Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey folks. Sorry for the newbie questions. But I thought I had another month to figure out the proper feeding protocol, etc, before the litter dropped. But alas - I was surprised with 11 new babies this morning. I don't have an accurate count of the morphs (some are so subtle looking) but approx half are anery and half are normal appearance. (Mom was a normal het for anery/albino and Dad was anery).

Anyway -

Can someone lay out the basics for feeding these new ones?
- Do they feed before or after first shed?
- When is the first shed typically?
- When should I try to feed the first time?
- Should I go with live pinkie to make sure they eat? Or should I try frozen/thawed to get them started?

Any tips are appreciated. Or links to guides with the above information. I have a couple books at home but I'm stuck at work and anxious to come up with a plan.

thanks,

I swear I searched before I posted. But now that I've posted, I see a couple other similar posts asking the same exact questions. Sorry about that.

So now I know that they typically shed in 5-8 days and then you feed first time 3-5 days after that. And the first few feedings is in their enclosure and then you move to deli cups.

Two remaining questions:
- First few feedings = live? or frozen/thawed?
- Do I keep the Momma with the babies? Or should I move her out?

Thanks,

Momma OUT. Always feed seperately.

First few feedings should probably be live pinks. You will have more luck that way, and its the first meal that counts the most. Once they start eating, you can switch them over to FT.
-----
Travis Rose
0.3 Normal Kenyans
2.5 High Orange Kenyans
1.1 Yellow Kenyans
1.1 Albino Kenyans
2.2 Anery Kenyans
1.1 Snow Kenyans
0.1 Paradox Snow Kenyan
0.1 Paradox Albino Kenyan
1.3 Rough Scale Sand Boas
1.2 Indian sand boas
X.X Nervous Rats
X.X Paranoid Mice
0.3 Dogs
0.2 Cats
X.X Fish
0.1 Very understanding wife
2.0 Future Snake Lovers

Perfect - thanks. I thought I'd read to move the Mom, so she's out already.

I always feed separately, so that's a no brainer. I was thinking it's important for them to take their first meal, so live seemed best. But wasn't sure if I should try a pre-killed or something once and if they aren't interested, swap it for a live or something like that.

Thanks for the feedback.

Sorry Travis...totally disagree about the food selection.

Cup them and offer them F/Ts for the first few times then those that refuse FTs give them live. You've got a good three weeks from birth before they start going down hill. If they eat FT for their first meal then you never have to worry about keeping up with live pinkies.

Now, if you have live pinkies readily available all the time then why EVER mess with FT's? Right?
-----
Mark Huntley
Sand Boa Morphs

Sand Boa's
2.1 Rufescens
6.6 Albinos
0.1 Hypo Albino
1.1 Dodoma
2.0 Nuclear Meltdown
0.1 Flame
10.22.14 Normal (orange)
7.16 Anery
5.4 Snow
2.2 Yellow Snow
0.1 Splash Albino
1.0 Splash Anery
1.0 Orange Stripe Het Anery
3.0 High Orange Stripe
1.0 Yellow Stripe
1.3 High Orange Tiger
2.3 High Orange
1.0 Snow Paradoxes
0.1 Albino Paradoxes
1.1 Javelin Sand Boas
2.1 Rough Scales
1.1 Indian Sunsets F3

Western Hognose
15.6 Normal Hogs
6.2 Green Phase
1.2 Red Phase

2.1 Boston Terriers
0.2 Sooners
1.3 Rhode Island Reds
0.3 Barred Rocks
0.2 Range Hens
0.1 Favorite Wives
1.1 On the fence in-laws
2.1 Rug Rats

CHECK OUT MY NEW KENYAN SAND BOA BLOG
http://sandboamorphs.blogspot.com/

WWW.SANDBOAMORPHS.COM