Is she just plain dumb? (feeding question)

[firedragon]

My ball python, 7 months now and healthy as can be, has never refused food since I got her. Lately she has become a very slooooow eater though. She will strike at the f/t mouse immediately, then constrict it for several minutes and then drop it. Then it might take her 15-20 minutes before she starts swallowing it, sometimes even the wrong way around. By that time the mouse is already cold and icky, but she's always took it anyway, in the end. She's just zooming around the cage, inspecting the mouse, but not starting to swallow. Can't she find the head, the whole mouse in general or is she just dumb? Or can there be a problem of some sort? It's just starting to get on my nerves, when I want to go to sleep and she hasn't even started eating :wink:

[BallPythonBabe448]

Cupid does the same thing.

[Schlyne]

How warm is the mouse before you hand it over? Maybe try getting it a few degrees warmer, and seeing if she'll take it faster?

The only other thing I can think of that is that she might be getting to the age where she might start refusing food for the breeding season on ya.

[firedragon]

Well, the mice are usually quite hot since I thaw them in warm water and then rinse them under really hot water for an instance, then dry them in paper towels, then hand them over. She always strikes at them right away, but they lose the heat quickly when she constricts them for such a long time. Maybe that's why she doesn't want to eat them.

I was kinda hoping she wouldn't go off feed before next winter...

[Cody]

Maybe try to thaw them in hot water in a baggy so the rodent doesnt get soggy wet, then when you're sure it's thawed, feed. I don't understand why you rinse the mouse under hot water. That probably rinses off some of that good smelling mousie scent to entice the snake.

As for the mouse losing heat as she constricts, thats normal. The reason to get them warm is so the snake will recognise it with the heat pits and constrict. Once they stike, it's usually a done deal that they'll eat it.

[Schlyne]

I rinse the mouse under hot water right after it's done thawing to make it's good and hot, but the mouse is STILL IN THE BAG. I haven't really had a problem yet.

[kidsnakedad]

The rinsing probably does not do much to raise the core temperature of the mouse. I'd suggest letting it thaw at room temp for a couple hours, then soaking it (in a baggie) in hot water for 20 or 30 minutes. "Hot" means straight from the hot water tap, not heated on the stove.