Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I turned on the heat today for 9 of my alterna hatchlings that would not eat, and have been cooled for about two months. How long would you recommend letting them warm up before offering a meal?

I have a litter of new-born mice I could offer live, and I thought I might do that tonight.

I plan to try unscented first, and hope that two months in the cold will be enough to get them started eating. I have a pair of fence lizards I can use for scenting if necessary.

Any advice, suggestions or experiences would be appreciated.
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Kent

1.1 Hypo (het lavender, striped) corn snakes, 2010
1.2 Gray-banded king snakes, blairs phase, 2008
0.0.17 Gray-banded king snakes, 2011
1.1 Oregon rubber boas, w/c 2000 and something

Colossians 3:17

Kent, I would put this up on the KS forum as you will get a faster reply. I have fed pyro hatchlings after a three day wait with no problems (they were only cooled for six weeks), but I normally wait at least a week prior to feeding after brumation. Not sure if this is needed or not, just thought waiting a bit for their systems to "warm up" was a good idea.

Thanks for the reply Joe. I am going to attempt feeding them for a couple of weeks, but will probably cool them again if they don't eat by the 24th. I am leaving then for a week.

My concern with keeping them up longer than that is that they will use up their reserves. They don't have much since they didn't eat after hatching before I cooled them.

If I do end up cooling them again, I am considering leaving them until February or March, so that the longer daylight hours might work in their favor.
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Kent

1.1 Hypo (het lavender, striped) corn snakes, 2010
1.2 Gray-banded king snakes, blairs phase, 2008
0.0.17 Gray-banded king snakes, 2011
1.1 Oregon rubber boas, w/c 2000 and something

Colossians 3:17