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I have a hatchling retic in a 36" by 14" enclosure. She sometimes eats a live mose but not always always. Is it because of the size of the zize og the size of the enclosure or other circmstances.

jeff pfeifer
810-744-2694
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The Voices have won!

jeff pfeifer

I start hatchlings out in sweater boxes. Assuming temp gradient is good (ambient temps= L77 - H 86), and your humidity levels (avg.65/70%) are consistent. If your cage is varying outside of this you will want to correct before making further changes to stimulate feeding.
Many times all snakes, not just retics, prefer smaller and tighter enclosures. For a small exposed baby, open-ness is scary. As such they stress out, which typically means poor or no feeding. So often we tend to forget that 33" retics are still babies and still need these security blankets.
Your can try lots of hides, but it may be simpler to place the hatchling in a sweater box w/lid. Set it up with a water bowl and even a hide if neccessary. Put the tub inside his large cage until he/she develops a little more self confidence, allow the tub to sit in the middle range of the heat gradient.
good luck, once he/she has resumed eating give it a month or two of steady meals. Then try re-introducion again to the larger cage, chances are the retic will switch over well with just a little more size and time.

Notah

>>I have a hatchling retic in a 36" by 14" enclosure. She sometimes eats a live mose but not always always. Is it because of the size of the zize og the size of the enclosure or other circmstances.
>>
>>jeff pfeifer
>>810-744-2694
>>-----
>>The Voices have won!
>>
>>jeff pfeifer