How do I get my B{ to eat live mice without stressing them out???

[EvesFriend]

Here is the problem. My snake has been eating live mice for a year now. Sometimes when I put a mouse in the cage and wait nearby she will get distracted and nervous with me sitting there. I have been told to always monitor your BP when feeding live. How can I feed live mice and still monitor without putting additional stress on the snake?

[Kymberli]

Have you tried f/t? I would if I were you! Some seem to transfer over just fine, that way you wouldn't have to stress her out monitoring her during feeding. What kind of enclosure do you feed her in? My first BP would refuse to eat when her previous owners watched her, but they were also feeding her in a clear container. I began feeding her in a larger cardboard box and covered half of the top so that it was a bit darker, more secure. Now, she eats just fine even if I watch her.

[seeya205]

You don't need to watch them constantly! I drop them in then come back in a half hour! Never had any problems for 3 years! Most rat attacks are when rats are left in for long periods of time without food or water. Big breeders will leave the rat in overnight!

[T&C Exotics]

Do not take the advice that you can leave it in for half an hour unattended please... All it takes is one bite and the snake is dead... I have seen this first hand when I was watching the mouse and snake. The snake grabbed the mouse from a bad angle and in the split second it took me to get my hand into the open box that was less than 3" from my hand to grab the mouse it had already bit my first BP on the neck which resulted in a dead snake. Please if you are feeding live do not leave the animals unattended... Yes my experience was a freak situation but it can and will happen again. I know I am going to get flamed for this but it is the truth and if you search the net for rat bites snake you will see what can happen in a very short period of time.

[rabernet]

I feed 50 ball pythons live every week. I don't sit and watch each and every one of them before I move on to the next one. Of course, many of mine are removing the rats from me before I even have a chance to let go of the tail, and many times I'm playing "Matrix" with mine! LOL

But seriously - well fed and well watered mice and rats are not just going to walk up to your snake and take a bite out of them just for the hell of it. The risks to your snake when feeding live prey responsibly are so small. I've easily fed off over 15K live prey in the time I've been keeping ball pythons. In that time, I've not had any serious injuries or deaths in my collection.

But let's just pretend I had 5, out of 15K live feedings. That would calculate to a .000033% chance of injury happening.

I'll take those odds any day.

When done properly (pre-scenting, dropping prey in at the opposite end of the tank as your snake, etc), the risks of feeding live to ball pythons is almost negligible. Breeders and hobbiests feed live every single day, and have been for years.

Yet it seems to just be the same one or two pictures ever used to "scare" people away from live feeding. If it was so risky, there should be hundreds, if not thousands of pictures floating around out there, not just one or two that were really caused from someone leaving live prey in with their snakes for days, not 30 minutes.

Just my

[EvesFriend]

Thanks for the response.

Raber, would you mind explaining "pre-scenting" mice, please?

[stratus_020202]

Thanks for the response.

Raber, would you mind explaining "pre-scenting" mice, please?

Put the rats into the snake room for some time. Everyone pre-scents differently, and some not at all. When I do it, it's usually a few hours before feeding time, and always in the evening. Like 6 or 7. When they smell those yummy morsels, they get active and into food mode.

I have one single bp that will not eat with the light on. I have to leave the room and everything. Usually i'll wait outside and give him about 10 min. But i leave the hall light on so that i can peak in without him noticing me.

[rabernet]

Thanks for the response.

Raber, would you mind explaining "pre-scenting" mice, please?

Stratus pretty much answered. Place your live prey into a ventilated enclosure like a Kritter Keeper near your snake's enclosure, or even on top if you have a screened lid.

When you see him or her actively tongue flicking and lurking at the entrance of their hide, offer the prey. It will likely be quickly dispatched by your snake who has now been "primed" that there is food soon to come.

[Dante's_Girl]

I'm new to owning BP's but I would defiantly try f/t. They're healthier too from what I can gather, and you never have to worry about bites or attacks from the mouse or rat. You should check out the thread on here with the picture of what happens when a snake gets attacked by a mouse. It's horrible and bp's are naturally so unaggressive they get very scared and very hurt.

[Pyth]

Hi,

Just a thought: If she does get distracted by you she may just not be hungry enough yet to feed. Maybe wait a bit longer before offering her a mouse?

Pyth