mouse bite

[Salmonella]

sal got bit by a mouse, i had just dropped the second mouse in for feeding and as soon as the mouse saw him, henipped his back,. wound looks ok 2 days later,all the mouse got was scales, and sal just shed last night so all is well. i know the dangers of live feed, but it was the second mouse, of 2 that were both live, so next im gonna half kill all the mice.

anywho, i know it sucks but he/she is lookin ok, crusiin around my desk, getting in the way of my typing.

[tigerlily]

Sorry to hear about the wound, but I'm glad it sounds like it's on the mend. Did you feed the mouse before dropping into the enclosure?

[daniel1983]

so next im gonna half kill all the mice.

How do you plan on half killing the mouse? I would just kill it then drop it right in there....it is a little less painful to the mouse

[Adam_Wysocki]

There's right ways and wrong ways to do everything ... when feeding live, giving your ball python access to a hide box to hunt from is very important. Also, allowing your ball python time between mice to get it's bearings and regain a "hunting" posture is also important. Ball pythons are most vulnerable while they are eating and just after. Lastly, when feeding live, dropping the mouse/rat "near" your snake is never a good idea unless your snake is actively hunting. It's better to drop the rodent on the other side of the cage and let the snake "find" it.

I've been feeding live for a long time and have never had a problem!

-adam

[daniel1983]

Guess what Adam?

I fed live today for the first time. I had decided to feed live to my female after last week since her feeding responce was strong on p/k. I had a feeling it would be 10x better w/ live....I was right. She took 3 adult mice without hesitation....and she was still looking for more. on the other hand my male still likes me to kill them and set them in the enclosure...then he just wanders on over and eats(no strike...just eats). It is neat to see their preference for the way they like their food served...ha ha.

[frankykeno]

Hmmm maybe Adam or Daniel (anyone else pls chime in here) can explain this wierd thing.....Baby the 5 month old ball usually gets p/k adult mice....Mike wanted to see what she would do with a stunned mouse as she is such a great feeder....very wierd response she struck the mouse fast and hard and seemed to throw it across her sterlite tub????? We'd never offered her a stunned mouse before and have never seen her toss prey like that. Mike retrieved the mouse, since she seemed disinclined to finish the job and killed it for her.....when it was offered again fully deceased....she nailed it, squeezed it and ate it like usual.

Is that wierd or what?

[daniel1983]

I have seen that happen before even with f/t....I always just figured it was a ball pythons way of 'feeling out the situation' before attempting to eat....ha...kinda like take a taste and see if you like it and that it wont hurt you, then decide to go back for more. That was just my guess though....Adam will probably know for sure

[tigerlily]

That is strange. I've never encountered/read anything about prey throwing snakes. Very strange. Maybe it was her way of sending it back to the chef, so you could prepare it the way she wanted it!?

[daniel1983]

That is strange. I've never encountered/read anything about prey throwing snakes. Very strange. Maybe it was her way of sending it back to the chef, so you could prepare it the way she wanted it!?

oh it threw the mouse... I thought Joanna was talking about a pre-kill tag

[Adam_Wysocki]

The "throw" was probably just a stress reaction.

Ball pythons are most vulnerable while they are constricting and swallowing prey ... feeding time (live, p/k, or f/t) is instinctually a very stressful time for them ... they want to eat, but at the same time they don't want to be vulnerable to predators .... my guess was that for some reason your snake was startled as the strike was occurring and "flinched" causing the "throw" ... spectators maybe???

-adam