Please help. Hatchling not feeding

[jess1802]

Hi all I'm a new snake owner. I have a hatchling coastal and she refuses to eat. I've tried frozen (thawed obviously) and I've tried live pinkies. She strikes but will not coil. And with the live pinkie she just sensed it and that was it. I've done tongs and tried leaving it in her feeding tank with her for a few hours... Nothing. Please help as it's been quite awhile since she's eaten? Thank you so much in advance

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This is envy.

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[Pauls_Pythons]

Not going to get into the whole ethical conversation on feeding live but..........
Need more information to help guide users to give you good suggestions such as, enclosure size, temperature range (hot spot, ambient & cool end), enclosure fittings, substrate, last shed date, hours per day heating, heating at night or not, when did it last feed, what has it eaten in the past. Any other information that may be relevant.
There are many older threads on the subject that you might like to read, you might find the answer very easily once you read up on other suffering similar issues.

 

[bredli]

Looks like it hasn't had it's first shed how old is it ?. Might be better off waiting till it sheds then offer food again.

 

[Beans]

Wouldn't bother trying to feed untill after a first shed even. Probably still has a full tummy from the yolk. Looks super young and pretty though

 

[kitten_pheonix]

Was it feeding when you purchased it?
Also as above we need to know a bit about your set up such as sizes and temperatures.
I also noticed you said in its feeding tub, are you removing it from its enclosure to feed it?

 

[Chris1]

its a better idea to wait till you have your snake feeding consistently before trying out 'feeding enclosures'.

Try giving it a week with no disturbance other than water changes, then when its curled up under its paper quitely open the click clack, lift the paper towel and place the warm thawed mouse gently next to the snake. CLose the lid and go away.

Im just starting to feed my hatchies and putting the food under the paper towels where the snake can be safe undisturbed and comfortable seems to be working best.

 

[jess1802]

She's approx 6-8 weeks. She has a slight scaly scab on the top of her head but it won't shed. I've tried oiling her and it doesn't seem to do anything to help at the moment. It's just because I'm a first time snake owner I'm worried haha. What age is their first shed roughly?

Sorry didn't see the other replies. As I said very new to this so I'm trying my mother in law has a few snakes as well and she's told me some details about it but are different to what these replies are. I have a heat mat with a built in thermostat. Cold end is untouched but warm end around 29-30 degrees. Her enclosure is a bit big for her size. I will buy a click clack and try that. She hasn't eaten at all since I've had her. She gets the head in her mouth but then pulls back and leaves it. I'm trying to watch her to see if she's getting close to shedding as she's still dark underneath her belly.

I live in central Qld so it is still reasonably warm here too

 

[notechistiger]

Try to make it a bit hotter for her. A smaller tub will definitely help with this (even a tupperware container from the supermarket).

It's very possible she's stressed out. Moving to her new house could have stressed her out, but I'd say she's stressed from being in an enclosure. Remember baby snakes don't like to be out in the open. In the wild that's where big things are and little snakes that go out there get eaten =) In the meantime you could put some boxes in there for her to hide out in, and maybe even some fake leaves to give her cover. I would definitely try to get a tub asap though.

Work on making her feel safe and warm first, and then try to feed her. Baby snakes can go for months without food, so don't stress about the eating just yet. Once you've got it all, give her a week or so and try again.

 

[saximus]

She's approx 6-8 weeks. She has a slight scaly scab on the top of her head but it won't shed. I've tried oiling her and it doesn't seem to do anything to help at the moment. It's just because I'm a first time snake owner I'm worried haha. What age is their first shed roughly?

Sorry didn't see the other replies. As I said very new to this so I'm trying my mother in law has a few snakes as well and she's told me some details about it but are different to what these replies are. I have a heat mat with a built in thermostat. Cold end is untouched but warm end around 29-30 degrees. Her enclosure is a bit big for her size. I will buy a click clack and try that. She hasn't eaten at all since I've had her. She gets the head in her mouth but then pulls back and leaves it. I'm trying to watch her to see if she's getting close to shedding as she's still dark underneath her belly.

I live in central Qld so it is still reasonably warm here too

Who told you to oil it? Don’t do that. If you have shedding issues, the best remedy is to stick them in a tub of water or a wet pillow case for half an hour.
Was it feeding consistently for the breeder? To me your hot end temperature is too low. Assuming it’s healthy, that it almost certainly your problem. You should be aiming for 32° at least, even up to 34° or 36° if you’re measuring surface temp.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Your biggest mistake was OILING her! Shedding is a process which requires moisture (water, not oil) and a bit of humidity (especially for young snakes). As soon as you put an oil film on a snake's skin, you create a very effective barrier for the movement of moisture into or out of the skin. You can actually cause the skin to glue itself to a young snake. It looks to me that it hasn't even had its first shed, and this is usually critical to getting a good start in life.

Set it up in a tub with a slightly damp substrate (paper towel) and a big water bowl, and leave it till it sheds. It won't starve, and try not to do anything to hurry the process, just leave it alone. If your temps are OK after that, you should get a good feeding response using THAWED fuzzy or THAWED small weaner mice. Don't use pinks for a baby carpet, and definitely don't try live feeding, it won't be necessary.

Jamie

 

[jess1802]

Ok I will not do it again now I know. Do you ever oil snakes?? with the damp towel how warm does it need to be??

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[paultheo]

Try to make it a bit hotter for her. A smaller tub will definitely help with this (even a tupperware container from the supermarket).

It's very possible she's stressed out. Moving to her new house could have stressed her out, but I'd say she's stressed from being in an enclosure. Remember baby snakes don't like to be out in the open. In the wild that's where big things are and little snakes that go out there get eaten =) In the meantime you could put some boxes in there for her to hide out in, and maybe even some fake leaves to give her cover. I would definitely try to get a tub asap though.

Work on making her feel safe and warm first, and then try to feed her. Baby snakes can go for months without food, so don't stress about the eating just yet. Once you've got it all, give her a week or so and try again.

plus one, just learn to relax and offer a feed every two weeks or so, and make sure the feed item is slightly warmer than the ambient temps in your click clack, they have heat sensors that will pick up the different temps and may help initiate the strike.

 

[Cold-B-Hearts]

do not rush things, as stated leave it a few weeks. Try feeding thawed again, this time dry the rodent completely using a paper towel. Grab tweezers or small sizzors and cut the skin just above the nose of the rodent. A wet rodent has alot of its scent masked by the water so in combination of drying it and apply the small cut or tear just above its nose can encourage a hatchy.
try to encourage the little guy to eat buy rubbing the rodent on a coil etc, if the snake shows interest just hold the rat still don't jiggle it around etc. If the snake turns his head on the rodent leave it in the hot end overnight and dont disturb untill the morning. Ok so all that hasn't worked, leave it another two weeks and repeat the process. So another two weeks has gone by, you think he just isn't interested and want to try something else, prepare the food item the way i have described but present it differently. tap the rat on the tail on the snake ( this will most likely make your snake bolt in the opposite direction ) when the snake does this stick the rat infront of its face and force it to stay inside its tub enclosure etc. keep tapping the tail and repeat this process no more then five times. Its the only way iv gotten the really stubborn feeders to eat. Normally they will act as they always have running away for a bit then out of the blue sometimes they just smack it coil it and act like they knew what they where doing the whole time

Feeding hatchy snakes is a delicate process, is it possible there is a experienced keeper in your area that could help you out. You would probably learn more in 10mins with a experienced keeper then you would learn in a few hours online.
its hard to explain how i preform my process.

best of luck don't stress to much. Read the advice on the forum and learn which members are experienced compared to the others.
-Liam

P.s feed a hour or two after the sun has gone down

 

[jess1802]

Sorry if what I'm asking is a bit silly. I've read so many things but nothing seems as good as actually speaking to people

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[saximus]

Ok I will not do it again now I know. Do you ever oil snakes?? with the damp towel how warm does it need to be??

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Carved wooden ones maybe but not real ones.

Ideally you'd like it to be about 30 degrees but it will warm up or cool down to around room temp pretty fast so even that is fine. Just keep in mind that if it feels warm to you it's probably in the 40s so uncomfortably hot for the snake

 

[jess1802]

Ok so that's good to know. It was a mist spray from the pet shop that said it keeps them moisturised. My mother in law actually uses vegetable oil though on her adult snakes. Should I say something? I don't want her harming them but being unaware she is.

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[andynic07]

Sorry if what I'm asking is a bit silly. I've read so many things but nothing seems as good as actually speaking to people

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Not usually but some people use olive oil for treatment of mites.


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[Pythoninfinite]

Ok so that's good to know. It was a mist spray from the pet shop that said it keeps them moisturised. My mother in law actually uses vegetable oil though on her adult snakes. Should I say something? I don't want her harming them but being unaware she is.

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Where did your mother-in-law get the idea that she needs to use oil on snakes? It's a pointless and potentially harmful practice that serves no purpose whatsoever except to disrupt the natural circumstances of the skin. Potentially very harmful, especially at shedding time. WATER is all that is needed. Vegetable oils also oxidise slowly and become sticky and thick - check the surfaces that are not easily accessible and regularly cleaned in a kitchen - the stuff goes like rubber eventually.

Jamie

 

[Beans]

the only time i would oil a snake is if it had mites and you had no mite spray. otherwise no.....just...dont rofl.

 

[jess1802]

Apparently according to my partner a breeder told her to. And the local vet as well. I've actually just had a fun argument with my partner trying to explain haha.

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