Is it Wrong?

[BagnaraSnakes16]

So, because im weird and enjoy watching videos and looking at pics whenever i can of reticulated pythons ive noticed that i enjoy watching retics eat in a calm manner. Some people may believe its not right for a snake to lose its response to constrict its prey but i find it more appealing to see a snake gently grab the rat lol. It made me think which is the question i wanted to ask you....Do snakes that eat their food more "gently" than others tend to be less aggressive or moody? i want to know from personal experience with your snake(s).

[jpsteele80]

Live are dead they always constrict it in some manner, I don't think I've ever seen a retic just start eating something just thrown at them

[dave himself]

I've only had my girl ( my first retic ) a year this July, and I have to say she is very calm. But when there's food anywhere near her she's a complete different snake her feeding response is amazing, which why we started tap training her as soon as she was brought home.

[Sublimeballs]

My jamps have insane feeding responses; my female more so then my male. My kalatoas on the other hand do have pretty intense feed modes but its not as big an ordeal as feeding time for the jamps. All of them constrict for a good amount of time.

Th only snake I've had that didn't constrict and just calmly ate her meals was a female blood python I had. She was, ill go with, unpredictable. She was good most of the time, but sometimes she would just bite out of the blue without any signs. My big male was always aggressive, and my younger female was a complete sweetheart. Both of them constricted their meals like most snakes.

[Pirarucu]

My retic has never taken his food calmly, though I have seen it multiple times. I've also seen a video of a retic looping the prey and constricting without ever biting it. They all have their own personalities for sure, but I don't think I would take a calm feeding response as a guarantee of a calm snake. Just an indication that the retic has realized it doesn't need to constrict the prey.

[BagnaraSnakes16]

this is kinda what i was talking about
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asxgMira_9k

this is not my video btw just thought id let people know this is just an example of what i was talking about. although he does coil its not a hard strike or intense coil....he or she kinda just bites it gently and hides it from us lol

[millertime89]

Every snake is a different. I've got a retic that will kind of just nudge the prey with its nose and then open its mouth and take it back into it's cage. Most come flying out and hit their dinner like a freight train though.

[EL Ziggy]

Every snake is a different. I've got a retic that will kind of just nudge the prey with its nose and then open its mouth and take it back into it's cage. Most come flying out and hit their dinner like a freight train though.

Love that signature Kyle :)

[millertime89]

Love that signature Kyle :)

I've had that for... a long time. I think I borrowed it from someone on another forum that isn't here.

[formica]

snakes dont have any concept of right or wrong, so i dont see why we as humans should impose it on them.

I had a corn that didnt bother to constrict at all, and my BCI once didnt bother, I was in a rush and so I placed the rat in the enclosure without my usual method of moving it around and giving the snake something to get excited about....other than that, every snake I've owned has struck and constricted before eating, and they all had/have various temperaments.

the only reason I simulate movement, is so that the snakes cannot get their prey first time every time, failure is just as important as success, in terms of learning, and there are studies which suggest it is also important for overall well being & quality of life

[Kera]

My *deceased* IJ would nudge it with her nose then just eat it, and I believe my JCP does the same. My BCI is a beast with his meals.

I can't say for retics as I've never owned one lol :)

[MM1]

My Haitian Boa, in his earlier life eating live mice, used to really get that edge to him and strike/coil with maximum speed. He's been on frozen thawed rats for many, many year now and will either snatch food off the tongs and do an "obligatory" half hearted coil. Sometimes he just stares at me till I lay the food on this flat rock in his enclosure. Like it's a plate or something.

[snake_ghost]

Mt little retic strikes like a speeding bullet at his rats. My male pastel royal not so hard and a slow eater, Female pin royal hard strike fast eater. Male bci hard and fast simple. Mangrove...unusual 1 feed she'll strike next she'll nose but, Then other times she'll go fricking crazy striking everywhere, Hissing like mad and just striking at me with a fluffy mouse in her mouth. I think that it's just the snakes themselves.

[kwhitlock]

I can't speak from experience, but every retic I've seen eat has came at it's food like a freight train!

[CosmicOwl]

Not a retic, but my grey rat snake is petty calm(maybe shy) with food. He has a great appetite but doesn't launch himself into food and constrict. he smells it for a while, decides that it's food and then will just begin eating it. It's kind of peculiar to watch, but he's a very mild mannered snake.

[millertime89]

Then other times she'll go fricking crazy striking everywhere, Hissing like mad and just striking at me with a fluffy mouse in her mouth.

I need a video of this please. Emphasis on with the mouse in her mouth.

[Sublimeballs]

every retic I've seen eat has came at it's food like a freight train!

In my experience this seems to always be the case but I have heard people say they've had Retics take their meal calmly. But a calm feeding for a retic may be different from another species.

[shaunyboy]

all my Carpet pythons hit their prey like guided missiles then constrict them hard,they then start eating the head while the preys body is still being constricted,ive even seen them burst prey by constricting too hard


:D just gotta love carpets :D


cheers shaun

[Sublimeballs]

Shaun my, carpet is the same. She's always been a good eater. My yellow anaconda has to be the closest to the jamps out of everything I have. If he smells food and I open his tub he's climbing straight at the rat/chick. I'm glad he doesn't have heat pits.lol.

[snake_ghost]

I need a video of this please. Emphasis on with the mouse in her mouth.

Well she's only done it twice, In the 7 months i've owned her. But when she's just been fed and i put her tongs on my desk and walk past her, She'll strike at me but hitting the rub with a fluffy or a pinky in her mouth :eek: Very strange stuff. But she still eats it just fine :)

[Tsubaki]

In my experience this seems to always be the case but I have heard people say they've had Retics take their meal calmly. But a calm feeding for a retic may be different from another species.


90% of all the retics i've owned slammed into (dead) prey as if it had been years since they have eaten, but i also owned a few that if they did not notice me tossing in food.. They slowly came out of their hiding place when they smelled it, flicking their tongue. They then continued calmly searching for it. When they found it, they just ate it. Without any 'action' to behold.:D

[BagnaraSnakes16]

lol yeah from most videos ive seen retics hit their food harder than any snake ive seen...arguable with blood and borneos those things have a powerful bite. But i just wanted to see if you guys experienced snakes loosing their instinct to constrict (specially with retics) dead prey after years of doing so....Thanks for all the opinion guys.