bp trying to eat.

[chavhing]

my bp just killed a mice i am trying to feed it it was a live mouse but it looks like its having a hard time eating the mouse is about the size of the biggest part of the snake. he looked like hes having a hard time swallowing and he keeps movinhg around. and squiming. how long should it take a snake to swallow its food?

[chavhing]

omg he just spat it back out after it was halfweay in what should i do?

[MarkS]

Leave him alone and don't watch him next time. Just drop the food in and walk away. He probably won't swallow whats in there now. It's possible that the food was too big, but the biggest reason a snake will take a prey item and then spit it out is because something scared it.

[spix14]

Actually, you don't want to walk away and leave him if you are feeding live. That's a good way to get your snake chewed up. You probably did startle him, or the food was too big...but you can't leave a snake unsupervised with a live mouse. Maybe you should try switching him to frozen so that you can leave him alone to eat.

[MarkS]

.but you can't leave a snake unsupervised with a live mouse. Maybe you should try switching him to frozen so that you can leave him alone to eat.

Sure you can, actually I do it all the time. You don't want to leave the mouse in there for a long period of time, you can go back and check in about 10 minutes. But if you've got a snake that is timid of eating in front of you, watching it isn't going to help him eat.

Mark

[chavhing]

k well i took out the big dead/(was live) mouse and i put in a smaller frozen one should i just leave it there for the night?

[spix14]

You probably don't want to try and feed him again this soon. Take the mouse out, leave the snake alone for a few days, then try again. You need to give him time to de-stress.

[spix14]

Sure you can, actually I do it all the time. You don't want to leave the mouse in there for a long period of time, you can go back and check in about 10 minutes. But if you've got a snake that is timid of eating in front of you, watching it isn't going to help him eat.

Mark

Very true. That's why I suggested frozen. I wouldn't risk leaving the snake alone with a live prey animal for any amount of time. But that's just me.

[MarkS]

You can certainly try frozen, if he takes it great. But don't be too disappointed if you don't have success right away. Most of the times when I have a new ball python, I want to make sure they're feeding regularly on a schedule before trying frozen. From the description, it sounded to me like the snake was scared off of feeding by being watched. Since the size of the snake was also described as being the size of the mouse at it's widest part it sounds like a fairly new baby. Because of the time of year, I'm also guessing it's probably a CH import, many of which have never fed at all before being sold. Do you have any more background information on the snake? Did the breeder or importer or pet store say if it was feeding and what it was feeding on? In any case, spix14 is right in saying that you should wait a few days before attempting to feed again.

Mark

[chavhing]

well i got it from a breeder who told me he has been feeding it hopper mice. the mice i bought wasnt to big but he did look like he was having a hard time with it. he was fed by the breeder about 9 days ago i got him 7 days ago. i will try waitng a couple days be4 trying again maybe with a smaller mouse.