Striking after feeding?

Hey i have had my girl about 11 months now. she eats every friday and i am currently feeding her two mice. she is about 750 grams. i feed her in a seperate box. today i went to put her back in her cage and she struck at me. Does this mean she is still hungry? i have always put her back right after she eats. did not do any thing out of the normal. I was also wondering if a cage 28IN L X 26IN W X 18IN H would be ok for her when she is a adult? thanks for your help. If you need any more info just ask.

Hi,

She sounds as though she is in feeding mode still.

What is the combined weight of the mice you are feeding her?


dr del

What you experienced is almost certainly a feeding mode strike. That can be avoided by feeding her in her regular enclosure.

i try to feed her 10% of her weight. i feed her every 7 days. i am in the process of switching over to rats but its hard to find small rats around 75-100 grams. she will not eat anything but live. thanks once again

They def. want more than 10% every 7 days while growing. I think most people do better with 15% every 5 days or 20% every 7. Most will advocate smaller meals more frequently if you're choosing between those 2 options. Since the mice are small, the likelihood of distending the snake's body is low if you want to see if it'll take a third. Adult mice are like 30g a pop so I think that's a good meal for a 750g. That'd be 12%.

You really just need to move it to rats. Don't be afraid to get 100-150g rats, especially since you feed every 7 days. The snake will be fine with that.

Why do you feed her in a separate enclosure? Simply put its unnecessary and causes the snake stress. Give it a try in her home and the problem your talking about wouldn't be an issue as you wouldn't need to touch her at all after she's eaten.