Snakes with weird feeding habits

So my new spider girl, Luna, has eaten for me twice since I got her. I tried to feed her the day after she came but she refused. 5 days later I tried again. She initially refused, but I stuck her rat in her hide and she ate it within 30 min. I attempted to feed her again tonight and she wouldn't strike. Yet again I left her rat in her hide. When I came back 30 min later she was cruising her tub, and the rat was still there. I left it in there for another 20 min and when I came back she was in the middle of swallowing it backwards. It actually kind of freaked me out because when I opened her tub she was lying kind of sideways, not moving. I watched her swallow it the rest of the way and she's fine. It must suck not having hands! Anyway, is it worth it to try and get her to strike, or will she just continue to eat this way? I don't really mind, it actually saves my hand from having to hold a rat on the tongs. What are your snake's weird feeding habits?

Since she's still relatively new, she's probably still a little insecure and feels safer eating in her hide. She might eventually decide to start striking, but there's definitely nothing wrong with the way she's eating now. The fact that she's eating is the most important thing, and I've heard of a lot of other bps (and other types of snakes too) that prefer eating in private :)

My bp eats live. He'll kill the mouse then uncoil and start poking it with his face. Sometimes he'll eat it or he'll just look around, not caring at all. That's when I pick the dead mouse up and do the zombie dance so he'll eat it :/ and when after this whole ordeal he'll just start swallowing the mouse right off the tongs. He's silly :/

I have actually installed curtains on the front of my racks. They are the thick insulating kind. I give them a little light every now and then. I initially did it to try to keep the ambient temps more stable, but a side effect had been much better feeding! All I need to do now is drop in a f/t rodent in each tub, close the curtains and they are usually gone within 15 minutes! Not sure if its the more stable temps or the security of darkness (maybe both), but feeding has never been this easy!

One of my big girls strikes defensively until I just drop the rat in the tub and then she strikes and coils. I noticed she did this the first time I tried to feed her (bought her as a breeder girl) and thought it was a little strange but then the next time she did it again and has done so ever since! Shes also the meanest girl I have; hisses every time I pick her up and has struck at me a couple times! luckily I have avoided being bitten but I am certain she will tag me one of these days! I think she likes to torment the rats I offer before she eats them even if theyre already dead!

There's absolutely nothing wrong with it feeding with the rat left there instead of striking. Ball pythons feeding habits differ individually from snake to snake. The only "Weird" feeding behaviour that I consider problematic are if they don't eat, eat too little or if they only eat certain foods that are not easily available (i.e. mousers etc.)

X2. Also, being a Spider, they have the whole neurological problem. Wether you can see a "wobble" or not, the issue is there. No big deal, but i have seen some of my Spider girls lose track of their food. You should be happy she is eating, who cares how?!? LOL

The "wobble"doesn't effect feeding, my spider is my best feeder.

Oh trust me I'm THRILLED that she's eating! It's just kind of strange because my other 3 have always struck their prey. One of my normal males, Ranen, will refuse a whole bunch of meals before eating. He just took one last night after refusing 3 in a row. Frustrating! He's on the small side because of it.

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Originally Posted by Andybill

One of my big girls strikes defensively until I just drop the rat in the tub and then she strikes and coils. I noticed she did this the first time I tried to feed her (bought her as a breeder girl) and thought it was a little strange but then the next time she did it again and has done so ever since! Shes also the meanest girl I have; hisses every time I pick her up and has struck at me a couple times! luckily I have avoided being bitten but I am certain she will tag me one of these days! I think she likes to torment the rats I offer before she eats them even if theyre already dead!

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Here's my two cents. "Striking" and "attacking" to eat are two very different things in my experience. Striking, without coiling is the sign of an annoyed/stressed animal who is being purely defensive, and has no real interest in prey at that moment. A hunting/eating snake will almost always coil with strike, unless they simply eat FT with no problem.

To underscore how different eating habits can be, here is how my 5 eat:

Adult Female Het: FT med rats-Will not strike, and prefers privacy
Adult Male Het: Picky guy. needs 1 live mouse to get him in the mood, then I put FT rat right behind the mouse

2 Juvie Female Spiders: Must dangle FT mice, they attack, coil and eat no problem. I am hoping to "graduate" out of the dangling
Juvie Pastel Male: Will take FT no problem, but only in dark and private

My Spider is also my best feeder, i didnt say the "wobble" affected her. I said she can have a tendency to lose her food sometimes. While that is a rare occasion, it does happen with her.

My albino boa girl likes to be smacked in the face with her rat. Not hard of course, more like bumped. Really. You can dangle it for days and she has no interest, bump it against her head and it's all over.

My het pied girl won't eat leftover ft (one that were previously refused and refrozen) or rats that are damp or wet.

One of my normals will take rats just fine for a couple months then all of a sudden decide she's a mouser again. Takes me a couple months to get her back on rats consistently, then awhile later an we're back to mice.

My cinny girl wants to be left alone in the dark to eat. Just leave the rat and leave the room.

My spider girl is one of my best feeders. She's about a year old now and I don't think she's refused more than 1 or 2 meals.

They all have their own unique personalities. :)


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Originally Posted by Rob

The "wobble"doesn't effect feeding, my spider is my best feeder.

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OH yeah I will second this statement! my little albino spider has the strongest feeding response of all my snakes! She misses her first strike quite often but she gets it in!

I have a BP that's about a foot and a half-2 feet long. A baby BP that was given to me June 3,2012 as an anniversary gift. I haven't been able to get her to feed yet. I've tried twice a week. Thaw the fuzzy, warm under light like the store told me to then make it dance at the end of tongs. I even wear gloves. She stopped shedding about a week ago. She doesn't seem interested at all. I have a feeder box with a hide away and water...it is making me very anxious that she now has not eaten for me in about a month. I wonder if I'm doing something wrong...tryin too often, not enough, do I need to do it at night when she's more active?... Please help! Thank you!

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Originally Posted by Phoenix6913

I have a BP that's about a foot and a half-2 feet long. A baby BP that was given to me June 3,2012 as an anniversary gift. I haven't been able to get her to feed yet. I've tried twice a week. Thaw the fuzzy, warm under light like the store told me to then make it dance at the end of tongs. I even wear gloves. She stopped shedding about a week ago. She doesn't seem interested at all. I have a feeder box with a hide away and water...it is making me very anxious that she now has not eaten for me in about a month. I wonder if I'm doing something wrong...tryin too often, not enough, do I need to do it at night when she's more active?... Please help! Thank you!

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What are your temps and humidity?
Are you using a UTH? Is it regulated?
How many hides do you have?

I'd give her a week before you try again. You could be stressing her by trying too often and stressed bp's don't like to eat. Also make sure that the mouse is the appropriate size.

So give her a week, and try at night. If she doesn't strike at it just leave it in the cage. I got my baby May 30th and went to feed her June 5th. I dangled the mouse and she perked her head up but didn't strike. I had been reading this forum, and read somewhere that a person left a mouse overnight. So I decided to do that, and came back 45 minutes later and the mouse was gone.