40 new babies husband gone abroad help!!

[corn on the cob]

My husband has chose wrong time to go abroad as are corn eggs have hatched 40 of them!! how soon should I feed them? do I wait until they have a first shed. Thanks Dianne :wavey:

[princess]

I say just change their water once every 2-3 days and ignore them for the best part of the next 3 weeks. Keep them on moist paper towel until their first shed and then dry paper towel after that and only offer food when they're 3 weeks old...they should have enough yolk in their tummies to keep them happy until then.

[Taceas]

Most people typically wait till after their first shed, as when they hatch out they have a supply of yolk in their bellies that feed them for a few weeks after hatching in case the food supply isn't there when they hatch. It typically takes them 7 days or for them to shed. I generally leave them together in the hatching container, taking out the shells of course, and allowing them to shed in there. Its the temp they need and the humidity to help the shedding process along. As they shed, I typically separate them out.

If you can house them separately, do so. It lessens the stress on them crawling all over one another, and also makes them more comfortable with their food and a greater chance of eating. Most of us house them in small deli cups or here in the US disposable plastic storage containers (Gladware). Plastic shoeboxes work well also. Just make sure that you melt some holes with a soldering iron or hot nail, or drill them for air holes. And whatever container you use, be absolutely sure its escape proof. Hatchlings are very creative in the spaces they can fit through!

After they've shed, I offer them their first meals. A small day old pink with a full milk belly works great. Wherever your husband gets his rodents, be it live or frozen/thawed, they should have a supply of pinks of the size you need. Drop the pink in and leave them overnight in a low-traffic, low-light area. Next day see which ones have eaten and separate those on one side of a shelf, and the ones who didn't feed on another side. Write the date on a post-it note on the ones that ate. Then every time you feed, which I generally go every 4-5 days while they're on pinks...keep offering to the non-feeders and see if they'll eat.

Don't be surprised if it takes some a while to eat. I've had some go nearly 8 weeks. Not all babies are meant to make it, Nature provides for that in her equation by allowing female corns to lay lots of eggs, so that some will make it.

There are a few tricks you can use with varying success to get them to feed including: braining, other rodent scenting, be-heading, live, and anole scenting. If you have the Corn Snake Manual (either version) by Kathy Love, she details all of this in there. Its a good read. If you don't have it, I would suggest getting it, its not all that expensive for the wealth of information it contains and is invaluable.

I hope I helped somewhat. Good luck. And next time, tell your husband to plan his travel plans around hatching time. We have to do that here. :rolleyes:

[colinmcc]

Most people typically wait till after their first shed, as when they hatch out they have a supply of yolk in their bellies that feed them for a few weeks after hatching in case the food supply isn't there when they hatch. It typically takes them 7 days or for them to shed. I generally leave them together in the hatching container, taking out the shells of course, and allowing them to shed in there. Its the temp they need and the humidity to help the shedding process along. As they shed, I typically separate them out.

If you can house them separately, do so. It lessens the stress on them crawling all over one another, and also makes them more comfortable with their food and a greater chance of eating. Most of us house them in small deli cups or here in the US disposable plastic storage containers (Gladware). Plastic shoeboxes work well also. Just make sure that you melt some holes with a soldering iron or hot nail, or drill them for air holes. And whatever container you use, be absolutely sure its escape proof. Hatchlings are very creative in the spaces they can fit through!

After they've shed, I offer them their first meals. A small day old pink with a full milk belly works great. Wherever your husband gets his rodents, be it live or frozen/thawed, they should have a supply of pinks of the size you need. Drop the pink in and leave them overnight in a low-traffic, low-light area. Next day see which ones have eaten and separate those on one side of a shelf, and the ones who didn't feed on another side. Write the date on a post-it note on the ones that ate. Then every time you feed, which I generally go every 4-5 days while they're on pinks...keep offering to the non-feeders and see if they'll eat.

Don't be surprised if it takes some a while to eat. I've had some go nearly 8 weeks. Not all babies are meant to make it, Nature provides for that in her equation by allowing female corns to lay lots of eggs, so that some will make it.

There are a few tricks you can use with varying success to get them to feed including: braining, other rodent scenting, be-heading, live, and anole scenting. If you have the Corn Snake Manual (either version) by Kathy Love, she details all of this in there. Its a good read. If you don't have it, I would suggest getting it, its not all that expensive for the wealth of information it contains and is invaluable.

I hope I helped somewhat. Good luck. And next time, tell your husband to plan his travel plans around hatching time. We have to do that here. :rolleyes:

I'd agree with that 100%. Sound advice all round. :)

[corn on the cob]

Thanks everyone for your help I feel better now my husband was called away urgently so it was left to me to cope and we didn't expect them to come for another week. I will do all your suggestions and know where to come if I get into trouble. Cheers love Dianne xxxxxx :crazy02: