Does not strike his food?

[Jules1618]

Well I fell so in love with my IJ that I got a ball normal about two weeks ago.
I have a feeding question.
He doesn't strike his F/T like Cleo or the videos that I watch on you tube. I have to just put them in and he eats them after about 2 minutes.
He doesn't wrap his body around them but just eats them.
Is this normal?

[TeaNinja]

lol. some snakes have different degrees of feeding response. my ball will strike his f/t when i dangle it in front of him but he is usually a lot more gentle than my female boa. she's always starving and she has a killer feeding response. i've seen my giant male dumerils both strike his f/t's before and casually eat them without striking.

[shaunyboy]

some feed that way some strike mate,its nothing to worry about

are you heating the prey before offering ?

try giving it a really good heat with a hair dryer,give the head a little extra heat

cheers shaun

[Jules1618]

Yup I heat in water and feed when it is no longer frozen.
I know it's a debatable subject but I also tote feed

[shaunyboy]

Yup I heat in water and feed when it is no longer frozen.
I know it's a debatable subject but I also tote feed

the snake will feel more secure being fed in its tank,and apart from eating substrate (which i have no issues with),i see no reason to feed snakes outside their tanks mate

the feeding outside the tank,stops them associating the door opening with being fed,theory is a lot of nonesense

cheers shaun

[alessia55]

Not striking to eat isn't something to worry about. Since the rat is already dead, there's no harm in just going in and eating it without "killing" it first. ;)

[Jules1618]

Thanks everyone, I'm glad there are no problems

[Pythonsrus]

My champagne does the same thing but will strike live with a vengeance. He will also eat f/t rats but only mice live. Wierd but common.

[dinosaurdammit]

My champagne does the same thing but will strike live with a vengeance. He will also eat f/t rats but only mice live. Wierd but common.

Jerry rice is afraid of anything that moves. I just drop it in and he sniffs it a bit and then just maws it. Lazy snake :suspicious:

[TeaNinja]

lol, i find it funny that his name is jerry rice. :P i love it.

[dinosaurdammit]

lol, i find it funny that his name is jerry rice. :P i love it.

my husband said its cool i got a snake but he has never gotten to name an animal so I let him name him. He picked Jerry Rice because he played madden NFL and JR was his favorite player. Silly snake.

http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii538/dinosaurdammit/jerryrice2.jpg

[Aaron_S]

Who cares. The snake eats.

[Jules1618]

Who cares. The snake eats.



The person who is new to snakes and wants the best for her cares

[Aaron_S]

The person who is new to snakes and wants the best for her cares

If a snake is eating and aslong as all husbandry is taken care of then who cares? The snake is telling you it's healthy.

In very rare cases is an eating snake ever ill.

[Ms. Medusa]

The person who is new to snakes and wants the best for her cares

Nothing wrong with being careful and asking questions. I have a few corns who know immediately if it is live or not. They will just gently take it from me when its pre-killed. If it's live---nope...they are striking with a vengeance! :angry:

[UwabamiReptiles]

As mentioned, as long as the snake is eating then there's nothing to worry about. I have a couple snakes that have never struck any food item I've put infront of them. Nothing to worry about.

[Tracy33]

yea , mine does the same. I gently put the rat to his mouth , and he just opens wide.

[Swany]

My royal always strikes except when she's being a moody cow and NOT eating. I also have a corn who sometimes strikes and sometimes just lazily opens his mouth and takes it very gently. Some will some won't some need a lot of lovin ……… no sorry that's women ;-) got a bit confused there :-)

[Jules1618]

Haha funny :)