Babies are out!!!

Hatchlings

The babies are out! I wait to take the babies out of the incubator box until they crawl out of their egg themselves. Most of the time they will come out once they are good and ready, although occasionally they will come out before they have absorbed all of their yoke. (See my notes below on the umbilicus) Once they are out it is time to get them set up! You can leave the whole clutch together until their first shed, but I always separate them out into individual cages and sex them once they hatch, I use sani-chips for their substrate as long as they didn't have any lingering yoke that wasn't absorbed. If they did have some yoke attached still and haven't quite sealed up on their belly then I set them up on damp paper towels. And of course I give them all water! Next thing up is waiting for them to shed!

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1st Shed

​Typically 7-10 days after hatching the new babies will go into their first shed cycle. That process usually take a couples days and once they have shed you can feel free to offer their first meal!

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Offering 1st Meals

Some Pits can eat before they have their first shed but I typically wait until after they shed and have depleted more of their yoke stores and are actually hungry! I start them out with appropriate sized fuzzy mice and drop the fuzzy in and check the next day. Almost every pit will start eating right away. If they don't take it on the first try- wait a couple days, give the snake a hide box, and try again! That usually does the trick!

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Umbilicus/Umbilical Cord Note

Sometimes babies will crawl out before they have absorbed all their yoke and before their umbilicus falls off and their belly seals up. No need to panic! It happens. If it does, it is best to set them up on slightly damp paper towels until they have sealed up. This process shouldn't take more than a couple days at most. Some babies will still need a couple sheds to get their bellies to seal up really pretty though.

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