retic food frenzy

scottyy · 08-02-11, 06:31 PM

so lately my retic has been striking at the walls of her cage sometimes when i walk by. its not that she is aggressive but because of her feeding response because she will strike at my feet but when she sees me standing over her to get her out she just mellows out. i know its because theres something about the feeding that im missing or my feet in white socks look just like the whit rats i feed her? i doubt it though. my feeding routine is i take her out of her cage and put her in another sterilite bin for feeding. she also strikes at that bin just after i feed her and go to put her back in her cage. Could she just have a very strong feeding response or am i overlooking something?

stephanbakir · 08-02-11, 06:34 PM

Retic aggression is obvious, they hiss, they puff up and they don't miss when they strike. If you think it might be food aggression, it probably is. I'd advise against feeding in a tub, just because when she does get big its going to be a royal pain. Just cage feed and hook train her.

scottyy · 08-02-11, 06:40 PM

yeah i have her hooked trained i mean once i get in the cage and tap her she completely changes from looking at me like im dinner to just chilling. but wouldnt feeding in her cage make the response stronger. or perhaps is it because i dont feed her on and exact constant schedule (its not that i dont feed her im just a day late or earlier from the day i normally feed her)

stephanbakir · 08-02-11, 06:42 PM

A strict feeding schedule is super important with tics, if they miss a meal its better to wait another week and feed them on time.
Feeding in a cage and not feeding in the cage has no effect in my experience on aggression, or cage feeding response, some people argue both ways, I've never noticed a difference.

scottyy · 08-02-11, 06:45 PM

yea i think i may have made a mistake because when she was in shed she didnt want to eat when i offered her food so i waited a few days for her to shed and then i fed her againand this was just the last feeding, but before that i fed her on every friday before i went to work.

stephanbakir · 08-02-11, 06:46 PM

It's worth trying to feed during sheds, but don't break the pattern.
Personally I feed on Wednesdays, that way they have digested by the weekend, and I can handle them on my days off

scottyy · 08-02-11, 06:50 PM

yea that does sound like a good day to do it and sense it has been about a week i will just start her on wednesdays from now on and hopefully see improvements. and yea i always feed her when she is in shed and every once in a while she will eat though.

Lankyrob · 08-03-11, 07:20 AM

My SD 'tic knows to the say when feeding time is - the day before (before the rats are even defrosting so no smell from them) he will cruise up and down the front of his viv constantly, when the rats are defrosting he will sit by the end of the viv that the rat goes in and then when he sees the plate that he gets fed on he goes MENTAL!

Jenn_06 · 08-03-11, 07:42 AM

my Isis was like that too, every time to went in the room she would strike at the cage door a few times i had to take her out and fix her lip because she would have a tooth that went into the lip but all i did was feed her a bigger rat and feed ever sat. now she will just get really close to the door to say hi and see if im going to take her out or feed her.

scottyy · 08-03-11, 09:28 AM

rob thats funny. but do you like feed on one end and take him out in another? that does sound like a good idea though. and jenn while my snake has never really hurt herself striking the cage yet. but it is kinda weird just walking by and hearing something smack against the side of the cage. hopefully she stops before she actually hurts herself

Lankyrob · 08-03-11, 12:43 PM

Nope never worry about which end i take him out - he is more than aware that i am not food and the only time he went into a semi strike position i touched him on the head with my hand and he chilled out. The only time i have to worry about opening his viv is when ther IS food around - at which point anything with a heat signature is likely to get pounded.

Jay · 08-03-11, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottyy

but wouldnt feeding in her cage make the response stronger.

By this logic, wouldn't taking the snake out to feed in a separate place make the snake associate you reaching in the tank to take him somewhere to be fed trigger a feeding resonse??
Hook train your monster, it will be way better in the long run.

NennaMeerkat · 08-03-11, 04:30 PM

I am just curious, don't own a rectic or anything. But wouldn't this constant feeding response be caused by the snake being hungry? Perhaps a larger meal or being fed more often help curb this constant feeding response? Or is it just a Retic's nature to be food hungry all the time?

stephanbakir · 08-03-11, 04:40 PM

Its in most retics nature to be hungry most of the time.
Larger meals, or having a fully belly ready to burst will NOT curb it in most cases.
Retics also get obese easily if you overfeed them(AKA TWINKIE MR PREHISTORIC PETS).

NennaMeerkat · 08-03-11, 04:51 PM

If I ever got a Rectic I would name him Twinkie...just cause of your comment LOL