Yikes! She's a monster!

This was an experience I won't soon forget! I opened Irma's tub up tonight to take a picture and she starts to come out over the side. She checks out my blanket, then latches on! She chews and chews and tries her hardest to pull the blanket up into her house to continue attempting to eat it. I try to wait her out. Nothing. After 10 minutes of gnawing, I tried a little mouthwash on the blanket. Nothing. I quickly defrost a mouse while she's busy. Then I try squeezing a lemon onto the blanket. After a minute it worked, she let go, I used a bamboo skewer (not pointy) to guide her into her feeding tub to eat. She seems chunky to me and eats regularly and well (she's a year old now and at least 125g) but maybe she's in a growth spurt? Savage!!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...98057e3135.jpg

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Love it! What a ferocious little beast!

Precious photo! I know it probably wasn't funny at the time but you just made me laugh, oops!

I'm scared beepless of them, lol. Harvey, her brother half bit my finger when he was little. I'm seriously contemplating a snake hook because the kebab skewers are starting to bend under their heft. I think 5' should about do it...Also, the blanket after she was quite finished:https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...11304666df.jpg

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I recently saw a few other posts too about hognoses randomly latching onto inedible things and deciding they're hungry! LOL

Well, they're not terribly "scary" snakes but you really (really!) do NOT want any rear-fanged snake to bite & hang onto you...not that ANY snake that hangs on
is going to be "fun" but hanging on is the way these little guys get their venom "to the job-site"; while their venom is usually of little consequence (unless you
are unusually susceptible), there was a photo here not too long ago (don't recall whose photo?) that showed a very swollen hand from such a bite.

I remember that post. That's why I'm (slightly) afraid of their bite. It's their unpredictability that gets me, like happy happy happy happy DEATHDEATH happy happy... I feel like feeding Irma is some sort of clandestine transaction. ("Leave the mouse in the mailbox then GET OFF MY PORCH!!")https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...75ecdff5ca.jpg

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Strange little snakes, for sure! And I have a hunch that you taste better than that blanket did, so be careful.

Really got a good hold on that blanket, maybe she’s telling you she is cold, lol.

Maybe cold...tired...hungry....satan's spawn...I was thinking about getting some gloves for when I handle them:https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...512b53ba53.jpg

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For curiosity's sake...why are you using a seperate feeding tub???

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

For curiosity's sake...why are you using a seperate feeding tub???

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Exactly...this is normal snake behavior (not just hoggies) when expecting food & why it's always better to feed "at home".

You should see my spotted python at feeding time, if you think THIS was a fright. :rolleyes: She's a whirling dervish of bites, she flings her head around w/ mouth-open, &
she even tries to bite her enclosure. Any other time, perfectly sweet & cuddly snake. :D But food makes her "mental"....

Veery dangerous noodle!

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Exactly...this is normal snake behavior (not just hoggies) when expecting food & why it's always better to feed "at home".

You should see my spotted python at feeding time, if you think THIS was a fright. :rolleyes: She's a whirling dervish of bites, she flings her head around w/ mouth-open, &
she even tries to bite her enclosure. Any other time, perfectly sweet & cuddly snake. :D But food makes her "mental"....

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Yup, same with my King. He's a madman at feeding time and will strike and miss several times some days. He's in a 4 foot enclosure and will launch himself halfway across it and miss the prey by a good few inches sometimes, hahaha.

Well, the original plan was to only take the top off to take a photo, but clearly it also needed to be feeding night! I have fed in a different tub so they didn't get bedding in their mouths, so they are used to being transferred and moved around since I don't hold them and it also gives me a good amount of time to clean their houses. If Irma continues to be this feisty I think she's big enough to handle ingested substrate now.

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Originally Posted by Tila

Well, the original plan was to only take the top off to take a photo, but clearly it also needed to be feeding night! I have fed in a different tub so they didn't get bedding in their mouths, so they are used to being transferred and moved around since I don't hold them and it also gives me a good amount of time to clean their houses. If Irma continues to be this feisty I think she's big enough to handle ingested substrate now.

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I've always fed all of my snakes in their enclosures and have never had a substrate issue.
If that's what works for you and your snakes, go for it. But in my experience there's literally zero benefit to a seperate feeding tub.