Moggie's eyes are bigger than her stomach

the rat was as long as nose to vent, but easily as big around as her, as it was a pregnant rat.
I still say, physics says, no way. Unless she has no heart, lungs, intestines, or bladder, she couldn't have fit that in. Isaw a cow die from overeating until its lungs were compressed and it suffacated. I kid you not. I realize reptiles are totally different, but I would have pulled that rat now, even with everyone saying it was fine. I just know now to not offer anything that large, as she is too impatient to cut her food and chew it twenty times like she should.
Wolfy

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

... as she is too impatient to cut her food and chew it twenty times like she should.
Wolfy

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:giggle: They just don't teach 'em good table manners anymore, do they??? :P

They may enjoy some silverware instead of tearing it up with their mouths!!:D


ww

lol, She'd probaly eat the silverware. I am teaching her a food signal. I'll let everyone know how that works.
Wolfy

like have her touch on a target or something??

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Originally Posted by wildlifewarrior

like have her touch on a target or something??

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lol. Or tuck in her napkin before a meal and after each bite dab her face?:D

Not targeting yet, that will be later. Right now it is a audiable signal given each time repeatedly until she notices that there is food available. Rats on tongs is great for this. Now she is visably startling and looking for food upon making that audiable noise. Target training for food is on the slate for later. Sheis so greedy that I don't anticipate any trouble training her for a few behaviors.
I'm hoping to train her to :
1. Be aware and ready to eat when she hears the signal, hoping to dampen the feeding response when the audiable signal is not present. So far early results say this is working well. I have nearly no feeding response unless I give the signal OR she smells the food already. (I tested by placing a thawed mouse in without the signal and she took several minutes before she noticed and came to eat it)
2. Target training. She will have to walk up and place her nose against a target and hold still until she is released with her food signal and rewarded with the food.
3. Opening her mouth, and holding it open. Allows me to examine inside her mouth without being invasive, or not so incendantly, risking my fingers.
4. Offering feet for examination, which is still a possible, I haven't worked out how well that will work, but this would allow me to examine toes for leftover shed etc.
These are the types of things I am slowly working towards, and I will of course keep up the reports. The only training I am using is positive reenforcement, utilizeing a method I have used multiple times for various species, including chickens, dogs, horses, a goldfish, cats, and etc.
Wolfy

wow you got some pland, keep us updated!!!

ww

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

lol, She'd probaly eat the silverware. I am teaching her a food signal. I'll let everyone know how that works.
Wolfy

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Well I finally got my toddler to understand my signs and now her and I sign very well to each other. I believe that if I had the patience to do that, for sure your little lady will get it with time, I cant wait to see this once she does learn, I'm sure its amazing when she does respond to you. Good luck! :)

I have a V. Indicus monitor by the name of Mannie who use to eat hoppers like tic tacs. So one day I bought a mouse to see if he could handle it. It took quite a few tries but eventually he got it down. The whole thing :sabduel: was quite nerve racking and stressful for the both of us. The first time he tried he couldn't get past the stomache and everytime he tried to take a breath he got skinnier and skinnier until he finally spit it out. The second time he thrashed it around and he even propped it up against things to try and push or force it down. At this time I figured it was too much for him to handle but every time I tried to remove it he would pick it up and run away with it (obviously he didn't think so)..:rolleyes: ..so I let him have another go. Around the third or fourth try as usual he couldn't get past the stomache (he made a lil progress but not much)....only this time he started scratching at the belly until it ripped open :O releasing enough of the organs so that he could get it down and he went back for the rest when he was done. Needless to say I didn't :colbert: expect that and I don't know what happened if instincts kicked in or if he was just trying something different because everything else didn't work. But he got it.....Mannie Graduated:carrot:it was about time to, those hoppers start to add up when they're taking between four and six a feeding:D .