hitting snake with mouse to get him to feed

OK so I'm not actually hitting the snake.
when i put the mouse (f/t) in the hide, he seems interested, but never really looks directly at the mouse, sometimes looks past it, but doesn't follow it with his head
if i knock the mouse lightly against his body for 30 seconds it gets the interest, and a bite/constrict/swallow
is this normal? he's never regurgitated, and seems healthy, but will this stress him out?

Yes, sometimes you have to do that for picky eaters. If it works keep doing it. Hopefully he'll strike it normally eventually.

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I don't like to touch the rodent to the snake's body. I don't usually have to wait long for my current girl to nail the prey so with her it's not been a problem, but if they don't want to take it, I don't force it. It's just the way I do it. Opinions may vary.

I have to do this with Karma. Not knock it against her, but just sort of rub it against her side. I also like tap it against the floor of her tub, because I know snakes can't hear well, but they can hear the vibrations caused by the tapping noise so that usually gets her attention too. Otherwise she just goes about her business . Whenever I tried to dangle the mouse in the air, it scared her a lot.

I'm with Cletus. I don't wanna rub or tap their food on their bodies. Mostly because the less the rodents scent lingers around, the better. I just usually dance em around for a couple seconds and whammo. :)


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It's fine. I had to do that to my JCP to get her to start eating. I did it to my BP too. The rodent scent will dissipate with time. Think about when they wrap it up and hold it for 5 mins lol. Or in my boas case, when they grab it squeeze and pull so hard they tear the rat in half and the guts spill out on top of their hide and on them...now that's a mess and it cant be cleaned up until they are done and out of feed mode. She sure did smell that spot on top of her hide for hours though lol. Then she got bored as there was no food there and left.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

It's fine. I had to do that to my JCP to get her to start eating. I did it to my BP too. The rodent scent will dissipate with time. Think about when they wrap it up and hold it for 5 mins lol. Or in my boas case, when they grab it squeeze and pull so hard they tear the rat in half and the guts spill out on top of their hide and on them...now that's a mess and it cant be cleaned up until they are done and out of feed mode. She sure did smell that spot on top of her hide for hours though lol. Then she got bored as there was no food there and left.

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Oh yeah. The coiling part.... well it sounded good in my head at first! Lol


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Originally Posted by Mangiapane85

Oh yeah. The coiling part.... well it sounded good in my head at first! Lol


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Haha. You just don't want the rat smell on YOU lol. That makes a much bigger difference lol.

And even if you think you are Bruce Lee and have lightning reflexes, trust me, a snake can whip around 180 degrees a lot faster than you can pull your hand away. I found that out the hard way a few times haha.

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Originally Posted by cletus

I don't like to touch the rodent to the snake's body. I don't usually have to wait long for my current girl to nail the prey so with her it's not been a problem, but if they don't want to take it, I don't force it. It's just the way I do it. Opinions may vary.

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When they coil it they touch it.

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Originally Posted by Ptshay

When they coil it they touch it.

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Yes. When the snake takes the prey it touches it.