Rob, try this. . . . . . ..........

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: : Hi everyone. I know this has been discussed before but just thought I would throw it out there again. I had three baby indigos hatch this year from my pair of adults (not exactly a big success considering that five eggs never hatched, but at least we had a few beautiful babies)....much of this credit goes out to the people here who gave me great advice. Now, at the 48 day mark, these babies have not fed yet. So far, I have tried: : : : 1) live/dead pinkies (including "brained" and scented with fish) : : 2) small live goldfish flopping in a deli container w/the baby snake inside and sealed. : : 3) small live frogs : : 4) goldfish in a very shallow container of water in the cage : : Rob, : Here are a few suggestions from me on how to get these creatures to feed. Basically, in MY opinion, it takes 4 things: : #1. Time-They eat when they are good and ready, which is NOT usually according to our time parameters, trust me on that one. I have had babies go 80 days from hatch and still refuse to eat, despite offering all sorts of fare. Time is the great moderator. Be patient. : #2. Putting the live goldfish into a larger container and allowing them to flop around and subsequently die or be eaten. : #3. "Scenting" the pinkie mice with frozen trout, the OLDER the piece of fish, and the ranker the piece of fish, the better. : #4. Getting a lot of small snakes, corns, dekays etc , putting them in a small , ventilated jat and puting that in the cage, with pinkies that are scented with those snakes stacked neatly around the jar. : #5. Playing with the temps. Bringing the daytime high up to 85, which isnt hard in S.Calif what with the heat wave and all. Or dropping the temps to 70 degrees, which has worked for me several times when all else failed. : #6. Force feeding is a bad idea, it stresses the snake out and does not assure that he will feed on his own. I have tried this method, only to have the snake continue to REFUSe to feed. : Hope this helps, please e-mail me if you continue to have problems. : Fred : : 5) live goldfish in the hide box : : These babies appear to be in perfect health. They are active daily and seem to show signs that they are hungry. Any other thoughts, strategies or ideas? I realize that some babies may go 60 days before taking their first meal but this is really frustrating (I remember going through this with my adults when I first got them as babies). Indigos have to be the most challenging yet rewarding snakes to work with; can't wait to get some more! Thanks for all of the help.

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