Frustrated with feeding...(not what you think)

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Jenn and I (our family) got its first ball python about 5 weeks ago. He is a juvenile and about 17ish inches long. His name is Bowser (named by our 4 year old... we also have a guinea pig named Luigi). He ate great the first 2 times we fed him and then the third, he took the mouse sideways (as in mouse sideways in the snakes mouth), couldn't get it righted and spit it out, showing no interest after that. So I waited until the next feeding day (6 days later) and tried again. This time he struck the mouse sideways again but managed to get it down and it has been that way ever since. He has struck sideways 4 times and managed to get it down the last 3.

This is stressing me out. He is only eating fuzzies and I KNOW he should be eating bigger mice at this size but I can't bring myself to do it when he might choke!! Would feeding him bigger (i.e. more appropriately sized) mice fix this problem? BTW I'm feeding f/t.

Also, will he calm down a little as he ages..... I'm not a snake person AT ALL however I'm quickly getting addicted and learning to love my BP.... We're both just a little unsure of each other at the moment. I wish I'd have asked advice here before I got one because it might have been better for both of us (me AND the snake) if it would have been an older (calmer) BP....

Thanks in advance...

He's fine taking it sideways. Sometimes young BPs are 'clumsy' eaters so to speak. Mine was like that for a while, but he eventually started swallowing it headfirst every time. Moving up a prey size should be fine.

And yes, most ball pythons become less skittish as they mature and with handling. :)

Good luck!

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Welcome to BP.net

Some of my snakes have taken a meal or two the unconventional way. Just last weekend one of females that is a great eater struck and killed her rat and decided she wanted to eat it tail first. She attempted several times until she decided enough was enough. Fed her again this weekend and she ate like a champ.

When I fed F/T I owuld thaw the prey item in warm water, not hot enough to cook it though. Once it was completely thawed I would grab my wife's blow dryer (kidding) and heat up the head more then the rest of the body. Give that a try and see if your little guy will take it head first.

One more quick word of advice, I would move to rats frmo mice sooner than later. The variations in sizes of feeder rats that are available will be able to feed your BP for it's entire life through 1 rat each feeding. Your snake will quickly outgrow the mice and you will end up having to feed multiple prey items in one feeding.

And YES, they will settle in time as long as they feel comfortable and the husbandry is kept up.

Welcome to BP.net!

What you are experiencing with your new snake is quite common, and nothing to worry about. As you've already seen, if something doesn't fit into your snakes mouth the right way, he will spit it out. It's very unlikely that your snake will choke on a rodent.

I urge you to move your BP onto the correct size rodent. You'll be surprised what they can consume with no problems.

Also, many BPs are a bit nippy or enthusiastic when they're young. It helps to keep in mind that when they are little, they're pretty low on the food chain, and they act accordingly. 999 times out of 1000 they all calm down over time and become lap snakes.

Good luck with him!

:welcome:

Don't worry, your snake will not choke on a bigger prey item. :) Most often, increasing the prey size will fix the issue of eating the prey item in a strange way. Again, as others have said, there is nothing wrong with the snake trying to eat it from the side, they usually figure it out eventually. If they get frustrated and give up, no sweat! Try again the following week.

Good luck!

My girl used to do this. What I did was hold the prey item higher so she has to take it by the head. Haven't had any issues since.

Fuzzy mice are too small for her. Give her an adult mouse or a fuzzy rat.

Just FYI.... I switched to adult mice (pet store outta rat pups) and he has eaten twice "normally." He struck and moved around to the head and started and ate just fine and no he didn't choke...LOL @ me.

BUT.... he won't eat in anywhere but his own cage. He doesn't strike at me at other times when I reach in or anything like that. Is is REALLY a problem to feed him in his tank? I try every time to get him to eat elsewhere but he is only interested in escaping and wants nothing to do with the mouse until I move him back in his cage and if I offer it there, he goes right after it within seconds.....

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Originally Posted by jennz1999

Just FYI.... I switched to adult mice (pet store outta rat pups) and he has eaten twice "normally." He struck and moved around to the head and started and ate just fine and no he didn't choke...LOL @ me.

BUT.... he won't eat in anywhere but his own cage. He doesn't strike at me at other times when I reach in or anything like that. Is is REALLY a problem to feed him in his tank? I try every time to get him to eat elsewhere but he is only interested in escaping and wants nothing to do with the mouse until I move him back in his cage and if I offer it there, he goes right after it within seconds.....

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Just about everyone feeds in the home enclosure. No problem at all.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Just about everyone feeds in the home enclosure. No problem at all.

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Yup, the "feed in a separate container or it will become aggressive" deal is a myth. In fact, you're MORE likely to get bit feeding in a separate container. Feed in your enclosure.