I have a pair of CH Easterns myself. At first, they did not eat voluntarily, and I forced mouse tails. Mouse tails go down pretty easy, and you can dip them in beaten egg for a real smooth glide. Mmmmmmm. After a few times feeding and passing stools, I think the neos' digestive system came on line, and they began to feel hungry between meals. In time, one, then the other ate live lizards voluntarily, but it's still spotty even now. They skip feedings and let lizards turn into roommates.
The Westerns were more agressive when I got them, but they had been in the care of their breeder for a few months, so they may have moved past the mouse tail stage by the time they arrived. I set my neo Masties up in 5 gallon aquaria with screen lids and full-spectrum light. I know that conventional wisdom declares that snakes don't require full-spectrum light to survive, but I think it might contribute to quality of life. Substrate is cypress mulch. A chunk of cupped tree bark for a hide, and a water dish. I don't use cork bark. Snakes feel secure when they feel weight pressing on them, and cork lacks sufficient weight when it's that small, to generate that cozy feeling. I use oak, alder, cottonwood--not pine--I worry that it has enough resin left to irritate the snakes, but if you have pine that's sufficiently dried out, it's probably OK.
I feed once a week, maybe more often if the meal was small, or if the snake has that look (anything to eat around here?). It's the same look that in-laws on an extended stay have around dinnertime. I only feed in-laws once a week, though--no exceptions. ANYway, the coachwhips might get another offer in less than a week if it looks promising. After several feedings, they develop an expectation of food, and you've got them. Now, hunger is your ally. Let them wait a few days, and introduce something you want them to eat. During the trial phase, don't forget to try large grasshoppers and crickets, since wild coachwhip neos are known to eat grasshoppers.
Another trick comes to mind. I have not done this myself, but I thought about it, and it might work (anything is worth a try if death is the alternative): hold a dead pink mouse in long forceps and drag it around the cage to try to elicit a feeding strike.
Some thoughts (please, no) on the merits of aquaria over sterilite. Aquaria are easier to open at feeding time, and the jostling required to open a sterilite might upset snakes that aren't dedicated to filling their bellies, like corns. It's easier to see into aquaria, and again, less fuss to check on the progress of the feeding. I use small containers for young snakes so they are more confined with the food--by the way, I did cup the Easterns a few times, and the first voluntary meal the male took was in a cup.
My Westerns look to be further along in the acclimation process than my Easterns. The Easterns still skip meals, and they are notorious for not doing their homework--I'm concerned about their grades.... Seriously, though (uh-huh) I have genuine hope that the Easterns will survive, and in time come to eat defrosted mice, since it's well documented that coachwhips are opportunistic scavengers in the wild, and all my adult coachwhips have accepted defrosted food without hesitation.
Baby coachwhips need attention more than baby corns. Coachwhips need more tricks, timing and patience than other species, but they grow up into coachwhips, so that's worth something. As you raise your new babies, consider what you might have done with your life that would have caused you less stess, like working on the bomb squad.....
