Feeding sideways.

My BP for some reason, has been eating his F/T mice sideways. The first time he struck, he bit on the mouses side, didn't constrict, and then proceeded to take 45 minutes to swallow. During that time, he tried pushing one end of the mouse in his mouth by rubbing it on the walls, making a huge mess. Eventually, he got it down head first.
On the second try, he stuck and missed, knocking the mouse to the other side of the enclosure. He then approached the mouse, and just bit the side of it. He didn't strike, just bit it. It was kind of funny, but also kind of sad. About ten minutes later, he folded the mouse in half to fit it in his mouth, and swallowed.

Is this normal? Is there any way to assure he eats his food head first? He seemed like he was struggling quite a bit, especially with the first one.

if he can fold it in half and eat it sideways its way to small,
some balls are confused wich end to eat sometimes and ive heard if they get it in wrong they might gurg, are they all white?
maybe try some oreo,s so he can see witch end is witch

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Originally Posted by rishnack

if he can fold it in half and eat it sideways its way to small,
some balls are confused which end to eat sometimes and i've heard if they get it in wrong they might gurg, are they all white?
maybe try some oreo,s so he can see witch end is witch

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I know pinkies are too small for him, and I am getting him some hoppers. I just wanted to make sure he would eat something before I just bombarded him with something bigger.
Oreos?

Since you are feeding F/T, I would suggest that, after you thaw the mouse, take a blow dryer, or some hot water to dip in, and heat the head of the mouse to a higher temperature than the rest of its body. This method gives your snake a more natural heat picture when sizing up the mouse.

Also, while you didn't give any description of the size of your BP when compared to the size of the mice you are using, you may want to increase the size of the food that you offer your snake. It is by no means necessary, but if he can swallow the mouse folded over sideways, he can probably take on a larger sized mouse or an appropriate sized rat.

This may or may not fix your feeding situation, but I would guess that it isn't going to hurt anything.

I hope this helps.

John

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Originally Posted by John Marker

Since you are feeding F/T, I would suggest that, after you thaw the mouse, take a blow dryer, or some hot water to dip in, and heat the head of the mouse to a higher temperature than the rest of its body. This method gives your snake a more natural heat picture when sizing up the mouse.

Also, while you didn't give any description of the size of your BP when compared to the size of the mice you are using, you may want to increase the size of the food that you offer your snake. It is by no means necessary, but if he can swallow the mouse folded over sideways, he can probably take on a larger sized mouse or an appropriate sized rat.

This may or may not fix your feeding situation, but I would guess that it isn't going to hurt anything.

I hope this helps.

John

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That makes sense, I will try it :D

I would assume that if you fed a more appropriate sized mouse you would have better chances of him eating them properly. I could be wrong, but, I'd bet a buck on it.

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Originally Posted by Bettacreek

I would assume that if you fed a more appropriate sized mouse you would have better chances of him eating them properly. I could be wrong, but, I'd bet a buck on it.

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Yeah, that was mainly why I was worried. I am afraid he will just sit there for hours trying to eat something huge from the side. D:

The male I got struck the mouse on its side, but ate it properly. My corn doesn't strike his prey, he simply slides up and slowly finds the head, then slowly swallows. Anyways, good luck, let us know if he eats right.

do you use tongs to hold the mouse by its tail in front of him?

Thats how we feed bob with metal tongs, just hold it in front of him and he strikes and eats... usually ita always head first. There was one time it was sorta sideways but it worked itself around and went down head first. and his first ever time eating for us was butt first lol...

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Originally Posted by sweetcheeks

do you use tongs to hold the mouse by its tail in front of him?

Thats how we feed bob with metal tongs, just hold it in front of him and he strikes and eats... usually ita always head first. There was one time it was sorta sideways but it worked itself around and went down head first. and his first ever time eating for us was butt first lol...

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Yep, the first time, he just struck on the side. The second time, I tried to position it more head first, and he missed, then just bit it on its side. I admit, it was kind of funny to watch!

I am hoping he will do better with a bigger meal. :3