Hi Sasha!

Sorry for the delay in replying to your post, I've had an awful lot of things going on that I had to deal with.



I got the pics you sent, you did get my reply to them? I replied the next day, I believe. Just in case you didn't here's a slightly edited version:



Baby burms look great, beautiful! Congratulations! It's an awesome experience, isn't it? Maternal incubation is a great experience. Babies look a lot like momma. Nice!



Below are the basics of hatchling care, in my personal perspective, not as gospel. You don't have to wait till they shed to try feeding but I'd wait at least a week. This gives them time to process the nutrients they absorbed just before coming out of the egg.



* Double-check your temperatures. I like to keep the hot end between 90 - 92 and the cool end about 80. They can even be kept at a steady temperature, without a temperature gradient, at around 88 - 90, but I much prefer a temperature gradient, giving them a choice of temps.

* Make sure the humidity level is between 60 - 80%. The closer to 80% the better.

* Keep a constant supply of fresh water available to them.

* Offer them live mice pinkies or rat pinkies (or anything in between - size-wise [fuzzy mice, etc,]). Some snakes, babies and/or adults, are intimidated by large prey, even though it doesn't seem large to us. The smaller, more livelier, the better to get them started eating. Some will readily take frozen/thawed, but some won't. If you have to use F/T use some forceps, hemostats, or something to move the rodent around to make it appear live. Don't put it in the snake's face as this can also intimidate some snakes. You can ease the rodent up to the snake to let it get it's scent & once you see that the snake notices it back it away a little as if the rodent was trying to get away from the snake. Entice them to give chase, in a sense.

* Another thing that helps get them started eating is to feed them in small containers so they can't help but see & sense the rodent and give them privacy. I use 6-quart Sterlite tubs that you can get at Wal-Mart for about $1.50 each. I put the rodent in the tub, place snake in, and then cover it with a towel or something so they won't be distracted by anything going on outside of the tub.

* Be sure to give the snakes plenty of time to eat. I wouldn't give up until it's been with the prey at least two hours.





There are a few more little tips/tricks that can be used to get most stubborn babies started eating.



* You can behead the rodent, placing just the head in with the snake. Some people have had success with puncturing the forehead of the rodent to expose part of the brain & blood (also known as "de-braining". Both of these techniques work a lot of times.

* This one's going to sound crazy but it works sometimes - Wash the rodent with a mild hand soap or dishwashing liquid, being sure to rinse all soap off. Ivory soap is the best for this because it doesn't have all the chemicals most other soaps do. Sometimes a snake may not like the way a rodent smells and this can help.

* Live, small, rodents are usually the best overall.

* Don't try to feed them every day, this can stress them out. Give them a few days between attempts.



Have a good one!

Mike
-----
Due to political correctness run amuck,

this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:

Appalachian American





www.natures-signature.com

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