Hatchling feeding question.

[princess]

I'm not so much looking for advice but more looking for other breeders out there to tell me if this has happened to them.

One of my babies that hatched on the 7th of June and shed on the 14th of June, took it's first meal on the 27th of June and since then has not been interested in eating.

Is it within the bounds of normalcy for them to take a first meal with no dramas and then go a month without interest in food?

With all my others, I've found that they might be initially slow to start but once they take their first meal...they keep going. I figured that coming up to the 2nd shed, that could be an factor but 2nd shed has come and gone and the little girlie still won't eat.


Any input would be good. Cheers :cheers:

[kathylove]

Usually they keep on going once they fed the first time. But I have also had a few that ate once, and it seemed a fluke, because after that they became a problem feeder. That is why I always make sure they eat at least twice before shipping. Sometimes the first meal seems like a mistake to them - maybe they were just excited or something. After they have time to think about it, they occasionally don't eat the second time. But once they have fed twice, they are not very likely to stop.

[princess]

Wow, I asked for 'other breeders' and I got an answer form the top!

Cheers Kathy, even though it's not great news for her probably. :cheers:

[kathylove]

MOST (unfortunately not all) problem feeders will resolve in the first month or so by trying the usual tricks. So start trying all of the simple things (live, f/t, braining, cutting in half, cup feeding, etc), but not more often than once every 4 days or so, and hopefully you won't have to move on to more drastic measures.

[princess]

Yeah, she's getting offered about once a week but not more often. If she's still a stubborn one with the small, dark container with a brained FT pink method after another month (when she's 3 months old), I'll start putting in more of an effort with her. I'd like her to be eating well by herself by the end of the month though, as there's a show where it's always easy to sell a pretty little pinky snow.

[Duff]

I had an 04 that I got last summer at about 1 month from a pet store that was a problem eater (and still is somewhat). I went through all the tricks in the book, and the only thing he would eat was live pinkies. Put him in with a f/t (in any state), and nothing. Put him in with a live and went straight for it. I did finally get him over to f/t, but took about 4 or 5 months of live pinks. I'd try the f/t first, and then if he wouldn't take it, go out and get a live the next time around. He's still a picky eater (will only eat in a small, enclosed space left alone for a little while), but he is eating on a fairly regular schedule finally. Hopefully you have a little easier time than I've had (learned my pet store lesson on this one, lol). Good luck!