ball pythons second feed he swallowed bum first what's your input on this please

So raptors second feed was another success but he let go for a minuet then decided to swallow his meal but it was bum first instead of head first he got it down fine but was a bit more of a struggle then head first I know this could cause some problems with adult rats as the claws are bigger but I couldn't get him to let go he was addiment he was getting it down his greedy hatch lol what does everyone do if they come across this issue any advice is appreciated thanks

They do that sometimes, especially when they're young. It's not a big deal. Sometimes it's hard to get things in your mouth the right way around when you have to go mostly by smell because you can't really see objects that are an inch from your eyeballs and blocked by your snout, and also you have no arms.

Some people eat desert first. Sometimes my first few bites of pizza are of the crust.

My Jungle Carpet eats bum first 90% of the time.

No worries, just so the rat ends up in the tummy. :)

Now I hope you are NOT talking about feeding live?

No mate FT all the way too many risks in live feeding if you ask me.

And taking a bite from the crust first on a pizza mate you have got some serious issues lol only joking each to there own

And one more issue I Ave some of that rat pups insides came out wich I no is normal but a bit of them have gone onto top of his head should I try wipe them off straight away with a damp cloth or leave him a bit I'm just thinking of bacteria buildin up with the heat in his enclosure

Yes you do want to clean the mess.

Rat pups have very thin stomachs, the muscles are developed yet. You will find the weaned rats cleaner to eat when he is ready to move up in size.

Yeh I thought that because on his first feed my prongs put a hole in the rat pup I will clean him down now as he is still out climbing about from his feed I didn't want to leave it too long but didn't want to do it straight away it's been a hour now since he fed thanks for the I'm put everyone

I've not weighed or taken any notes on his length what he is 3 and half month old when would you say to move on from rat pups or does it just come down strictly to the size he's grown also I've not found any poo yet from his last feed one week ago so gonna leave him 2 days to digest properly then try let him soak in some warm water I've read this can help his bowel movement would you agree on this

No worries, it happens ;)

I have one snake that is driving me crazy. My Pastel Lesser. I swear she has some issues...sigh.

She ALWAYS grabs it right by the head, constricts and then proceeds to look it over and over for a long time. After which she tries to swallow bum first. Or sideways. Or grabs a FOOT first. Sigh.

Yes, the food is frozen thawed but warmed appropriately. The food size is right. She is the only one that does this and I can't stand to watch her eat, it drives me crazy. She is in a tub, but I can still peek in and see her shenanigans.

I learned, the best way is to walk away and not watch. She always manages to eat it somehow.

I've been feeding mine in his enclosure I just lift him out then lay some news paper down one half of his tank over his substrate so he can't swallow any on his first feed we had some stick to the rat pup but I managed to get it off with the prongs before he swallowed it his first fees was head first the second was bum first will see how he gets on next week on his first feed

How often do your snakes poo I can't find any of his poo anywhere from his first feed his water bowl is changed daily as I've read they like to do it in there but not seen any and if searched all ever and in both hides and not seen any yet

Mexecutioner:How often do your snakes poo I can't find any of his poo anywhere from his first feed his water bowl is changed daily as I've read they like to do it in there but not seen any and if searched all ever and in both hides and not seen any yet" They don't do it very often, depends on the snake. Mine does it about every two weeks if she's been eating. Sometimes she will just do a urate or its everything at once. She's never used her water bowl but that's just her preference.

I'll just keep an eye out for it to happen then I've just read that one guy has a ball python and his only does it once every 5 to 6 week and I've just read that young balls won't poo as often because they will get the most out of there meal when young

My Bredli Python once swallowed a mouse sideways - she got it by the middle and folded it in half as it went down. It was smaller than she usually got, but looked like she'd swallowed a baseball. Rump-first is no big deal.


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Originally Posted by Mexecutioner

I've not weighed or taken any notes on his length what he is 3 and half month old when would you say to move on from rat pups or does it just come down strictly to the size he's grown also I've not found any poo yet from his last feed one week ago so gonna leave him 2 days to digest properly then try let him soak in some warm water I've read this can help his bowel movement would you agree on this

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You want prey that is about the size of the widest part of the belly. Or, 10% to 20% of their weight.
Baby's are really good at using everything they eat, so it's normal to not find poop often.

My hatchling hit 202g and poo'd only once since getting her and could get the fuzzy down in about 2 mins, so we moved her up to weaned rat pups.
After the first one there was a big poop. Her pups range between 24g and 45g (10 to 20% of her body weight.) She's now 235g, so the weaned pups are perfect for her.

I'd suggest getting a digital scale from Walmart to take weights. Until then, just go with prey roughly the size of the widest part of the hatchling. (I've been told this rule and the 10 to 20 percent rule no longer applies after they reach 500g.)

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Originally Posted by zina10

She ALWAYS grabs it right by the head, constricts and then proceeds to look it over and over for a long time. After which she tries to swallow bum first. Or sideways. Or grabs a FOOT first. Sigh....I can't stand to watch her eat, it drives me crazy.

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Mine did this the other day on her second mouse - I was quietly freaking out hoping she'd figure it out after letting go a couple times and re-positioning - down it went. But like you said...geeesh I was going crazy.

Thanks for sharing your experience as it made me feel better to know I'm not the only one.