Posted by:
Christy Talbert
at Mon Apr 25 09:58:25 2005 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Christy Talbert ]
Hi there,
There's no reason to think your little guy/girl won't do great (other than suffering a little gender confusion!).
Baby ball pythons usually don't eat until after their first shed (usually at about 9 or ten days old they shed out), and often they go another week or so before they eat. Assuming your baby is of normal condition, this will not be a problem. Don't panic if it does not eat immediately after it sheds out - it has a big egg yolk it is digesting.
Babies like small enclosures (mine are kept in plastic trays 9x11 in size) and warm temps (85-90 degrees on the warm side. Give it alot of humidity through it's shed cycle. A few days after it sheds, pop in a live hopper mouse. If your enclosure is small enough, that little mouse will be running around right in front of your baby's face and chances are pretty good he'll just go for it after a few minutes. Offer a hopper mouse every few days after it's first shed until the baby goes for it - notice I said every few days not a few times every day!
There are tricks you can use if the baby has not eaten by 3-4 weeks - but I'm not even going to go into that here because there is no need to. Most likely the second or third time you offer it food, it will snap it up.
The main thing is don't bother the baby too much before it starts eating, and for goodness sakes don't try to force it to eat. Let it settle in and nature will most likely do the rest when it sees an active little hoppy mouse.
Christy
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RE: Hatchling Ball Python Help!! - Christy Talbert, Mon Apr 25 09:58:25 2005