Strike response

[EL Ziggy]

Hi all, my Cal King Caesar has a pretty weak strike response. I usually feed him f/t fuzzies with tongs and I don't know if he's just too small to get a good bite when he strikes or what. He doesn't strike and constrict either. I've watched videos on youtube of other snakes striking aggressively and constricting just like they would with live prey. Is this something that should improve as he matures or should I make him work a little harder to get the food from the tongs? Thanks for any input.

[SnakeyJay]

Personally I'd be happy enough if he's eating.. Some snakes have a strong response and some just take it from the tongs n munch away, as long as he's healthy all's good. :)

[sweatshirt]

I have the same problem with my BOA CONSTRICTOR. She just sniffs it for like an hour and I don't know if she ever constricts it. I can't be sure because I've never actually seen her eat. I always try to sit there and watch but need to do other things and end up leaving and it's gone. All I know is that when I'm watching she just looks at it/slowly gets closer. I think it might be normal if they are fed f/t from birth/hatching?

I hope someone can answer for both of us.

[Lankyrob]

I have two corns same age setup exactly the same, one thinks he is a retic and strikes hard and coils and rolls around his viv "killing" the prey, the other gently opens his mouth and i place the mouse in and he just swallows it.

If the snake is eating DONT WORRY!

[Ourobouros]

I think it's just personality. Mine is kinda funny because she will just follow the pinkie around as I'm dragging it slowly with the tongs... But won't strike until I lift it in the air and dangle it a bit. I have no idea why but it's all good to me.

[Starbuck]

i agree that it depends on the snake; i have two corns almost exactly like Lankyrobs; one is a total lump when it comes to food; the other is like a tiger! also my two kings are pretty different as well; the female is a nut but the male is pretty straight-forward. As long as he continues to eat well, i wouldnt worry about anything :)

you may find as he gets older that his feeding response increases, thats what i found with mine.

[bcr229]

When my king and milk snakes were young they wouldn't strike the f/t pinky or fuzzy either, they would just move up to it and start eating. Sometimes they would mess up and try to start in the middle. Now that they're older they will strike and constrict, especially my female MBK who has a very strong prey drive.

My two female boas strike hard and constrict, the male will do it sometimes, while other times he just eats. All of them are on f/t also.

[slowhite03]

One of my kingsnakes does that, she smells it and just grabs it and starts eating. The other one grabs and constricts. Every snake is diffrent with frozen moce

[EL Ziggy]

I stand corrected. Caesar is a beast. I dropped the first fuzzy in his feeding tank and he took it pretty slowly as usual. He ate the darn thing tail first. I knew he was still hungry and decided to offer the 2nd fuzzy on tongs. He hit it very hard and constricted. He even knocked the tongs from my hand. I was very pleasantly surprised. Hail Caesar!!

[Terranaut]

Kings go wild from scent. If you thaw your rat in another room and they don't smell it until a second or two before they take they might take it easy and not quite sure. If they smell it for an afternoon first or even 5 min for that matter they normaly destroy the prey and pound it back hard.