Assist feeding baby house snake
Like 1 Dislike 0 Published on 2 Jul 2014
I took my webcam apart to make this :) Baby house snakes are smaller than baby mice, so sometimes it is necessary to assist feed them until they are big enough to eat on their own. This takes time, and buckets of patience, and practice.
This is the largest hatchling from my latest clutch and has already had two feeds like this.
Sit down somewhere comfy, and stable. You may be sitting stock still for a while.
Start with an appropriately sized mouse tail cut at an angle to give a wedge.
Lightly restrain the snake between three fingers to provide resistance but not to crush the wee thing's head or neck.
I prefer to turn the snake's head upside down at this point to help to see the jaw line, making opening the mouth with the sharp end of the tail wedge much easier. If you insert the tail thicker end first, the hairs on the tail are pointing the right way and it helps stopping them chucking it right back out.
Pop the tail into the back of the mouth gently, but don't force it.
Only move the tail in one direction towards the back of the mouth. If it slides out sideways or you need to start again, don't pull back or else you may damage teeth and cause pain to the snake.
It's better to start again than force the issue. Feeding this way can be very frustrating, but with practice it will get easier.
Almost always if the snake is allowed to relax it will continue eating on its own, if you have stressed it too much by forcing the tail in or having too large a piece then it will struggle and may throw it back up later anyway.
Better to feed little and often than force them. They will grow quickly enough and within about 2 months of doing this once or twice a week they'll be smashing pinkies.