damnit he missed!

[GotBalls?]

Tried to do the second feeding with my ball python tonght...he was pretty interested in it at first, the he struck.. but he missed! But it freaked him out when he missed, and now he won't take it! Ugh.. and it was my last mouse too! Ah well. I hope I can get some rats and try him with those.

:hammer:

[daver676]

Ah well. It won't be the last time either!

[Linds]

Sounds like maybe it was a defense strike instead of a feeding strike to me...

[Tim_Cranwill]

I think Linds may be right... not that I saw it or anything. :)

When they do a defensive strike, it will be a very quick "there and back" kind of thing rather than a "lunging and missing" sort of thing. :)

Who knows? Either way, feeding time rocks! :D

[GotBalls?]

no he definately lunged and missed. He wasn't acting defensive at all, He came out of his hide when he saw I was dangling the mouse and he got up close and struck but the mouse swung away and he didn't get to grab on to it. Poor guy.. I think he was embarassed ;)

[maiden_canada]

it happens sometimes :) nothing to worry about..everyone makes mistakes remember

[Auskan]

This happened to my bp several times. I finally stopped dangling it for her and just lay it on the floor. Now she never misses. Last week my boyfriend went over to my place to feed her for me, and he dangled it and she struck and missed - twice. He says he thought the quickness of her strike was causing him to flinch slightly, which was why she was missing, so the third time he closed his eyes and she struck without any problem, so there might be some merit to this thought too. You might try 1) closing your eyes for the strike; 2) dangling, but resting the head of the mouse/rat on the floor so it won't swing quite as much; or 3) just laying the prey on the floor and letting her grab it from there.

[Dark_Angel_25]

Well,
You don't need to throw the food out right away.. I mean, if you are going to try and feed it again the next night then just put it in the fridge, you can even re-freeze it and thaw it again, it iwll smell more rank but that is also a tip to get a non-feeding snake to eat.. that way you aren';t throwing your money away each time...

[Vengeance]

I thought thawing and re-freezing rats/mice was a bad idea?? Something about bactiria build up and the freezing process not killing all the bacteria the second time around. Also how long is it acceptable to keep a thawed rat in a cage before you should take it out? Overnight, a few hours?

[Auskan]

I was told it is ok to re-freeze once but you shouldn't do it more than that. I don't know if others on here will agree with that or not. Luckily, I haven't had to do it for over a year. I usually give them 30 mins to eat. If they haven't taken it after that I remove it, re-freeze if its only the first time its been offered, or discard after that.

[Soul_Reaper]

Originally posted by Vengeance
I thought thawing and re-freezing rats/mice was a bad idea?? Something about bactiria build up and the freezing process not killing all the bacteria the second time around. Also how long is it acceptable to keep a thawed rat in a cage before you should take it out? Overnight, a few hours?

Actually defrosting the prey for a second time helps break some tissue cells, which enhances the odour of the prey and it helps with diggestion.

Don't do it a third time tho, that'd be too risky.

[Pookie]

I just read in the recent copy of REPTILES magazine that if you don't leave the mouse inside the cage for any longer than an hour or 2 than you should be able to refreeze or refridgerate and try again. But throw it out if he doesn't take it the second time or if you leave it out for over 2 hours. Good luck next time! :)

[Pookie]

oh, and the article also said that if the snake doesn't strike w/in the 2 hour timespan, than it's probably just not interested. Personally, i think this is true unless you have a difficult eater where you may need to leave it in a dark room overnight. (i just read your post again and realized i failed to answer some of the question...sorry about the double post!)

[maiden_canada]

pookie, whats the difference how long its out if its already fully thawed?

[Pookie]

hmm...good question. The article didn't say. But i'm guessing it's probably prone to bacteria and other small pests if left for too long, but i really don't know. Good question...i should write to the magazine and ask! :)

[maiden_canada]

its not about bacteria, its about they lose their nutrition i think. bacteria dies in the freezer

[Pookie]

i assume it would be like if we left our food out in a warm place for a long period of time and then decided to refreeze it! :) ew...lol!