Feeding Concern

I've had my bp (Cali) for about 9 days now. I have left her alone in her enclosure since day one. I check temps and humidity what seems like every hour or two. All is well. She has two hides. e.c.t

I was told by the Co. i got her from that they have been feeding her live Hopper or Small Adult mice, once a week..

Lastnight was my first attempt at feeding, I thought I would try and offer her f/t, but no local shops have the quality I was ok with. I called around until I found a respectable shop that sold live feeders. I went in to buy a hopper but was told someone just came in not 20 mins ago and bought the last 5 they had. So I went bck and grabbed a Small Adult that did not seem too big.

Brought the meal home and scented the room for about 30-45 mins. Cali was in one of her boxes as I placed the live mouse on top of her enclosure in it's container. Within 15 mins she was out searching for her meal. I let her taste the air abit longer. I grabbed the mouse with a pair of tongs at the base of it's neck and lowered it in. Cali got into a striking position but just sat there still as can be. She didn't budge one bit as I tried to entice her by moving the mouse around. This went on for about 10 mins or so until my arm got tired. Sure enough at that point the mouse fell from the tongs and ran into the corner. Cali moved ever so slowly tward the prey. The the mouse made the mistake of tring to run past the snake. And within the blink of an eye Cali struck and coiled around tightly. She held the mouse for about 5mins until it stopped breathing. She then released and started moving toward it's head. She opened wide and picked up the mouse in her mouth. She than dropped it on her tail and scared herself and released the prey. She then moved toward the rear of the mouse, and without any luck tried to swallow the mouse belly first. She did this for about 20 mins, back and forth from head to tail. Then to my disapointment she seemed to give up and went back into her hide. She came back out within 10 mins and completely ignored the mouse.

My question is, has anyone had any issues with their snake unable to decide at which end to swallow?

She had good response, a fast strike and a powerful squeeze. But I cant help but feel bad that after showing hunger, she now has to wait even longer for the next attempt. I read everywhere that I should wait at least 7 days before offering a 2nd time. Since she showed lots of intrest at the start is there anyway she would strike again within the next cpl days, or should I wait the 7 days?

Thanks for taking the time to read my story. Any ideas or comments would be very helpful

BP's are funny snakes. I personally would wait the 7 days and try again.

I promise that a few more days of no food, will not be any harm. You might even be able to do 5 days.

Most likely, she probably would have figured it out without an audience if you'd just left the room for about 30 minutes.

Some of mine get really nervous with a large heat emitting predator (ourselves) hovering nearby watching them try to figure it out.

I had a hatchling last night take 2 hours to constrict, then finally consume his meal as he also went head then rear and back again then re-constrict, repeat.

I've had similar experiences with f/t, but I heat up rat again with blow dryer and offer again and they will constrict again and eat.

I'd wait 5 to 7 days then offer her another live, appropriately sized prey item. Once your snake has the prey in full constriction just leave the immediate area and let her settle down to the eating part. A lot of snakes don't care for an audience at that time since they are very vulnerable when their mouth is full of a prey item (they can't easily flee or fight back at that moment).

If the live prey is the right size, and now that you've seen she can obviously handle herself, I wouldn't restrain a living prey animal. Just place it as far away from her in her enclosure as you can, not right in her face basically. She'll take care of the rest. :)

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Most likely, she probably would have figured it out without an audience if you'd just left the room for about 30 minutes.

Some of mine get really nervous with a large heat emitting predator (ourselves) hovering nearby watching them try to figure it out.

I had a hatchling last night take 2 hours to constrict, then finally consume his meal as he also went head then rear and back again then re-constrict, repeat.

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I did leave the room a couple times, but I guess it wasnt long enough for her. I was over excited, seeing this is my first snake and my first feeding experience. I wanted to witness the whole process. I guess that was just me being selfish, and not trusting her. Everything about her intriques me to no end. I even get enjoyment just watching her slither around her enclosre. But then again the little things stress me out. Like thinking the temp is dropping too low when in fact it only dropped 3-5 degrees. lol

Thanks for all the advice and feedback. The more I learn the more everything about BPs just makes me love them that much more