ghosthousecorns
Well-known member
I have had really good success with this technique for getting stubborn babies to eat. It's in Kathy Love's book with good instructions, but since there have been a few posts about non feeders I thought I'd write a post on how I do it.
To begin with, I like to do this at dusk when they are out cruising around. I have the f/t pinky ready to go and this is what I do.
1) pick up the snake, allow it to move around in my hands for a bit until it calms down and realizes I am not a monster.
2) gently but firmly restrain the snake with my left hand (I'm right handed) and allow 1-2 inches of its head to stick out while holding it so it can't go forward or backward.
3) holding the pinky in my right hand, I bump the snake's neck (not head!) with the pinky and try to induce a strike. Some babies are too shy and will be frightened, others will strike. Sometimes they will strike once and try to get away, when this happens I let them move around in my hands a little before repositioning them to try again. They may miss and strike your finger, but it doesn't hurt.
4) if they strike at the pinky, I hold still and let them think about it for a bit. They will either spit it out or decide to 'keep' it.
5) if they begin to swallow the pinky I keep still and wait untl they have swallowed it and it is well down their body before moving. Any movement can frighten them into spitting it back up. I try to do this in a comfortable chair with the TV on since it can take a while.
6) if it doesn't work, I leave them alone for at least 3 days before trying again so I will not condition them to fear food.
7) if it does work, the next feeding I see if they will eat on their own before tease feeding again. Most of the time by the third feeding they know it's food and don't need to be tease fed any longer.
I hope this will help some of you with stubborn babies, it has worked so many times for me with babies that wouldn't eat any other way and I don't see it get recommended often enough.
To begin with, I like to do this at dusk when they are out cruising around. I have the f/t pinky ready to go and this is what I do.
1) pick up the snake, allow it to move around in my hands for a bit until it calms down and realizes I am not a monster.
2) gently but firmly restrain the snake with my left hand (I'm right handed) and allow 1-2 inches of its head to stick out while holding it so it can't go forward or backward.
3) holding the pinky in my right hand, I bump the snake's neck (not head!) with the pinky and try to induce a strike. Some babies are too shy and will be frightened, others will strike. Sometimes they will strike once and try to get away, when this happens I let them move around in my hands a little before repositioning them to try again. They may miss and strike your finger, but it doesn't hurt.
4) if they strike at the pinky, I hold still and let them think about it for a bit. They will either spit it out or decide to 'keep' it.
5) if they begin to swallow the pinky I keep still and wait untl they have swallowed it and it is well down their body before moving. Any movement can frighten them into spitting it back up. I try to do this in a comfortable chair with the TV on since it can take a while.
6) if it doesn't work, I leave them alone for at least 3 days before trying again so I will not condition them to fear food.
7) if it does work, the next feeding I see if they will eat on their own before tease feeding again. Most of the time by the third feeding they know it's food and don't need to be tease fed any longer.
I hope this will help some of you with stubborn babies, it has worked so many times for me with babies that wouldn't eat any other way and I don't see it get recommended often enough.