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Today is Feeding Day!

E

EdwardsFamily

Brand New Corn Mommy
So today is going to be my first attempt at feeding Tungsten, but I had a couple questions. We have the cup we're going to feed him in with the lid, however, I was curious as to technicalities. Should I have the pinky in the cup when I put him into it? It seems like it would be easier that way, but I am not sure if it will effect anything. Also how long should it take for him to eat it? How long should I leave him in there after he eats it? lol. Just little details! :D
 
it shouldnt really matter how you do the feeding... put him in the cup first or the pinky in the cup first... it really doesnt matter... i put my snake in one end of the tupperwear container i use, and then put the pinky in... it shouldnt matter... it usually takes 8-10 minutes for them to get it down... after he eats leave him in there for just a few minutes.. maybe 5 minutes... and when you put him back in his enclosure, make sure you leave him in the cup. then put him in his enclosure in the cup && let him crawl out... you dont want him to regurge! Good Luck! :)
 
Okay! I had planned on leaving him in the cup and allowing him to get out himself. I didn't want to pick him up or dump him out if he was going to have a full tummy lol. So if he doesn't eat it within say 15 mins should I assume that he isn't going to eat it?
 
okay! he will eat... but if he doesnt smell it, drip some juice from a can of tuna on the pinky... because sometimes the water you defrost them in, takes away their smell... keep me updated! :smile:
 
I'd feed him the smallest pink you have for his first meal, then go to what you think he should be eating for the next one.

It's perfectly fine to handle the snake minimally to return it back to the viv. If you put the whole deli back in the viv with the baby in it, make sure you don't open the lid until the deli is down in the viv. Babies will come flying out and make a wild leap out into space if given the chance.

It's usually easier to put the nice, HOT pink into the deli and then go get the snake.
 
Okay. I will have to look at them and pick out the smallest one for him to eat then. I was planning on putting the pink in first I think... somehow it just seems more risky to put him in then take the lid off again to put the pinkie in. I think it would probably be safer for him and me if his meal was already waiting for him. :D
 
Every time you close the lid with a snake in there you risk catching the tail. Be VERY careful not to snap the lid down until the tail is safely out of the way.
 
I used to thaw the pinks, put the pink in the deli, weigh the baby in a different deli (uncovered) and then transfer him to his feeding container. The group of babies I have now is so flighty though I've started putting the hot pink in the feeding deli, putting the lid on, zeroing in on the scale, then putting the baby in and getting his weight.

If the baby doesn't take the pink right away, or is frantically trying to get out, cover the deli up with something like a dish towel, T-shirt, whatever.

You'll have more luck feeding later in the evening when the baby is active.

If you have to cover him up, I'd leave him for 30 minutes. Set a timer; no peeking. If he hasn't eaten, reheat the pink up to 102F and put it back, cover, leave alone for 60 minutes.

I just got a baby who hadn't eaten on her own for the first four meals to take her first pink alone in a deli _after_ a reheat. I was pretty happy! The temp of the pink can make a difference on a snake who is undecided about feeding.
 
Well Christen said he hadn't had any problems when she had him. He had three successful feedings without being covered, she said he was a pretty good eater and that I shouldn't have any problems. I am just really cautious about trying to do everything the right way. I don't want to end up doing something wrong lol!

I've seen him out and about primarily late at night and in the very early morning, otherwise he seems to be pretty happy burrowing through his substrate lol. He's got about a dozen holes I can see... lord knows how many more he's made lol.
 
True. But he's in a whole new environment and is not as comfortable as he was at his hatchling home, yet, so you want to treat him very cautiously for the first one or two feedings. It's a huge relief to have a snake eat for the first time, whether it is a new, to you, snake or a newly-hatched baby. It's a BAD feeling to have a new acquisition refuse a meal, even though you know they have been eating fine up till that point!
 
Yeah, I am really hoping it all goes well. It's my first time feeding any snake, so I really hope he doesn't refuse it. The easier this all goes the better! As it is I already feel bad that I will have to fish him out of his bedding to put him in the dish lol. I can't imagine it's very comforting to have someone scooping through your house trying to dig you out.
 
After you've fed him successfully a few times, you can start training him to come out when you knock on his viv. I get the mice out thawing (which for babies only takes a minute!) and then tap softly on their bin fronts. They usually come out to see what is happening. Then I don't have to chase them down and they learn that if I tap on the front, and they come out, very soon they get taken away to their feeding container and get to eat!
 
Very neat! I will have to remember that if he does well. I might bug you for the in's and out's of teaching him that a little tap means dinner time! lol.
 
We've had our corn for about 6 weeks now. Here's how I do it:

I pre-weighed all of our frozen pinkies and sorted them into labeled zip lock bags by weight. They are all either 2, 3, or 4 grams.

Defrost the pinkie in a zip lock snack bag dunked into a solo cup with HOT tap water, that way the hot water doesn't wash away the scent of the pinkie. You may need something to hold the bag down into the water.

For feeding, I bought a tupperware container that's about 18" long, 12" wide, 3" tall - in other words pretty flat but with plenty of room to move around inside. It's not too big to put on the weight watchers scale we use, and I can easily put the snake inside without worry of catching a tail when closing.

I wait (or my son) waits until the last second to pull the pinkie out of the ziplock bag / water, to be sure it's warm. With the snake in the bin, and holding the pink by the tail, we 'point' the pinkie in the direction of the snakes head, and slowly move it towards the snake. Just don't get startled when the snake strikes, and let go as soon as the snake has it. Once I made the mistake of presenting a pinkie to the snake while holding the snake. I won't do that again.....snakey held onto my fingers in a death grip, so I had to wait until he was done getting it down before he would let go. Other than my arm getting tired, it didn't phase the snake.

We wait about 10 minutes for the snake to get the pinkie (s) all the way down and then dip the feeding bin back into his habitat and let him go out on his own.

Works every time......Have fun!
 
I love doing the "death dance" with the pinkie/adult mouse for my snakes. Usually when I start to see them breathe hard it means their heart rate is up and they are getting ready to strike. I can almost tell you when they are going to make a go for it by that and their mannerisms (did I spell that right). I enjoy the feeding reaction I get from my snakes. :)

If you do this don't reach for the mouse right away if you drop it into the feeding container. You can reach for it slowly after a second. I dropped the mouse when I went to feed my AP milk snake and went for it right afterwords. She didn't do anything but bump me with her snout but she taught me not to do that again. She saw something move in front of her while she was in feeding mode and tested my finger out. Must not have liked the scent or taste. lol :) Even if your little guy does strike you it won't hurt at all. :)
 
I am not sure I'd be able to not panic, honestly. I've never been bitten before and the strike possibility might make me jerk back. I suppose if he doesn't eat it just lying I can try to wiggle it... gotta do what you gotta do, right? lol
 
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