BP Launches & misses food

[Laura&Vincent]

Hello,
I feel my ball python, Vincent, pre-killed adult mice. Recently when I put the tongs in with the mouse hanging, he launches a couple times and bites, but completely misses the mouse. It's like he can't see where it is or something? He's recently shed and I don't think his eyecaps are stuck on. Is there any reason why he would be doing this??? It makes me think there may be something wrong....

[SnakeKB]

How old is he? One of my baby bp's did that today. I just got her yesterday and she needed fed so i got a hopper mouse and she missed 2-3 times before finally nailing it and wrapping up. She even had a little trouble figuring out which end to start eating. She actually pulled the mouse in her hide and got it done from there. Sometimes babies just need some time to figure out how its done.

[piper]

Sometimes they do miss the rodent, it's not a big deal. If it's p/k, it should be warm enough but no your snake isn't blind. It's all in how you present the rodent, you can "zombie dance" the rodent but don't move it all around the tub. Move it around about an inch or 2 from the snakes face and wait. Sometimes it takes longer. Maybe you are moving it out of the way by accident while the snake is trying to strike.

When you p/k the rodent, are you offering right away, or letting it sit around for a few minutes? I'm sure it doesn't take to long for the rodent to cool down after being killed.

Some of mine miss the first time, only difference is, they come after me lol and start going a little crazy! You'll notice a lot of things while feeding snakes, it's nothing to be paranoid about.

Cheers

[ballpythonluvr]

I have a baby ball python that I feed f/t. He tends to strike and miss at times. He is getting better at striking and not missing as time goes on.