Now your hatchlings have shed out and have their own enclosures, feeding will be your next task, and this really can be challenging. Some hatchlings will feed immediately on frozen thawed mice or rats, but others can really take some work to get established.
We offer all of our newborn snakes frozen thawed rat pups or mouse fuzzies every 3-5 days. We have found that this is typically the ideal size and frequency for a hatchling ball python, and we only increase the size of their meals when were sure they are large enough. If a hatchling misses their first feeding, don't worry... try again in 3-5 days. If your royal python continues not eating for the next couple of weeks, offering a live rat pup or mouse fuzzy is your next step, generally getting a good feeding response in our experience. If this still hasn't worked, we will now begin assist feeding.
Assist feeding is the process of placing a rat pup or mouse fuzzy in the hatchlings mouth in an attempt to get it feeding. Gently grabbing the hatchling behind the head, and supporting the rest of the body, offer up your prey item to the mouth. Usually they will open up, but if not, you can gently open it with the end of the rat or mouse. Now the mouth is open, you can insert the prey item, and carefully latch it onto the teeth. If this is done correctly, your snake shouldn't be able to spit it out, therefor, eating it is the only option. Effectively, you're teaching them that what you are offering is food, and this is how you eat it. We have found that hatchlings begin to understand after 3-4 assist feeds, and generally start strike feeding from thereon. It is important that you gain advice from an experienced keeper or breeder before attempting to assist feed, or better so, have someone show you how it's done!
