Posted by:
LindaH
at Sat Jun 10 18:41:52 2006 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by LindaH ]
Hi J.C.,
Here are some things that have worked for me, and I always try to get them started on f/t if at all possible. I don't have a rodent colony, so f/t is definitely easiest for me. I have resorted to buying mice, breeding them, etc..., but I'm not set up for it. I would rather have root canal work than do that again. Anyway, if you can get them all started on f/t, they will never know that something better (warm,fresh,live) exists  Pretty sneaky, but true.
First of all, they won't all start eating at the same time, so don't worry about that. If they just shed...and if some of them have large-ish bellies...they may not eat for several more days...maybe even a week or two or more... *IF* some have large bellies, I wouldn't try to feed them until their mid-section is down to normal size.
At some point, you have to decide what to do about one that steadfastly refuses to acknowledge a f/t pink as food. You can try "live" at any point you want.
Sometimes, babies don't seem to know that live pinks/fuzzies are food. In this situation, I have had good success with gently force feeding a lubricated rat pup hind leg to get the digestive juices kicked into gear. After the rat leg was digested, they went straight to f/t pinks, like their littermates. Fortunately, this has only happened to me a couple of times. If you have to resort to this, email me or call me and I'll give you the exact way I do it. It is more detailed than what is here.
Back to f/t:
I always soak the mouse pinks in VERY warm water prior to feeding. When "served" you want the baby boa to be able to sense warmth, but at the same time, not be hot enough to burn or be too hot when they bite down. So, there's a fine line. I always use the skin on the top of my fingers and press down on the pink just beforehand to gauge the heat.
Offer the pinks on some small blunt tweezers and try to wiggle it a little in front of the baby. Dimming the lights will also help. You want him to concentrate on what is directly in front of him....not the monster(you)just beyond.
Some people will purposely try to irritate the baby into striking - this sometimes works, but it can backfire too, if you make him afraid of his food. So if you try this, watch his body language closely. Stop when the baby turns tail and tries to get away.
If you can't get a strike, put the pink and the baby in a small container where there's only enough room for him and the pink right next to him. Cover the container or put them in the dark for a while or overnight. Babies are easily distracted. If you are watching him through a clear plastic container, he will be more worried about "being eaten" than eating. You want to make sure the container is small enough so he is not able to crawl away from the pink and forget about it. You want him to be able to smell the pink "up close" whether he wants to, or not.
Some people will also try "braining" a f/t pink by inserting a straight pin or needle into the skull, so that organ is exposed to air, creating more scent for the baby to smell.
That's about all I can think of at the moment. All but two of my babies started on f/t, without resorting to live or rat legs.
Good luck with your little ones...and may none of them be finicky
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Linda Hedgpeth
lindafh@frontiernet.net
Sierra Serpents
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RE: Feeding babies for first time... - LindaH, Sat Jun 10 18:41:52 2006
