Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In the beginning of June, my brothers friend gave me a hatchling that he decided he didn't want to deal with. He bought it at reptile show as a non feeding ball. What an idiot. Well to get to the point. It had a very tiny part of the umbilical cord still attached, which eventually fell off. I assume that she was born within the last few months.
Well since having her, I've left her alone and offer food about every five days. I've tried everything from offering pinkies to hoppers and I still can't get her interested in the food. She is being housed in a 6 qrt sterilite with a small water dish and a hide, I also put a small amount of dried alphalfa hay over her hide to help her feel more secure. She has been drinking and urinated a few times. Can anyone please give some advice on how I can get her started? She is very tiny and is active when you pick her up. I have never seen a ball this small and just wish that she would take her first meal. Thanks, Dave.

Sometimes they can be tricky to get started. I would suggest
leaving a mouse fuzzy or mouse pinkie in the cage overnight
to see if they will take it. If you are getting worried, you
can try assist feeding them. Step 1: kill a fuzzy or pinkie
mouse. Step 2: pick up your snake and *carefully* hold its
neck (just behind their head) so that you can control their
head from moving around. Step 3: Gently attempt to push the
mouse (head first) into the baby snake's mouth. You are
not trying to ram it down their throat, but rather just trying
to get the snake to open its mouth. Once it does, stick the
head of the mouse into the mouth of the snake. Hopefully, the
snake's instincts will kick in (although they can be 'distracted'
due to the fact that you are holding their head!) and they will
actually start constricting the mouse. If this happens, gently
place them back down in their bin and put the bin away (maybe
even cover the front to give it more privacy/security). If they
don't seem interested, try holding it there for a few seconds
and hopefully they will realize they are supposed to eat.
If you get your snake to eat by assist feeding, I would then
attempt for 1-2 weeks to try feeding them by naturally. If after
2-3 attempts of natural feeding have failed, repeat the process.
Usually, after a few sessions of assist feeding, they will start
to eat on their own.

Good luck!
Chris Simone

Thank you, I'll try to leave the fuzzy overnight and then if that doesn't work I'll try to assist feed it. Thanks, Dave.