style cages. The warm side is between 84.5 and 86.2. I've left them alone except for feedings and they are both still very active. I'm sure I'm just overreacting but I'd rather be ready to tube-feed if necessary than wait til it's too late. Thanks for any advice any of the veteran breeders may have.

[Shiari]

If they're that tiny, try cutting a pinky in half lengthwise, and give each of them one of the halves. It's like Uber-braining.

[Dracoluna]

Thanks. I'll give that a shot in a few days. Just never had them this small and don't want to lose them. :)

[AliCat37]

I had a RELLY tiny hatchling, he was probably only 6 inches in length. Unfortunately I never weighed him, but he was half the size of the other hatchlings in my clutch (I think he had a twin that did not survive, as I found an egg that had hatched but had what appeared to be another baby in a sac (idk the term sorry!) at the bottom). I offered him a day old pink and, though it took him 40 minutes to eat it (he was weak) he got it down. He's a fantastic eater and though he is still smaller than his clutch mates, he is growing well and no longer shakes.
ANYWAY. moral of the story- my opinion- your little guys can handle a day old pink :)

I also never offered him live, he ate f/t first time offered food right after his first shed.

[ghosthousecorns]

True, most hatchlings can handle a day old pinky but with the real little ones I like to start them out on pinky heads. A snake that small can be severely compromised by regurging a food item that is too big. Leaving them overnight with the pinky head in a small container that is in a dark place often works...

[Dracoluna]

Tried cutting the pinkie apart today for feeding and both refused after 3 hours in the dark. I 'bumped' both of them with a piece and the female got it in her mouth but then spit it back out repeatedly. Just to give you an idea of their size, I cut a pinkie head in half, bumped her with it, and when she had it in her mouth, it was still 3/4ths the width of her head. At this point, I'm looking into tubing them until they gain a bit of size/motivation. I've tubed kittens, rabbits, and opossums so this can't be any harder. Maybe once they get the feeling of a full belly, they will recognize hunger a little better.

[solo1979]

Tubing isn't talked about too much here but Connie Hurley and Kathy Love have done some trials with it and Connie even sells a tube feeding kit. I think it's worth a shot.

[Dracoluna]

Yeah, I looked at the tubing kits/tutorials that I've found online and got the stuff from my vet. She's used to me picking up catheters to tube kittens but when I said I needed a #5 for a snake, she did a double take. I got .5mL into the boy and .3mL into the girl. So far they are digesting fine though they look at me like I'm the devil now so we'll have to work on the handling thing after they've picked up a bit of weight. I figure if I just keep offering a F/T pinkie part each time and only tube if they don't eat, they'll be alright.

[solo1979]

You may not have to tube. If you have one of those curved syringes, just get that down the throat a little bit. Once you've fed the desired amount, massage their throat area for a few minutes. A swallowing reflex tends to kick in and most of the time, if you handle them for a few minutes, they keep it down. I think it's less traumatic than completely tubing.

[Dracoluna]

I did pick one of those up as well though I was worried about damaging their throat with it since they are tiny. I'll see how they do tomorrow when I go to offer a pinky again. Hopefully they've decided eating on their own is easier than being force fed.