force feeding tails

[stun]

I'm curious to know how successful spontaneous natural feeding arises out of a period of forcing tails on their hatchlings. I've got a few butter stripes that I'd hate to lose

[stun]

I meant to say "how often" one sees their hatchling spontaneously start to feed on their own after having tail segments forced down

[Nanci]

In my experience, tails give the baby enough calories to keep going, and to keep its digestive system operating, while you search for the thing that it wants to eat. Every baby I have fed tails to has gone on to feed by itself. But- I've gotten a lot better at making the right guess for what to try next, and at tease-feeding whole pinks.

My procedure, once a non-feeder baby has refused enough to make me nervous, usually 4-5 times, is to FF a segment of mouse tail, let the baby digest for 5 days, then offer a different "trick-" usually rotating between Ivory washed, Dawn washed, and maybe one other thing. If the baby doesn't feed on its own, I attempt to tease feed. If the baby will strike at all, I can get it to tease feed. If it won't strike and tease feed, then I feed it another tail.

The mouse tails aren't really "forced" all the way down. Many, most even, babies will start to reflexively chew and swallow once the tail is partially down. I like this, because I feel like it trains them what feeding feels like, so they know what to do once they get a mouse pink in their mouth.