Need a super quick response on feeding problem!! Eating from wrong side, wont let go!

Hey guys, just fed my ball python a baby mouse, it is a very small mouse and she could take it down very easy but she is trying to eat it from the tail first. I have tried to get her to let go but she is really really refusing to take it out of her mouth!! Do not want to force to hard. What do??

Leave her, she will be fine. Nothing wrong with tail first ever now and then it's just harder for them. If I give my JCP a left over weaned rat because someone didn't want to eat, she eats it from the middle and Floyd it in half as she's eating.

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Leave her, she will be fine. Nothing wrong with tail first ever now and then it's just harder for them. If I give my JCP a left over weaned rat because someone didn't want to eat, she eats it from the middle and Floyd it in half as she's eating.

Okay, I've heard warnings about not letting them eat from the tail side first, she definitely got pissed at me for trying to get her to let go lol she gave my thumb a good squeeze and opened for a snap...I feel bad for stressing her but I just want to keep her from hurting herself. Thanks for the advice.

Leave her be, it will be OK. My very first time feeding my girl as a baby she did that, it takes longer but was all OK in the end, they know what they are doing. No worries! :3

Nah, shouldn't be any issues. Same thing going to the same spot regardless of how it's eaten, right?

Only minor concern might be little mouse finger-nails that scratch a little bit if they're going butt-first, but I sincerely doubt it.

Yeah that's what I was cautioned about - the scratching of her insides as they go down - these were very tiny mice so I knew it might not be that big of a deal....but I like to be very careful. I have seen lots of people's pets die/get hurt because they were careless and I don't want to be in that boat. She got the first one down, she just killed the second little guy. Thanks for putting my mind at ease guys ;)

Little Dude used to do that, he even tried to eat one sideways once. They figure it put eventually. Animals, when eaten head first, all their limbs fold up nicely againt the body, when eaten the other way around the limbs tend to spread ans catch on the sides of the mouth. But if they can still get it down, it shouldn't be a problem.

Yup, next time don't worry about it, and let her be. She will manage just fine. I have had them eat tail end first before too. My boa likes to get them in the middle, and fold them in half. He refuses to let go and look for a head. He will just keep at it till he gets it down.

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Fork or chopsticks, we eat how we like and so do our herps :P

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Originally Posted by Xazereth

Hey guys, just fed my ball python a baby mouse, it is a very small mouse and she could take it down very easy but she is trying to eat it from the tail first. I have tried to get her to let go but she is really really refusing to take it out of her mouth!! Do not want to force to hard. What do??

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You should watch a Boa eat a jumbo rat folded in half and sideways.

It scares the hell out of us yet they eventually manage.

If it won't go down, they can spit it out.

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Originally Posted by Salamander

You should watch a Boa eat a jumbo rat folded in half and sideways.

It scares the hell out of us yet they eventually manage.

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LOL... my Hognose does that too, but with an adult mouse. She's such a pig, it doesn't matter to her which direction it's facing! :D

my big female still does this. just leave it alone it will find the head in a few minutes. looks bad to watch but its all good. :)

I've got a grown male BP that eats them backward about 1/2 of the time.

Even among snakes there are the bright ones and also the not-so-bright.

First time my girl ate a mouse backwards I couldn't stop laughing but that's because when I looked at her she had just the head left an it was sticking outta her mouth like the mouse was trying to climb out.

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Originally Posted by carlson

First time my girl ate a mouse backwards I couldn't stop laughing but that's because when I looked at her she had just the head left an it was sticking outta her mouth like the mouse was trying to climb out.

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Kinda like this? :P
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/DSCN1166.jpg

And here's an example of her eating one sideways... as it was stated above, some snakes just aren't the brightest bulbs! But they manage okay, and will spit out the prey & start over (or retreat) if it's not working.
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...4/IMG_2271.jpg

[QUOTE=Lolo76;1922892]Kinda like this? :P
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/DSCN1166.jpg

Yes for sure like that 😝 haha all I could think is that the mouse isn't dead and is trying to escape from the depths of the beast. That was when I was still feeding live

Haha, leave it to the hognose to eat like that, I need one!

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Originally Posted by carlson

First time my girl ate a mouse backwards I couldn't stop laughing but that's because when I looked at her she had just the head left an it was sticking outta her mouth like the mouse was trying to climb out.

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I fed my girl a fuzzie and when she was nearly done I could just see this little mouse face looking at me in her mouth with her jaws wide and looking so pleased with herself XD I think I found it a lot funnier than anyone else in the house at the time did :')

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Originally Posted by Lolo76

LOL... my Hognose does that too, but with an adult mouse. She's such a pig, it doesn't matter to her which direction it's facing! :D

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Funny thing is that I look at my Boas and they all have such sweet serene, cute faces...and then they eat something sideways and look like deformed monsters from some kind of reptilian nightmare.

I've stopped watching them eat except for checking back to make sure everything's okay.

They gross me out....LOL

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Originally Posted by UpNorth

Haha, leave it to the hognose to eat like that, I need one!

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Yes, you do!! Don't tell my BPs I said this, but the hoggie (Charlotte) is totally my favorite snake... they kind of stink, though.

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Originally Posted by Salamander

Funny thing is that I look at my Boas and they all have such sweet serene, cute faces...and then they eat something sideways and look like deformed monsters from some kind of reptilian nightmare.

I've stopped watching them eat except for checking back to make sure everything's okay.

They gross me out....LOL

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Haha... snakes are gross sometimes, but I love 'em anyway! :D