Almost got tagged! :)

I have been keeping BP's off and on for 12 years now, and have never been tagged -- or even had an attempted strike. Until last night...

I picked up a free/rescue off of Craigslist about a month ago. The snake is in decent health, but obviously underfed (700g at 3 years old).

"She" has been eating great, and has the strongest feeding response I have ever seen -- probably because she is starving?

Yesterday was routine "wash all the snakes waterbowls day". I grabbed the water bowls out of my first two snakes tubs no problem, and then I got to her tub. I didn't get her water bowl out, and if I had been a split second slower at pulling my hand back she would have put a nice tag on me.

I don't think it was a defensive strike -- I think she was looking for food (and I just fed her a 70g rat the day before!)

I'm wondering if the strike was defensive (don't think so), or because she was hungry, or because the previous owner told me that she was always fed in a seperaet container -- all of my snakes have always been fed in their enclosure, and I have never had one strike...

Just some food for thought -- I'm not trying to start a 10 page thread on feeding techniques...

It could have been either. If you startled her it could have been a defensive strike. If she was hungry it could have been a hungry strike. If she just flew at you out of no where and didn't have a defensive posture then it was probably feeding related.

I have one like that, who lays with her head just out of her hide, any time the tub opens she is expecting to be fed, she was an underweight adoptee also.

It is possible that a snake could be conditioned to associate opening the enclosure with food, especially in circumstances where most of the time when the tub/tank is opened food is offered. If this is what is causing this you may benifit from increased cage activity. Snakes which are used to regular activity in the enclosure (maintenance, cleaning, handling) are much less likely to go into feeding mode, even if they are hungry.