feeding?

i got 2 normal females saterday from a local small breeder. the smaller one is 711 grams. she struck at me when i took her out of the box. i feed her sunday a rat that was 61 grams. she is always in the s postion like shes hungry. the tub is clear. is she still hungry?

I would say yes due to he fact that what you fed her was under 10% of her body weight. I would try to feed around 15% of her body weight.

15% is 106g. So you could feed her another rat of the same size.

I completely agree that you should be feeding her larger rats. You might also need to check with the small breeder that you got her from to determine how often she was handled before. Because if she wasn't handled much as a younger/smaller snake - she's going to have to adjust to being handled. That could take a lot of patience from you and you probably will get bitten, but persistence will pay off in the end.

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Originally Posted by armison89

i got 2 normal females saterday from a local small breeder. the smaller one is 711 grams. she struck at me when i took her out of the box. i feed her sunday a rat that was 61 grams. she is always in the s postion like shes hungry. the tub is clear. is she still hungry?

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Striking at you isn't indicative of hunger if she ate recently, it's defensive. Give her a week or so to settle in without handling her. Although you could up her food size some, that isn't drastically small. If that's the size you already have, you could also feed every 5-6 days instead of 7. Oh, and leave her in her tub to feed.

60grams is the closest rats the local store had. the next ones were 140 grams. she doesnt strike shes just always in the s position. i will feed her another 60 gram rat tomorrow.

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Originally Posted by armison89

60grams is the closest rats the local store had. the next ones were 140 grams. she doesnt strike shes just always in the s position. i will feed her another 60 gram rat tomorrow.

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It's a defensive position. If all you have available are 60g rats, I'd feed her every 5 days.

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Originally Posted by KatStoverReptiles

It's a defensive position. If all you have available are 60g rats, I'd feed her every 5 days.

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+1

For my snake, an S flat on the ground is defensive and an S elevated, almost like a rattlesnake, is "give me my gosh darn mouse." I have no idea if this is true with all BPs, but it is for mine. She totally "sits up" for food and will go for anything that moves in that moment. I have 10 inch tongs for a reason! I move her hide boxes and stuff out of the way a little before I feed, depending on her position and she has almost nailed me a few times while I do. She means business.

If your snake is obviously in a defensive position, the best solution is to give it time to unjust, a week or two, before you start handling. After that, even if she is still scared and defensive, you really just need to start gently holding her. Pick her up slowly and gently, and wear gloves if you need! I swear by gloves for getting snappy snakes used to handling for the simple reason that they cut down on YOUR anxiety. If you have that barrier between flesh and teeth, YOU are a lot less jumpy and stressed, which will make your snake less jumpy and stressed. :D