Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We have a neonate that was born the first week of October. He is doing great and stays in his moist hide most of the time. The temps and humidity are staying really on track in the tank. Anyway, I feed my colubrid hatchlings twice a week and we have been doing the rainbow the same way. Is that ok or too often? We actually gave him TWO large pinkies and he ate both last night. Is there a danger of over feeding?

He just stays in the hidden area, he has access to water under there as well. We put his food there and he is never nippy at all when we go to feed him. The few times we have gotten him out he just coils up on our fingers and looks around. Should we be holding him more? My husband says he wants him to feel secure so we aren't getting him out alot. Also, we didn't want to stress him by placing him in a different enclosure to feed until we have had him a bit longer. Are we being too cautious by not holding or moving him a bunch or can we just wait until he is a bit bigger?

One more question, what DO you call a baby brazilian....I was saying "hatchling" until it occured to me he didn't "hatch" but was "born"! ROFL Does that make him a "neonate" or is he now too old to be called that?

Thanks
Nina

Nina,
. Pinky mice are not very big. IMO you are not overfeeding giving him a pinky or two every three days. I feed baby BRBs one small adult mouse once a week. A small adult mouse probably weighs as much as 8 or 10 pinky mice. Most Colubrid hatchlings have smaller mouths than most boids hatchlings and so are more suited to eating smaller meals. A brand new baby BRB can eat a big adult mouse. Most boids come from areas where little snakes are eaten by lots of animals. It is advantageous for them in the wild to grow rapidly so that they are large enough to defend themselves from predators. In captivity BRBs do well if fed enough so that they grow an inch or 2 every month until they are around 24 months old when their linear growth will slow down. When they are small they efficiently convert food into linear growth and have to be fed very very heavily to become obese. Later in life they can become obese easily if overfed.
. It seems to me that baby BRBs can be handled as often as your baby Colubrids. My little BRBs do not get handled very much and they are doing fine. When I was raising my first baby BRBs I handled them often and they also did fine.
. The term hatchling is so commonly used with all baby snakes that It has become accepted for use with live bearers. The only problem I see is that when novices hear the term it may make them think that all snakes come from eggs.
Jeff

>>We have a neonate that was born the first week of October. He is doing great and stays in his moist hide most of the time. The temps and humidity are staying really on track in the tank. Anyway, I feed my colubrid hatchlings twice a week and we have been doing the rainbow the same way. Is that ok or too often? We actually gave him TWO large pinkies and he ate both last night. Is there a danger of over feeding?
>>
>>He just stays in the hidden area, he has access to water under there as well. We put his food there and he is never nippy at all when we go to feed him. The few times we have gotten him out he just coils up on our fingers and looks around. Should we be holding him more? My husband says he wants him to feel secure so we aren't getting him out alot. Also, we didn't want to stress him by placing him in a different enclosure to feed until we have had him a bit longer. Are we being too cautious by not holding or moving him a bunch or can we just wait until he is a bit bigger?
>>
>>One more question, what DO you call a baby brazilian....I was saying "hatchling" until it occured to me he didn't "hatch" but was "born"! ROFL Does that make him a "neonate" or is he now too old to be called that?
>>
>>Thanks
>>Nina

I can't imagine that tiny little thing eating an adult mouse! ROFL BUT....I have read everything you have written and by following your directions this hatchling has done great, so I KNOW you are right, but it STILL amazes me.

Ok, next feeding is going to be a f/t MOUSE! ROFL, wonder if he will see it as "food" since he has always had pinkies! The poor thing is probably starving since we have only given him ONE pinkie twice a week...and here I was afraid we were "over doing it" by offering him TWO pinkies at once!

Jeff, you have no idea how helpful you are, to me, and every new person who comes to this forum. The snakes are the ones that benefit by your taking the time to answer what I am sure are the same questions over and over.

Anyway.....thanks once again!
Nina