Another new owner with an obnoxious feeding question.

[Solinger]

So my BP and I have a little feeding dance.

I dangle the f/t mouse and place a paper towel down over the substrate and leave the mouse on the paper towel to be devoured. I try to coax her out of the hide with the mouse but usually there is little interest at first so I leave the mouse on the paper towel for her to eat when she gets around to it. Tonight when I reached for the paper towel she struck out and coiled up around the tongs and constricted like I've never seen. I was one proud papa!

In the course of killing the dead mouse she broke it open and some of the aspen was also eaten. I pulled off almost all of it with the tongs before she gulped it down but I am pretty sure some of it was swallowed. Should I be worried at all? I have read conflicting things trying to find the answer. Hopefully someone in the know can put me at ease.

On a related note...

I bought her at a chain petstore and it was very difficult to get her to start eating for me. She fasted for weeks and I was getting pretty worried. The reason I mention the type of store was that I know a lot of first time snake owners go this route and the husbandry practices are sometimes questionable in these types of stores. Last time I was in that store I paid closer attention to the heat and humidity as well as the tank "furniture".

The temps were in the high 70's according to the analog thermometer they had in the tank and there was no hygrometer. The hide was a large half log with about six BP's curled up on top of each other.

Is it possible that these conditions tricked my snake into thinking it was winter and caused her to not want food? I ask because we just had a week long heat wave and this was the best feeding response I have had yet. Keeping the cool side cool has been a challenge this week to say the least.

Thanks in advance.

[mrshawt]

Try prescenting. Here's a usefull article on how to do it and it really works to get your snake in the mood for feeding.
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...warticle&id=60

The mouse split? That can happen when you use too hot water to thaw it and it cooks a little.

Snakes can digest bone, teeth, and hair so a little aspen shouldn't be too bad. Just keep an eye on her for the next couple days if you're worried.

I'd say no to your last question. Improper husbandry will stress them out, however, and cause them to go off feed. Once their environment settles down and is correct, she should be eating consistently.

[spitfireashlea]

As long as your BP didn't get a big mouthfull of aspen, it should be fine really. A few chips will not hurt, but is definitely not good either.

I recommend against IN tank feeding, SPECIALLY in snakes that are bought from chain petstores since they are rarely ever fed in their tanks, so they are not used to it and could be why it is reluctant to come out to feed at first.

For snakes that are bought from stores, you should follow up with the procedures the snake is used to, put them into a box that is clean and is able to be closed.(Pet store boxes work perfectly!) Put a bit of paper towel down on the bottom of the box or something to separate them from the bottom. Thaw out your mouse/rat and dry it off by dabbing it on a paper towel. Close the top of the box so a slight hole is open, enough for your snake to realize its you feeding it, drop the mouse/rat in (you can jingle it a bit if its not immediately interested) and immediately close the box. Leave it to set for 5 minutes. After 5 min is up, it should either be swallowing the food or at least constricting it. If its done eating, gently dump your snake back into its tank. GENTLY! Do not pick it up! And do not put your hands in the box. If it is still only constricting it, then leave it for a few more minutes.

Another trick that I find works, is to poke a hole in the top of the head of the food. This helps the smell of blood and usually helps reluctant eaters to feed.

I find that out of tank feeding also helps reduce biting incidents. The snake learns that when it is in the box it is going to eat, when it is in the tank it is going to be picked up or its surroundings will be changing (cleaning the tank/maintenance)

I hope this helps. GL

[dr del]

Hi,

To be honest I would say feed where the snake will eat happily and consistently.

I mainly feed in the snakes enclosure and have never really found any truth to the "aggression" myth people claim in tub feeding creates.

In the past I fed some snakes out of their enclosures and some in. Once they get used to the routine neither really presents much of a problem if you pay attention.

But remember that feeding outside of the tank means you, at some point, have to pick up and move a snake which is in feeding mode and may or may not be looking for more prey. Feeding in the tank this simply doesn't happen.

Ball pythons are also naturally ambush predators - moving them to a feeding tank pretty much rules that out.

Then of course you get the nervous snakes that will be so freaked by the handling/ moving that they simply will not eat.

The above possibilities make it fairly plain the best stress free feeding plan would be to offer the prey to a snake that is lying in wait with its head out of the hide looking for food.

This does mean you want to make sure there is a clear "killing ground" in front of the hides in most cases to make it easier for the snake.

But the snake is the one who will really make your feeding decisions - if it doesn't eat when you do things the way you would like to do so then you have to change.


dr del

[Ponthieux]

As long as your BP didn't get a big mouthfull of aspen, it should be fine really. A few chips will not hurt, but is definitely not good either.

I recommend against IN tank feeding, SPECIALLY in snakes that are bought from chain petstores since they are rarely ever fed in their tanks, so they are not used to it and could be why it is reluctant to come out to feed at first.



I find that out of tank feeding also helps reduce biting incidents. The snake learns that when it is in the box it is going to eat, when it is in the tank it is going to be picked up or its surroundings will be changing (cleaning the tank/maintenance)

I hope this helps. GL

so you don't think that, as an ambush predator, a bp would feel more at ease being fed in his familiar enclosure, striking out of the security of his hide? it's better to stress him out with handling IMMEDIATELY prior to trying to feed him and then to "gently dump" him back into his enclosure with a full belly? i understand different strokes for different folks and all that, but some of this flies in the face of all we know (or think we know) about these animals. also, i feel that the mentality of "if i feed my snake in its enclosure, it will bite me when i stick my hand in" is a little off base. if you don't smell like rats, you shouldn't be the victim of a feeding strike. i'm not trying to be argumentative, just offering a differing opinion.

[spitfireashlea]

Difference in opinion is quite prominent in this forum. All suggestions are proper care, just different. It's up to the owner to decide.

[Solinger]

Thank you everyone for the feedback. I wasn't trying to start a feed inside vs. out argument. I appreciate the opinions since I am new to raising snakes and can only benefit from learning what others are doing. If you disagree with someone's methods please let me know why, but don't bash...

I decided to feed in the tank after reading and advice. I figured it would be the most stress free and "normal" environment. Plus the thought of making her regurgitate after eating while moving her back home didn't sound good.

I've never actually seen her eat so this was a learning experience. As soon as she had the mouse down she did one lap around the tank and then went into her warm hide and has been there ever since.

I usually have a paper towel down over the substrate so eating the aspen wouldn't have happened except she was hungry this week and just snapped the mouse up as soon as I started the process.

Next week I'll be putting the towel down beforehand for sure.

edit: in the short time I have had my snake she has not been aggressive or overly defensive at all.

[Solinger]

The mouse split? That can happen when you use too hot water to thaw it and it cooks a little.

I placed the mouse into a small zip lock bag after it was thawed at room temp and ran it's head under 98 - 99 degree tap water for a few minutes until the head felt to be the same temp as the water.

Some of the water did of course spill out and get to the body but I tried to keep the water cool enough to not cook it but warm enough to simulate a mouse's live body temperature.

[h00blah]

dr del suggested i use a piece of cardboard and put it on top of that if im really worried about it

it worked great =]

[h00blah]

The snake learns that when it is in the box it is going to eat

i used to feed in a seperate enclosure, but i never cleaned it so it smelled like mouse ALL the time lol. thats how my bp knew it was gonna eat =p.