Eating

Is it normal for a ball python to try and eat its mice tail first? We have 1 that is bound and determined to eat a mouse tail first.

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Originally Posted by Kevin_Hornby

Is it normal for a ball python to try and eat its mice tail first? We have 1 that is bound and determined to eat a mouse tail first.

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its not uncommon for juvies to do this or hatchlings with smaller pray. as thye get larger and they eat more they will start going head first always. my bp ate his second meal sideways. but it was a small pray item so he some how got it down.

This is a 400g female. She has eaten lots the right way, but the last 2 times we've fed her she's been eating backwards. Or at least trying to then giving up when she can't get it in and leaving the dead mouse.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kevin_Hornby

This is a 400g female. She has eaten lots the right way, but the last 2 times we've fed her she's been eating backwards. Or at least trying to then giving up when she can't get it in and leaving the dead mouse.

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thats a little bit odd then. have you switched pray items?

We got her at an expo about 3 weeks ago (not sure what they fed her) and she's eaten probly 4 times with us. But the last one and this one she's tried backwards then got fed up and left the mouse.

They go through this sometimes...keep trying to feed as usual, and she'll get it figured out.

Doesn't matter as long as she gets it down. :]

That's the problem though, she tries it tail first and can't get it in so she gives up and goes somewhere else.

well mine just did that this past sunday. he killed the mouse and then tried several times to eat it tail first. he finally did get it down but he went away from the mouse for like 20 minutes. but like i said he did finally eat it. i thought they had to eat prey head first but i guess not. any reason as to why they would eat it backwards

my pastel took about 15 minutes to find the head this past feeding. I though I was hilarious. If she were to abandon the prey item, I would simply re-offer it. I feed frozen thawed so it's not a problem for me. I have done this in the past and they just rekill it, LOL