Two years ago I accidently dropped a pinky in to some just hatched hatchlings and to my surpize it was picked up fast and ate...This gave me an idea 4 last year, to take 4 clutches and feed them one day after they hatched to see just how many eat and if there is any ill affects to doing this......The only ill affect that I can say that there is,they think the your fingers are food too.......lol

I took 4 clutches of hatchlings,came to 31 hatchlings...Of those 31 hatchlings 28 ate right off the bat,2 ate on the 2nd day and 1 never did eat....But of those 30 hatchlings that ate befor there 1st shed,the feed response is unbelievable,and none have turned down a meal, and growth rates are normal...

I came to the conclusion that the feeding response is highest after hatching out of the egg,I have allways waited till after there 1st shed and I will say that the feeding ratio is alot worse than what I came up with last years trial clutches...I will be testing this again this year to see what the trials reveal, if I get the same feed response I will be changing my hatchling feeding ideals....

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