Strike and drop

Morning!
Quick question, why would a BP strike it's food, coil and hold it for a min, then drop it and just move on?

Striking out of habit, not hungry enough to eat. I extend mine from 7 to 10 or 10 to 14 days between meals when they start to do this.

I had it happen on occasion myself. Maybe instinct kicks in, even though they’re truly not hungry. And the end result is not eating. In captivity they are offered food on a schedule, in the wild no such scenario exists. So instinctively they do what they do, but don’t follow through, because they are not actually hungry. Just a guess, but that’s my two cents.

Shayna, who has eaten F/T basically her entire life, and rarely strikes anymore, does something similar. Usually, I shake the rat on the tongs and she waits for me to put it down and then pulls into her house to eat.

Every once in a while, she will grab the rat, pull it into her house, and then not eat it.

Different, but similar behavior. Seemingly interested, but when push comes to shove, they decide not to eat.

Because of this behavior, I do a morning check to see if the rat is gone after feeding night. Nothing worse than opening the tank 2 days later to a rotting rat.

Mine at work do this. I reheat, turn the light out and offer again. They eventually eat it lol.

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Originally Posted by Maybeka

Morning!
Quick question, why would a BP strike it's food, coil and hold it for a min, then drop it and just move on?

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Another reason some snakes do this is that they are aware that they're being watched & they need privacy. Snakes in the wild are under pressure to survive, &
when they are temporarily involved with swallowing a meal, they are at increased risk from predators that could prey upon them. Our pets have no way of really
knowing they are safe with us as they eat and many respond by choosing to hide rather than risk exposure as some "big unknown monster" is lurking nearby.

Remember that they do not recognize us visually...they know something is there, but without our scent & touch, they don't know for sure & some won't chance it.
I've had some snakes over the years that once they took the rodent from my tongs, I've had to stand completely still or they'd drop it & flee for safety. :rolleyes: Many
only do this for a while & then finally learn to relax, but it's no fun playing ninja meanwhile. It's typical for new acquisitions.

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Originally Posted by Sunnieskys

Mine at work do this. I reheat, turn the light out and offer again. They eventually eat it lol.

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I have also had this happen from time to time also, but with ball pythons nothing ever seems to be the end all. I know a couple of other keepers on here have also discussed this too.:)

When feeding thawed, sometimes it cools down too quickly and the heat signature is lost and in turn so is the interest. I tug on the rodent once they've grabbed it to make sure they coil tighter... Simulating struggle that way they feel like they're taking down the prey item as opposed to just accepting a meal..

One of the very first b.p. I purchased started doing this after I'd had her a couple of months. She'd been on live prey when I purchased her at the age of 3 mos., but switched to f/t with no issue. After several feedings however, she started striking/coiling, and then moving away without feeding. After a couple of frustrating months during which time I'd offer her food every 7 - 10 days with the same result, I caved and offered her live. She nailed and ate before the rat pup had barely touched feet to floor and since that time has absolutely refused to eat anything but live.
I will never understand why she ate f/t so well initially, or why she suddenly decided she wasn't going to do it anymore, but for now, she's eating live. I will try f/t again at some point, but for now, apparently she's letting me know that the only thing she wants is live. (sigh)

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Originally Posted by B.P.'s 4me

One of the very first b.p. I purchased started doing this after I'd had her a couple of months. She'd been on live prey when I purchased her at the age of 3 mos., but switched to f/t with no issue. After several feedings however, she started striking/coiling, and then moving away without feeding. After a couple of frustrating months during which time I'd offer her food every 7 - 10 days with the same result, I caved and offered her live. She nailed and ate before the rat pup had barely touched feet to floor and since that time has absolutely refused to eat anything but live.
I will never understand why she ate f/t so well initially, or why she suddenly decided she wasn't going to do it anymore, but for now, she's eating live. I will try f/t again at some point, but for now, apparently she's letting me know that the only thing she wants is live. (sigh)

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Have you tried pre-killing and placing in when twitching still? I have no feeding issues with pre-killed when offered this way. Both my BPs will not eat FT but will eat pre-killed. Is a bit more traumatic for me to feed this way but it works and my BPs are safe.