I'm trying something new with feeding...

Usually, I will "dangle" the f/t rat in front of my snakes, and they'll strike and constrict and then eat it. I think that this week when I feed, I'll try just placing the rat in there and seeing if they will/won't just come up to it, flick their tongue, and eat it like that? Seems like they expend a LOT of energy constricting something that's already dead, for no reason at all. We'll see...

Give it a shot - a few of ours need nothing more than the f/t prey laid in front of their hide entrance, either dragging it in or swallowing it on the way out - others still need the zombie mouse jig. Let us know the results in any event!

good luck :) im sure it'll work out well. I found out all of mine will take prey without doing any mouse dances. I was lazy one day and just tossed em in and checked back an hour later and they were all gone....

I feed all of my snakes the way you are describing. I put the snakes in bare tub and drop in the pre killed rodent. They will still strike at it and constrict it...its their nature :)

I havent had to do the rat/mouse dance in a while, and never for Sphinx.

i just put the rat in there and give it a little nudge and she takes it (roxy does)

but with the corn i just put the pinkie in there and she comes up to it and swallows it.

Eh, I like the coiling thing, and it's sorta excercise with the constriction and stuff, so I'm not gonna worry or hope Pelota stops coiling anytime soon. Although I don't have to wiggle the rodent much at all for Pelota to nab it. But she does coil still. Last time I fed her, I just put the mouse down, and she went right at it. Although the guts were everywhere since I warmed it up too much under the heat lamp, so maybe that got her going, lol.

i have never had to do the mousie dance with nellie. she had her first rat at her last feeding, and i didn't do any dancing then either (well i did the happy dance when she took the rat, but i didn't have to make the rat dance :D). she always coils though and usually stays coiled around her prey for a while before she eats it. i am totally fine with whatever method she chooses to use though, because she has never refused a meal, so i figure she can just go right ahead and do whatever she wants. :P

The last 2 feeds I didn't have to do the dance, in fact Kitty didn't want me to. He kept ignoring the food and trying to get out, or searching as if he could not find the food, so I left him alone and in the next 30 min ratty was gone. The last time I just put the rat in there and Kitty just started to eat it, no constriction or striking. I am not sure why it changed but so long as he eats I don't much care.