Swallowing live!!!!

I dropped my beautiful 300g male mojave (Conan) a mouse today and monitered the feeding as usual. Instead of striking the head, he struck the back end of the mouse and began constricting the lower half of its body. For about a minute, the mouse seemed to be taking short quick breaths, but never stopped moving. As Conan started to uncoil, (I'm sure assuming his prey was killed) the mouse started flailing and trying to get away, so he tightened up around the mouse again for another 30 seconds. This time after uncoiling, the mouse continued to try and escape but Conan just continued to uncoil. The back left leg of the mouse was in Conan's mouth, and the mouse was very much alive, and he started to swallow!!! He worked his way to about halfway down the mouse, all while the mouse is still trying to escape with the upper half of his body, and I started to get worried. I didn't know what to do because I didn't want to harm my snake. I didn't want to force him to regurgitate or cause him any serious stress, so I did what any desperate person in this situation would do and bashed the mouse on the head with the bottom of a cologne bottle and killed it! Conan continued to swallow the mouse and finished his meal successfully.

Has anyone ever had this happen to them before?! If it has, what did you do? Or what would you have done? I realize I am probably going to get some flack for this, but I did what I thought was necessary with what I had handy.

think you did the right thing by killing the mouse. I know I wouldn't want a live mouse inside me biting my innards on the way down. It just happens sometimes. That's why it's good to monitor feedings

Where are the pics!!?!??!!!!
I would have done the same thing, except I'd have gotten pics to share!

I would have just sprayed the snake with water to get him to let go of it. If the mouse has not gone into the stomach, it is not a regurge.

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Originally Posted by ClarkT

Where are the pics!!?!??!!!!
I would have done the same thing, except I'd have gotten pics to share!

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AHHHH!!! I should have taken pictures! I guess I was just a little bit too distracted by the situation to think clearly. Next time something crazy like this happens, pics will be posted!!!

Quick thinking with the head bashing, I probably would have done the same

(But Shogun is a good striker) :)

Wow! I'm glad mine eat F/T !! :bow:

it's amazingly cheap and easy to make a euthanasia chamber thing out of a pitcher, a baggie and some airline tubing. baking soda and vinegar are also incredibly cheap... I had a similar experience that prompted me to create mine, and I don't think I'll go back. takes 5 min with a cup of vinegar&about 1/2 cup of baking soda to get it done. beats whacking them on a table.

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Originally Posted by WesleyTF

it's amazingly cheap and easy to make a euthanasia chamber thing out of a pitcher, a baggie and some airline tubing. baking soda and vinegar are also incredibly cheap... I had a similar experience that prompted me to create mine, and I don't think I'll go back. takes 5 min with a cup of vinegar&about 1/2 cup of baking soda to get it done. beats whacking them on a table.

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I am definitely going to try the vinegar and baking soda trick in the future. Thanks!!

I'm always torn with that, suffocation is supposed to be an incredibly painful way to die. But thwacking them the floor doesn't seem a whole lot better...