First eating time!!! uh oh..

[Ringosmama]

ok so friday im getting him a new cage and im going to try feeding him pinky parks, now he has never eating with me before (havent tryed yet) but im going to, and i was also wondering do i put him in a seperate container?? and how much does he need to eat? (hes a baby baby) and how do i make him eat it? i want him to be on pinkies cause they are better, i dont want him to get like stuck of slugs or worms ya know?

please help! thanks sooo much!!

[kibakiba]

There's no problem with worms. My snakes eats worms and they're quite healthy. Some will eat only worms. You can scent the pinky parts with worms to make him think its a worm. Only feed him a couple very small pieces about the size of his head. They're digestive system isn't fully developed. I put my adults in a separate container so they don't eat they're bedding. You cant make him eat it, either. They'll only eat when they're ready.

[Ringosmama]

should i just leave the food in there?

[kibakiba]

I don't see why it would be a problem. I used to do that with Runt but now I can't since I have two additions and I don't want them fighting since they mean a lot to me.

[Ringosmama]

yeah, i get it hah so i put him in a seperate container? with th e food? or in his tank??

[mb90078]

You're going with pinky parts for the very first meal? Good luck.

You can't really make him eat anything. You could try dangling it in front of him, otherwise leave him with the food for a while, walk away, and see if he eats it, but don't be shocked if he doesnt.

[kibakiba]

I put mine in a different container with a dish of food, you don't have to though. As Mb90078 said, you could dangle it in front of him to stimulate him to eat. Sometimes Snakey needs me to wiggle the worms in front of him for him to eat. I still think you should start out with worms and then when he's big enough, give him a pinky. Worms are, for me, 10 times cheaper, and they breed when you have them in a big enough container. They aren't unhealthy for garter snakes. My babies eat nothing but worms, and my adults eat worms. They eat pinkies too but I cant afford any anymore.

[Selkielass]

Don't be afraid of worms and slugs, especially not if you make sure they have been eating well and are 'gut loaded' with lots of good vitamin loaded worm food, veggies etc.
I feed Abby regular snacks of fresh fat earthworms from my compost pile and garden- when she was new, it was *all* she wanted to eat.
I was concerned about winter coming, and questionable purchased bait store worms, but she came around. (First to guppies, then to worm scented extra small pinkies.) Now, three months later she has nearly doubled in size from when I found her and she takes frozen and thawed pinkies and silversides eagerly from tongs.

Ringo is young and adaptable- just keep trying different things and mixing them up to see what you can get him to try.

[kibakiba]

I raise my own night crawlers, bought from bait stores. I keep them in a large box in my fridge and have them eating old left over fruit and veggies, and we put used teabags in there. They love it. I have one worm that's over a foot long now!! They also breed a lot, I find a new baby at least once every two weeks. I need to buy some more though because my new babies are going through them fast now

[ConcinusMan]

The issue with feeding snakes in their homes is the substrate. If you have something that's going to stick to food, get swallowed and has the potential to cause a blockage, you should feed in a separate container. I usually just feed my adults one by one right from my fingers and see to it that they don't swallow the bark substrate but they are pretty tame snakes and are used to me.

You're feeding a baby northwestern if I'm not mistaken. I would try chopped night crawlers. Just put snake in a separate (escape proof, tight lid!) container with paper towel liner and put the worms on a dish and give him privacy and time. You could also just try using needlenose pliers or tweezers and hold it in front of his face until he smells it. That's how I feed my baby northwesterns. You should get him eating asap. The little one's need fed daily or every other day, especially if it's just worms.

If he does eat, try not to let him get overstuffed. A noticeable bulge is enough.

I'll be posting a video on youtube soon showing how I feed the babies, including the northwesterns. I just need to get it uploaded.

Oh wait, I just remembered I think you're feeding a ribbon snake? if that's the case, I would just put a small live fish in his water dish.