One word.................patience......................

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: : I acquired a great pair of baby blacktails this past Tuesday. I gave each of them a pinkie today, and they didn't seem interested in eating. Should I just leave them alone with the pink for a while? : : Also.... : : The female has some attitude. She rears up like some kind of mamba or mulga and strikes repeatedly. Please tell me she will mellow out as she matures. I don't want to think about that kind of attitude in an 8 foot long snake with crushing jaws. : Trustone, : Lets take the ATTITUDE of your female first: Baby Indigos are very nervous and high strung snakes that are geared to avoid being EATEN by a number of animals in their native locale.With no handleing,i would say that this threat display will continue well inot adult years, but with weekly handleing it should die down when the snake hits the 1-2 yr mark. Adults STILL do this when alarmed, please note. : As for your feeding problem: : You JUST bough the snakes this past TUESDAY? : That means they have been in your house, in your : care for a WHOPPING 3 days? : And you are expecting them to eat right away? : I suggest that you change your thinking, when you bring a new animal in your house, whether it is a snake, dog, cat or bird, there is a TRANSITIONAL period when the animal comes into your house that is required for it to adjust to its surroundings and feel comfortable enough to feed. : In Drymarchon this period can take several days, or several months, depending on how you have the snake set up. you make no mention of how you have the snake housed, what temps it was exposed to, or where the cage is kept in the house(High traffic /lowtraffic area) ALL these things way heavily in the odds of it feeding. : The single BIGGEST mistake that new keepers of Drymarchon make, especially eastern indigos,is : EXPECTING the snakes to perform and eat as THEY wish them to. These snakes eat when they are good and ready, some right away, and others after long protracted periods of time. If you set them up improperly, it will set back your time line to have them eat at all. : Tricks to get them to feed? : ONCE the temps, cage and hidebox are all in place, then I would do the folowwing: : Put the baby indigo in a small deli cup with the pinkie. : Fish scent the pinkie useing trout or goldfish. : Put the pinky in the hidebox when the indigo is in it. : Put MULTIPLE pinkies in the cage, to elicit feedin response. : E-Mail me if you need help in setting these snakes up correctly, ie cageing, heat etc. : Fred Albury : (Aztec Reptiles)

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