Strike And Miss!!

[codpy]

Just tried to feed my guy and he struck but missed, should I try again today or wait till tomorrow??

[JLC]

Sometimes they just miss and will try again. If he still seems interested in hunting, you can try again. If he's gone back into his hide or otherwise shows no interest....then wait until the next scheduled feeding day. (Not tomorrow!) It won't hurt him at all to skip a meal.

[recycling goddess]

what are you using? live or f/t? how long did you leave the prey item in the enclosure?

normally when they stike and miss... they try again shortly afterwards so if you just kept holding the f/t item or left the live in the enclosure, it would have taken it.

now that said, my ball and boas won't let me hold the f/t prey item because they'll only eat once i'm gone from the room. so i set the prey item near them, lock up their enclosure and leave. if they haven't eaten it in about 30 minutes... i reheat it and try again.

[recycling goddess]

oh judy you beat me LOL - and btw, i agree with everything she said *just for the record*

[JLC]

oh judy you beat me LOL - and btw, i agree with everything she said *just for the record*

~knuckle crack~ Fastest fingers in the West! (I thought your post was great, too! )

[codpy]

Just moved up from frozen hoppers to the next size, I use tongs to hold prey, also he's just starting to get over RI.

[Schlyne]

I've also had a ball strike and miss before becuase the prey item wasn't quite warm enough and he was focusing in on my heat signature before.

[Amy1217]

mine used to do this when he was a baby. now, what i do is i make sure that i soak them in really hot water for 15-25 minutes before i feed it to him, and when i take the mouse out of the bag to give to him, i press on its belly a little so there is a little bit of blood on the tip of the feeder's nose. He goes right for it now, hasn't missed scince i started doing that.

[frankykeno]

Sometimes a quick blast with a hot hair dryer directly on the prey's head and belly area will help the snake "find" it's prey (those are the two areas on a live prey item that send out the most heat signature apparently).