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Today is Feeding Day!

All my snakes will eat by putting them in the bin with their mouse. With babies, sometimes it's fun to hand feed them.
 
If you have a pair of feeding tongs (huge hemostats :)) it won't be a problem. I know it's not easy but don't fear bites. If your baby bit you right now and got his mouth all the way around your finger it still wouldn't hurt. His teeth aren't big enough to do any damage. :D
 
Hmm, I will have to see what he takes to! I saw him out and about poking his nose around about fifteen minutes ago... would that be a good sign its a good time to feed him?
 
I have never wiggled the food for the babies. I notice depending on their personalty sometimes it scares them so I just drop it in the tub. If he doesn't eat after a few minutes then I do what Nanci already recommend. Reheat and put him in the dark, under a towel, I usually put them in a cupboard. Just cause I know that they will be save from cats and kids, hidden up there.
 
Okay! I haven't tried yet, so this could all be for nothing. I may just put him in there with the pinkie and it could be all over and done with without even a tiny bit of fuss lol. I am just making sure I have the details just in case!
 
The holding the mouse thing isn't necessary. Some people can't help but flinch, and what you want to avoid is having the snake get the mouse, but you flinch and send everything flying across the room. Just know this.....a baby snake wouldn't even leave a mark....it would be like getting slapped lightly with a cooked piece of rigatoni. Ain't nothing. A friend that has a pretty grown boa uses a set of bamboo tongs, but with a snake that young, you'd be hard pressed to even feel it. When was the last time that it ate? Some folks say night time is best, but we just feed any old time of day, as long it's 'feeding day'. Don't worry about trying to read snake body signals...
 
Well I guess it would be 7 days since he last ate. He was getting fed every 5 but we were waiting 48 hours after bringing him home to feed him. I am not sure I'd be able to not flinch, honestly, I think it's just a natural reaction to jerk back when something lunges. It would take a lot of practice not to lol.
 
EdwardsFamily said:
Okay! I haven't tried yet, so this could all be for nothing. I may just put him in there with the pinkie and it could be all over and done with without even a tiny bit of fuss lol. I am just making sure I have the details just in case!
Click to expand...

My wife used to get crazy about planting tulip bulbs. They had to be a certain space apart, and pointed perfectly upwards, covered gently with soil and a kiss. Then I made her cringe by purposely cramming several bulbs in a small hole, all of them upside-down. Guess what? That patch I planted has lasted longer than the ones she planted 'perfectly'. The moral of the story? Nature will prevail, whether or not you do everything just right. Just get the mouse and the snake safely into the same bin, at the same time, and watch your snake find and eat the mouse. Wait a few minutes and return it to it's home.....
 
LOL I was wondering about pictures... but I don't wanna stress him out. It would be a fun thing to have pictures of though.
 
Well I made the attempt. First tried to warm the pinkie in a glass of water, put it in the cup with him and walked away. 15 mins later, no luck. So I reheated the pinkie and put him in the cupboard. Another 15 mins later and still no luck. :(
 
Not warm, hot. And stop checking so often! Set a timer, walk away for 60 minutes now. Also, you could cut a few small slits along the back of the pink- I always do that anyway.
 
I heated up the pinkie, put him in a cupboard, and walked away. That was approximately an hour ago now, I also put a little tuna juice on it to see if that would help entice him. Almost afraid to look in case he hasn't taken it this time.
 
If he doesn't feed give it at least 2 preferably 3 days until you try him again. I had to do that with my BP and she fed great the second try. Sometimes it takes them a while to settle into a new home before they'll eat. He will eat! Don't get discouraged. :D
 
Well I just checked and we still had no luck. He was curled up in one side of the cup, pinkie was still untouched. So I guess our first attempt at feeding didn't go like I had hoped. I went ahead and put him back in his tank and disposed of the uneaten pinkie. About how long for future reference should a pinkie remain submerged in a warm cup of water?
 
When I was feeding them I thawed them in a cup full of the hottest water that would come out of the tap for 10 minutes. Never got any complaints from the customers. :D
 
Don't even bother with scenting with a baby you know was eating unscented at the breeder's. To thaw the pink, put it in a cup of HOT water for a couple minutes. Get everything ready, then right before you are ready to go get the baby, run the tap water as hot as it will go and hold the pinky under it, in your fingers, until it is that temp. Put it in the cup.

Also, I see you put the cup in a cupboard, but I feel it is important to cover it up, too, so he can't see out.

And I would wait three to five days, no handling in between, no bothering him and changing the water and checking to see if he's okay, and then follow the steps above, immediately going to covered, in the dark, do not peek for an hour.
 
Next time try putting the frozen pinkie in a zip lock snack bag, then putting the bag in hot water. About two minutes before feeding, I refresh the now warm water with HOT tap water to give the temp a boost. I walk over to the snake and take the pink out at the last second.....never has failed, but I'm told that our snake is an unusually good eater. Good luck.....it'll eat sooner or later.
 
I did use a ziplock inside a cup of hot water. Unfortunately it still didn't pan out. Now I am gonna wait till Wednesday and use the advice Nanci gave me, hopefully that will work out better for me. I haven't bugged him at all, just made sure he's coming out every night to explore.
 
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