question about feeding

[slipknot711]

I have a new snake and i fed him a f/t fuzzy. he lunged, grabbed it and balled up to constrict it. does this mean he was fed live previous to me? or do they do this no matter what. My bf was trying to tell me thats why he constricted it, that if he was raised eating f/t mice he would eat it normal like a garter just swallows a worm etc. is this true? TY

[George1994]

They should do this no matter how it was fed. It is normal for them to constrict, it is what they do in the wild and know no differently.

[slipknot711]

this is what i figured but my bf fought me on it so i had to ask! ty so much i win again haha

[PitOnTheProwl]

Yeah, don't listen to your boyfriend. This it what they are programed to do.
I have seen the occasional ball that doesn't constrict but not too often.

[JMinILM]

your new pet might have the instincts of a snake.

[Sita]

My boa that I had from 3 months of age would eat his f/t rats very calmly without fuss up until he was about 7-8 months old, then all of a sudden he decided they were alive and needed to be killed. I didn't even use tongs back then, I just set them on a plastic dish in his cage, and he'd come moseying over. He startled me that day because I set the rat on the dish and went over to my computer. About 5 minutes later, I hear a loud thunk and jump in my seat! I go over and the dish is turned over and he is wrapped very tightly around the rat. I fed off the dish for two more feedings with the same result, plus he was getting more "aggressive" and would immediately come over to see if I had food, so I started using tongs. He's the most accurate striker I've ever had, and I still get a little nervous when I feed him because he's so intense with the food. He's still my baby (at 6.5 feet!) when he's not hungry though,

My corn and milksnake will gently take f/t from the tongs without striking or constricting, and they both were fed live before I got them. If I happen to have the proper live size on feeding day, I feed live (they are both still on fuzzy/hopper size - I don't plan on continuing live feeds past that size) and they are very good at striking and squeezing.

[Tarzan152]

Im not aware of too many snakes that don't strike at their prey. As for BPs, mine have always striked at the prey, whether it was F/T or alive. So yeah, its ingrained in their system to do so. Congrats on your new buddy..

[sorraia]

I have a couple snakes that don't strike at their food. They do just what you described, mosey over and just start eating. I have one or two that will coil without striking, then quickly start eating after that. Then the rest strike and coil before eating, every time.

[ViperSRT3g]

I think it's a learning process for snakes. At first they will automatically strike all the time. But if fed F/T for a while, they will learn that striking is rather unnecessary and will begin to stop doing so. At least that's the line of reasoning I think my snake has. He used to strike all the time, and now sort of just coils around and starts chowing down.