How to Feed a Hatchling

Hatchlings need plenty of attention and care. They have to be watched over and often need to be fed frequently for the first several days, weeks and, in some species, months. In the wild, the mothers take on that important and delicate role. However, when you become a pet owner, that responsibility can become yours. Hatchlings like snakes and birds need help with their first meals.

Things You'll Need

  • Small container
  • Live newborn mouse
  • Dead newborn mouse, if needed
  • Small lizard, like an anole, if needed
  • Small frog, if needed
  • Commercial baby bird food
  • Feeding syringe
  • Tweezers
  • Small dish
Show More

Instructions

  1. Feeding Hatchling Snakes

    • 1

      Put a live newborn mouse in a small container with the baby snake. It's important that the container is small enough so the reptile can be close to the mouse.

    • 2

      Take the live mouse out of the container if the snake doesn't eat it after several hours. Put in a dead mouse instead, one that has been cleaned with soap and water. Sometimes a smell on the rodent can stop the snake from eating for the first time.

    • 3

      Take out the dead mouse and rub it with a small lizard if trying it without a scent does not work. The lizard smell may make the mouse more appealing.

    • 4

      Take out the dead mouse if the snake still will not eat and give it a small lizard or a frog instead. You might have to resort to force-feeding after that.

    Feeding Bird Hatchlings

    • 5
      Baby bird ready to eat.

      Use a feeding syringe to put commercial baby bird food into the back of the baby bird's throat. Mother birds in the wild place the food past the windpipe. The commercial food should provide plenty of nutrients for the hatchling.

    • 6

      Feed a hatchling that still has its eyes closed every 20 minutes from early morning until nighttime. According to Petplace.com, the bird should sleep at night. This routine will need to continue until it opens its eyes, which is usually after about a week.

    • 7

      Feed the baby bird every 30 to 45 minutes after its eyes open and when its feathers start growing. As the feathers come in more heavily, the feeding time can be extended to every hour and then every two hours.

    • 8

      Place mealworms or fruit in a small dish once the baby bird has started perching in its cage. Use tweezers to get it to eat the food. The baby bird won't start eating the food on its own for another week or two, but now it knows that is where the food will be.

    • 9

      Place food in a dish and leave the young bird to feed itself when it is around four or five weeks old. It should be able to easily drink a small amount of water, too.