Assist feed drama

Last year I assist fed one of my hatchlings and after three assist feeds he was off on his own like a champ. This year is different. I have been assist feeding two hatchlings and they are clueless.

Both will throw the f/t mouse hopper out unless it is gently pushed down into the throat. Tonight was assist feed #5 for them, and one ball is so retarded that even with the mouse all the way in her throat and gently massaging is down as much as a 1/2 inch she still chucked it back up. So I just let her be out of frustration and not wanting to further stress her out.. The other one is not as bad and eats, but it has to be 3/4 down her throat. As of yet there has been no response such as jawwalking the mouse in.

A week ago I tried putting a live very small mouse hopper in their tubs, they were both petrified and the mouse was still there the next day.

IS there a better way and a different technique to try, or do I just have to be patient? I have been assist feeding every 7-9 days.
For the ball that regurgitated I was planning to wait until the next feeding so it will be about 14-18 days.

If it didn't hit the stomach it wasn't officially a regurge, just spit back out,
I touch the nose of the prey item to the back of the throat and gently hold the mouth shut and soon enough the neck muscles are pulling the prey item down.
You might spread the assist feeding out, try feeding the live hoppers every 3-4 days apart and only assist after 2 missed attempts.

So Jerry, you put the hopper far enough into the throat so you can hold the snakes mouth completely shut?

Do yo think leaving a live hopper in the tub overnight can harm them?

Originally Posted by stevek123

So Jerry, you put the hopper far enough into the throat so you can hold the snakes mouth completely shut?

No, just so the nose of the hopper is touching the back of the throat.

stevek123
Do yo think leaving a live hopper in the tub overnight can harm them?

No, it's pretty common practice to leave hoppers in over night if the snake is picky.
If your worried about a mouse hopper biting the snake leave a piece of rodent block in with it.

OK so I'll toss in a live hopper in 3-4 days (with a rodent block), then repeat in 3-4 days, then assist feed. Hey thanks friend. I'll give it a shot and let you know after a few weeks how it goes.

Might try a rat pink too. If the mouse's movement is scaring them a rat pink or fuzzy might be less intimidating. Can't bite them overnight either.