Question about vision

[pbyeerts]

I've noticed over time that Oliver doesn't seem to see his frozen mice. It was confirmed tonight when the thawed mice were literally right in front of him, yet he was sniffing the air and struck at the air, rather than get the mice right in front of him. I tipped the mice up and down, and he latched on to them (he gets 2). I'm curious to know your thoughts......

Another note is that Oliver does not explore or really do anything in his tank. I know that some snakes are more active than others, so I haven't been concerned about it. He does like to explore around on the sofa when he's out with us. However, I wonder if his vision could be impaired....

Thanks in advance for your replies! Pamela

[dr del]

Hi,

They actually have a few senses they use when feeding or moving around.

How do you heat the prey before offering? I use a hairdrier to get the head nice and hot as their heat sensing is important when striking etc.

There are quite a few blind snakes ( as result of incubation issues or damage ) that lead perfectly normal lives relying on their heat sense and sense of smell.

[pbyeerts]

Yep. I do the hair dryer too, but I've been doing the whole body. I'll try just the head next Saturday when it's mousie time. Oliver seems fine and he sure takes off on the sofa, so I'm not overly concerned about his possible blindness. But it's a good thing to know about! Thanks for your reply :-)