odd behavior

billherricks · 02-19-03, 07:56 PM

Hi everyone I am a newbie I bought a 39" female burmese(I know, I know)I have fed her 1 mouse and 1 rat every 4 days all live,she was raised on live food,not by me,This feeding I gave her 2 small rats,2 days later I tried to handle her,she hissed and tried to get away/bite,Im going to convert to p/k asap,but in this situation what did I do wrong?Oh the 2nd rat bit her but it was 2 days ago would she still remember it?I really like this girl,and want to do the best I can for her,any advice/help would be appreciated

Zoe · 02-19-03, 08:29 PM

If she got bit it may have stressed her out, and she would be edgy for a while.
Try and get her on pre killed asap! Or at least stun the rodent...

Goodluck with her, I hope she takes dead food soon!

Zoe

BreaksBabe · 02-20-03, 12:12 AM

do u feed her in her cage? or in a seperate box/cage/area?

i know i had a problem with mine making hissing sounds but it turned out in the end she wasnt really hissing just her breathing. also ive found that with a lot of snakes if you feed them in their cage and them later on go to handle them they may think your hand is dinner and try and bite you. its a good idea to feed her in a different area. i feed mine in the tub then let her sit in there for 10-20 min b4 handling her and putting her back in her cage. touching her head with an old paper towel tube so she knows shes no longer being fed.

**Aaron_S** · 02-20-03, 08:21 AM

How long have you had her for? If you have recently bought her she may not have been handled all that much with the previous owner so she still may see you as a potential threat. Also next time you feed her she may be timid towards the rat since one did bite her. But it sounds like your doing a good anyways but if she thick enough you could probably give her 1 medium rat instead of two smaller ones.

BurmBaroness · 02-26-03, 05:05 PM

OK, I have to say this, since on one else has....feeding every 4 days is POWER FEEDING. It is VERY unhealthy for your snake. I don't know you, but I'm going to hope you bought this animal because you love them, not because a really big snake is "COOL". She will grow faster if you feed her more often, but you are also altering her metabolism, and putting her at risk for future health problems. I have 4 burms, 2 of which are the size of yours. They are fed 1 APPROPRIATELY sized prey item every 7 days. And it is plenty. I suggest you just forget the mice, they are not as nutritious for your snake as a rat is. I don't know what your experience is, but she needs bigger than a 29 gal tank, also. I am not trying to be mean, I just want to help you take care of your snake the right way.

bbkaren · 02-26-03, 09:18 PM

Our burm jumps and hisses every time we reach in to get him, but he's never actually struck. (The ball python, however, does strike.) Regardless, if you're nervous, just wear a glove when reaching in. (I've heard you should never allow a hiss or strike to prevent you from handling the snake since they may learn that's a way to keep you out of their tank. don't know if that's true or not...)

We've been feeding the burm in the tank (since we use cypress mulch, we lay down a big piece of cardboard on top so he won't eat the mulch). It made sense to me that, when this snake is 50 pounds in a couple years (or for a female, 200 pounds!) we're not going to enjoy hoisting it in and out of its tank to feed it--not to mention after it's eaten and may be snippy to begin with (which ours isn't anyway)

We handle him enough so that he knows the difference between feeding and non-feeding hands.

Also, pre-killed is easy--stick the rat in a pillowcase and a good hearty swing against the basement floor and he's done. Yet still nice and warm and fresh smelling for snakie. (Ours turned his nose up at frozen/thawed).