feeding differences

[TeaNinja]

i fed my BP for the first time today and it's kind of funny to see the extreme difference between ambush hunters (my dum) and the ball python. the dum will just sit totally still until the rat comes face to face then he will PRECISION strike it in the face and eat. i put the mouse in with the BP and he immediately perked up and assumed the S position. he watched the mouse for a half a minute or so, then struck and missed, then he cornered the mouse and struck again but as he struck the mouse jumped and bounced off him and jumped out of the shoebox they were in. i got the mouse and put him back in, and the BP realized that the precision strikes weren't working, so he kind of un S'd and stretched his body in a straight line across the box kind of like a baricade for the mouse, then the mouse finally ran up to his face in a panic and he got it lol. it was kind of sloppy ;)

[NennaMeerkat]

Oh lordy reminds me of one of my corn snakes! He would be very clumsy with his prey striking and missing, mice escaping his coils, and just completely misjudging where the mice were. Kinda stupid on my part at the time but I would feed him several live mice all at one time...putting them into the same container with him all at once instead of one at a time.

Interesting "trick" he learned was to bite and constrict one then move the body down his coils to the near end of his body and then go after another then repeat the process before going to the next. In the end he would have all the mice in his coils dead and then leisurely eat them one at a time out of his coils.

[TeaNinja]

Oh lordy reminds me of one of my corn snakes! He would be very clumsy with his prey striking and missing, mice escaping his coils, and just completely misjudging where the mice were. Kinda stupid on my part at the time but I would feed him several live mice all at one time...putting them into the same container with him all at once instead of one at a time.

Interesting "trick" he learned was to bite and constrict one then move the body down his coils to the near end of his body and then go after another then repeat the process before going to the next. In the end he would have all the mice in his coils dead and then leisurely eat them one at a time out of his coils.

LOL, that's funny. to give my snake a tiny bit of credit this was a ninja of a mouse! lol

[NennaMeerkat]

I think most of the mice I gave my corns were "ninja". They would hop all over the place to get away leaving the snake looking like a clumsy fool. Thankfully they were in a sealed plastic "critter cage" and so the mice couldn't get away no matter how bad the snakes were at hunting.

[Lankyrob]

I tried to feed my bp today, f/t he struck but missed and then went off in a p*** and has stayed in his hide since, almost like he is embarassed!

[infernalis]

I get to watch all sorts of feeding "rituals"

Most of my snakes will grab food right off the tongs, some like to hunt, some like to swim after fish, and a few are shy, they refuse to eat unless I leave them with the food overnight.

Our BP goes into his "feeding mode" as soon as he smells rodent. He will chase down the live food, but if it's a pre-kill or F/T, he just grabs and swallows.

[Ch^4]

My BP still likes to ambush his F/T (he was raised on live). He is normally the most placid and docile snake we have, but the second he's in his feeding box, he knows dinner is on the way....his strikes are quite violent and his aim is "so so."

[infernalis]

Now imagine that same scenario with a wee little garter snake.

I have a couple here that will come flying out mouth wide open and snapping at the air.

Sometimes my hand will get in the way and I suddenly find myself with a hungry snake that won't let go of me.

[Ch^4]

^^ I can't help but laugh! I'm imagining lil garter snakes flying all over the place :D

My BP will lunge 2-3 feet out of his feed box when he's really hungry (and he's only a 4-footer)...not as cute as a little garter!

[Aaron_S]

I have a couple of girls here who are very enthusiastic feeders. A couple come quite a distance out of their tubs when it's feeding time. I always have a rat on tongs between me and the snake :D

[infernalis]

I always have a rat on tongs between me and the snake :D


That's smart insurance.

My BP homed in on me once, the rat had cooled off enough that my hand was warmer than the rat was.

I immediately got much longer tongs.

[TeaNinja]

i fed my guy/girl again today and he hears the dinner bells FAST. i put him in the shoebox i fed him in last week, dropped the mouse on the other side and he IMMEDIATELY perked up and got into the S and got the mouse within like 3 seconds lol. woofed it down and now he's back in his viv basking happily lol.

[NennaMeerkat]

God I wish my new hognose was that enthusiastic about eating. She sorta just takes her time smelling and rolling her prey around before just as slowly chewing on it. Somehow she manages to get it down, but she never seems to be in any rush.