Here I am sitting here putting together this weeks feeder list. Between the breeders I currently have and the hatchlings that are new, I am looking at a huge number of animals that will need to be fed. Not only do I have to feed a good sized number of animals but it has to be done in a timely, efficient manner. It can’t take me hours. I have a ton of other things that need to get done as well.

Here are some tips to get not just your hatchlings to eat, but also the bigger ball pythons you may own.

First and foremost, I believe in feeding at night. Or at least dusk. If you haven’t noticed yet ball pythons are really active at night. What better time to feed then when they are active! For my hatchlings, I make sure I feed them at night, with the room dark. No noise, no disruptions, no noisy neighbors kids. You get the idea. There main goal in life on Tuesday nights is too eat! LOL

I also prescent the room. I know, you might not hold value or believe me when I say it works but it does! When I first get home from picking up my feeders I drop them off in the snake room and let them “stew”. I find that if I let them sit in front of the racks for at least 30 minutes it really gets the snakes moving and active. Many a time when I come back in the room they are all perched and ready to eat. As soon as I pop open a tub, BAM!! They waste no time eating.

Same thing with the hatchlings. I prescent the room. And when I feed, I leave the room. I do not come back for a few hours and when I do I check on who has or has not ate. Sometimes I will leave the food offering in the tub with them overnight. I find that sometimes the hatchlings take a little time to go. Sometimes though, they are voracious eaters and slam the mouse right away!

Speaking of mice, lets talk about the proper food you should be offering your hatchling. For their first feeding I almost always offer them a hopper mouse. I find that the behavior of the mouse almost makes them irresistible to any hatchling ball. Something about the way they “hop” around the tub makes the balls slam them. I will however get some holdouts. Which I will then try a rat pink or rat fuzzy on. Sometimes they take it. Sometimes they don’t. If they don’t take it, then I will offer a hopper mouse right away. This alone pisses them off and they eat. IF all else fails, I will crumble up some newspaper and fill the tub with it. It helps provide a sense of security for the hatchling. Which is sometimes all it needs.

Before I wrap it up, I want to just let you know that it is perfectly normal for a hatchling to not eat right away. If they did absorb the yolk to the fullest then they have enough nutrients in their body to last a few weeks of not eating. Just make sure you monitor them and seek the help of a professional if you feel enough time has passed and you have yet to get them too feed.

I hope this helps some of you guys out there and I hope all your hatchlings eat this season for you with ease!