Feeding question. In the tank or out?

It's decided. In the tank on the subtrate. Thanks everyone.

Well, her first feeding went without a hitch! It took about an hour for her to finally consume the rat, but she did and is now happily hidden away. BUT, her feeding did raise a few new questions for me...

First if all, it took over an hour! I put the rat in her tank, and after about 45 minutes of sitting nose to nose with it, she finally bit. But, she didn't eat. Instead she grabbed it by the neck, carried it around for a while, dropped it, picked it back up, etc. for another 20 minutes. All the while she was, what my girlfriend calls, cuddling with the rat :P . I think the rest of us would call it constricting... All of her movements during the hour seemed very erratic and frantic. Almost like she was extremely nervous or anxious. Finally, after playing with her food for some time, she took it head first and it was gone in an instant.

Does all this behavior seem normal? I've never seen a ball eat before. I was most worried about all of the erratic movement. This is behavior I have never observed any time other than feeding time.

i think it took a while because she was looking for the head to begin swallowing it.sometimes my BP might lift the mouse in the air and "shake it" and then drop it to the floor and start swallowing it by the head.

Hard to say what happened not being right there. How did the rat compare in size to her own girth? Sometimes an overly large prey item gives them a lot of trouble. As well 45 minutes is overly long for any snake to be eyeball to eyeball with a live prey item. It's asking for trouble in my opinion and either the snake wasn't sure it could take down a rat of that size or it wasn't all that hungry. Either way you want a fast, efficient kill...safer for the snake and better in for rat as well. Most should take their prey in well under 15 minutes (most of them it's a few seconds or a minute or two tops really).

Were you hovering nearby while all this prey moving was going on? Snakes are incredibly vulnerable while swallowing a whole prey item down. They can't move off quickly or defend themselves at that time and they instinctively know this. If you are casting a shadow over them, moving about a lot, causing vibrations or just very close over or near them, some will not settle down and eat.

I've noticed some feedings take longer than others. One of my guys is a great feeder that's never turned down a meal. Usually he's done within 5 minutes. I have seen him take as long as 30 minutes though. I don't know what causes it, but as long as they consistently feed, I wouldn't worry about it.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

How did the rat compare in size to her own girth? Sometimes an overly large prey item gives them a lot of trouble. As well 45 minutes is overly long for any snake to be eyeball to eyeball with a live prey item. It's asking for trouble in my opinion . . .

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(FYI all, there is more to this quote, hence the . . . )

Just to clarify, the rat was a f/t pup, and, if anything, was a little too small rather than a little too large. I only have a few of those left and then I'll be bumping her up to weanlings soon which should be about the right size.

Also, as far as hovering and shadow-casting are concerned: all of the lights in the room were off. I was using a small red light to watch her...

Odd why the snake would take so long...oh well as long as it ate. :)

My baby Ball would move it around for like 2 hours then smell it for another hour before it ate the mouse. O.O. The adults are all business though and don't waste any time.

I know it's a little old, but I have an update. I fed her again tonight and she didn't waste any time. Upon dropping the rat in, she flew out of her hide, pretended to ignore it for 3-4 minutes, and then WHAM! Pretty cool to see a ball strike. I've never seen it live before. I guess the novelty will wear off sooner or later. It seems she's getting more comfotable in her tank...

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Originally Posted by nebby3103

I know it's a little old, but I have an update. I fed her again tonight and she didn't waste any time. Upon dropping the rat in, she flew out of her hide, pretended to ignore it for 3-4 minutes, and then WHAM! Pretty cool to see a ball strike. I've never seen it live before. I guess the novelty will wear off sooner or later. It seems she's getting more comfotable in her tank...

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Yea the novelty wears off quick. It was awesome the first few times, but it got old quick. I feed all mine p/k or f/t now anyways, only because it is easier to just throw it in there and go do what I need.