feeding question

well yesturday i went and feed Padro his usual adult mouse. after 10 minutes his struck it and constricted it. but he didnt eat it??? whats up. he has never done this before, and nether have my other BP.

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Originally Posted by toe_knee

well yesturday i went and feed Padro his usual adult mouse. after 10 minutes his struck it and constricted it. but he didnt eat it??? whats up. he has never done this before, and nether have my other BP.

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Could be a sign of stress or illness ... or maybe you just spooked him.

Keep an eye on him.

-adam

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Could be a sign of stress or illness ... or maybe you just spooked him.

Keep an eye on him.

-adam

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also i was looking into his enclosure and he struck at me while the mouse was dead in the cage . also a first. was this cause he was defending his kill?

Some of our BP's won't settle to eat if you are watching them. It must be a very vulnerable time for a snake when it consumes it's prey whole like that and someone hanging over them watching might put them off. After all the snake really doesn't understand you aren't a predator just waiting to pounce on it when it's busy swallowing it's mouse/rat.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Some of our BP's won't settle to eat if you are watching them. It must be a very vulnerable time for a snake when it consumes it's prey whole like that and someone hanging over them watching might put them off. After all the snake really doesn't understand you aren't a predator just waiting to pounce on it when it's busy swallowing it's mouse/rat.

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when he struck i had just entered the room to see if he ate the mouse. i wasnt watching him. i also noticed he just wanted out of the encloseure.

How are your temps and humidity?

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Originally Posted by toe_knee

also i was looking into his enclosure and he struck at me while the mouse was dead in the cage . also a first. was this cause he was defending his kill?

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Ball pythons don't defend their kill.

They strike because they are scared ... your animal is stressed.

-adam

how long did you leave the dead prey in his enclosure?

sometimes Monty kills and as he's trying to find the head he wanders off a little but usually comes back. possibly u just needed to give him more time. its also possible that if u spooked him accidently while he was doing this and that he just didnt go back after.

my temps and humidity are fine. i dont understand why he would be stressed??? i recently moved my snakes from my living room into my closet. i have a light timer and a heater on a thermostat. but all of my snakes ate after the move. now this