Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How many of you start your hatchlings on F/T? Live? On average, how long does it take for your animals to start to feed?
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

I find that most hatchlings will take (warmed) f/t pretty readily - even if they have been started on eating live. Out of my clutch all but one of my hatchlings took f/t or p/k rat within a day or two of their first shed. The hold out took a couple of weeks - would not take live or mice - then started pounding live rats like you would not beleive.
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

7.33.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.2 frogs rescued from pool skimmer

About how many hatchling bp's are you basing your answer on?

Thanks, Christy

Not sure which part you are asking about - most of the hatchlings that I have recieved take f/t or p/k fairly readily (whether they were started on live or had not eaten prior to my receiving them) - I'd estimate that is based on maybe 200-300 over the years. My one clutch that I mentioned that ate within a day or two of their first sheds is based on the eight that I personally hatched.
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

7.33.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.2 frogs rescued from pool skimmer

Hi Tosha,

I took Jay's Q to mean hatchlings we hatched ourselves.

I didn't realize you had bought/sold hundreds of ball babies. I thought you kept one ball for many years then he died, and a year or so ago and you got two more and found this forum to get some housing q's answered, then started accumulating animals.

At any rate, I have not really tried f/t, but from what I heard it's difficult to get a ball baby who never ate to go after f/t, so I was suprised by your answer (which is why I wanted to know how many animals you had done this with). More power to you for getting so many of them to eat frozen that easily! I don't have the patience for it - live for me, lol.

Christy

Most of mine eat within a week or so of their shed.

Christy

Two week rat pups, typically feed within two weeks after hatching.

I used to start them off with live mouse hoppers because thats all I was able to get. Now that I'm breeding my own rats I've been starting them off with live rat crawlers and it seems I have about the same success. I've personally never been able to get a baby ball to take frozen thawed as a first meal. Before I started breeding my own rodents I always tried frozen thawed first. Now that I do have a steady supply of live rat pups I don't even bother trying to start them on prekilled prey.

>>Two week rat pups, typically feed within two weeks after hatching.

I always try a day old rat pink first.
If they eat it great, if not I go with a hopper mouse until they eat.
I have always used Live.

I would say 90-95% eat within 2 weeks post first shed.

the rest in the next week or so.

TomChambers

Don't ball pythons eat mostly gerbils in the wild? Has anyone tried a gerbil pinky on there problem feeders?

gerbils dont breed as quickly or prolifically, and i know rats have very calcium rich bones, so it isnt likely most ppl would try to breed feeder gerbils. i tryed, i had 1 litter and they stopped breeding, i am assuming they smell the rats and pythons, and kill the babies before i see them.
so i wouldnt imagine most ppl would have the oppertunity to try feeding their snakes gerbils, besides, the hatchlings wouldnt know a difference between a rat and a gerbil at that point, if it was a wild caught adult, i would try to feed gerbils if the weight dropped too far, but otherwise, why bother.