Are they all picky eaters?

I'm a newbie. Only had my BP 6 months now. He eats like a champ. He's really food aggressive, and has never missed a meal (of course, he's only 7 months old). He ate on Sunday night, and on Wednesday night made a mess so I decided to clean his tub. Before putting him back I held him for a short while, where he proceeded to cuddle up against my arm and start eating my wrist. He didn't strike...just started eating. I hadn't handled any feeders or my geckos, I actually just washed my hands. It was surprising because he never takes mice like that...he has to strike and wrap them....

I was wondering if maybe since he ate 3 days ago he was still kinda in "feed mode"? Or if maybe there are some BPs that just aren't picky eats and will take pretty much whatever you give them? I have no doubt he will switch to rats with ease....which is coming in 3 weeks...but I'm assuming this will all change when he hits maturity, correct? Or is it possible he just keeps on keeping on?

How much does he weigh? How long is he? What is his feeding schedule? What are you feeding him and how big is the food item?

Not picky enough, apparently? :rolleyes:

Maybe a diminished sense of smell* coupled with still hungry? *boxes checked for warm & wiggling, just not for scent.

But the good news is that hands & arms are VERY filling & you won't have to feed as often...:rofl: -Yes, I'm joking! :O

I think it just depends sometimes, assuming you're feeding appropriately sized prey. With some of my BP's, after they eat I don't see them again until it's time to eat again. I also have a few that come out to roam after about 3 nights. And another one that pops her head out looking awfully optimistic anytime I pass by her cage. All are growing and healthy. I'm not one to take chances with cage maintenance while the snake is still in its enclosure, though, at least for the ones still in smaller set ups. If I need to do anything more than fill up water, the snake gets removed.

Edited to add: Sorry, just reread and realized the snake was out when he tried to make a meal out of you. I've had that happen once, no striking or anything. Just chomping down on my hand and wrapping and not letting go. At the time that snake was getting rat pups and was fairly strike-happy for a while. Now that she's on weaned rats she has calmed down considerably.

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Originally Posted by JodanOrNoDan

How much does he weigh? How long is he? What is his feeding schedule? What are you feeding him and how big is the food item?

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He's 233 grams as of last night (figured Id put him on the scale since I was cleaning). Roughly 24 inches long

I feed him 2 small mice on Sunday. Mice weigh 10-14 grams individually, so he's getting somewhere between 20-28 grams per feeding. I only have 4 small mice left, and I'm switching to rats in 2 weeks.

He is light for 6 months. I'm betting he is just hungry and trying to grow. I would temporarily bump the feeding schedule up to every four or five days and get him on something that is at least as big around as he is. I have seen the "I am going to try to eat you behavior" before as well as "food aggression". I have only ever seen it in young babies and females that are plumping up to lay. It always means I need more food.

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Originally Posted by Andiamo

I'm a newbie. Only had my BP 6 months now. He eats like a champ. He's really food aggressive, and has never missed a meal (of course, he's only 7 months old). He ate on Sunday night, and on Wednesday night made a mess so I decided to clean his tub. Before putting him back I held him for a short while, where he proceeded to cuddle up against my arm and start eating my wrist. He didn't strike...just started eating. I hadn't handled any feeders or my geckos, I actually just washed my hands. It was surprising because he never takes mice like that...he has to strike and wrap them....

I was wondering if maybe since he ate 3 days ago he was still kinda in "feed mode"? Or if maybe there are some BPs that just aren't picky eats and will take pretty much whatever you give them? I have no doubt he will switch to rats with ease....which is coming in 3 weeks...but I'm assuming this will all change when he hits maturity, correct? Or is it possible he just keeps on keeping on?

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I’ve had Royals that fed better than any of my other snakes


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

He's now 13 months...has not missed a single meal. I open his tub 3 days after eating and he will raise the first 3rd of his body off the ground in the perfect coiled strike position and come right outta the tub...it looks like he wants to bite me in the face. I swear he acts more like a boa than a bp.

I switched over to small rats months ago. He's still super food aggressive, but he's fine once you tap him (I have to distract him with 1 hand and scoop with the other). Good news is that he's great when handling, and hasn't tried to make a meal of me since the last incident. And while it looks like he wants to bite me in the face, he actually has never once struck at my face...or even my hand for that matter. I hope he never changes. :D

I have two males that are two months away from being 2 years old. Neither one of them have ever missed a meal. Now I’m not going to be worried if they do later on in life, as it seems they tend to slow down the older they get.

I'm expecting that around the 2 year mark he will slow down...but part of me is hoping I just lucked out and got a good feeder.

I have a Leopard Gecko that eats like a water monitor as well. She eats all year round, and will only sorta slow down during ovulation. Whereas my other Leopard Gecko is notorious for going off food, once fasting for almost 5 months. Scared the living crap outta me. She has prepared me well for a BP.

I really don’t think my snakes know what a winter is here in Houston Texas, it’s summer all year long with a slightly cool day or two. Lol

welp...the last 2x I fed him he didn't strike. Looked very interested but just wouldn't bite. I just put the rat down in his tub and when I go back it's gone, so he's still never missed a meal, but he's definitely acting way outta character.

after the first time this happened I decided to give him 10 days in between feeding, but sure enough, he did the exact same thing when I feed him again.

I'm not sure if a hunger strike is coming or what? He's now 16 months and 1280 grams (right before a poop). Wondering if I should stay at 10 days or even drop back to 1x every 2 weeks. Currently feeding Small Rats

It sounds to me like he's getting "enough" to eat (& by that I mean probably too much), & I'd take the cue and slow down (space meals farther apart &/or feed smaller).

Also, many snakes do learn that their food is always dead & that they don't have to do battle with it so they can just eat it without the struggle. That's why it's dangerous
to switch a snake from eating f/t to eating live...their defenses will be down & they'll get injured) Some snakes never eat passively though, while most are "in-between"-
meaning they forcefully grab prey from tongs but stop short of a full constriction. Some snakes catch on to f/t so well they'll even eat calmly from your fingers, but I'm just bragging about my young rat snakes, lol. You'll be sorry if you try that with most snakes. ;)

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Originally Posted by Andiamo

I'm a newbie. Only had my BP 6 months now. He eats like a champ. He's really food aggressive, and has never missed a meal (of course, he's only 7 months old). He ate on Sunday night, and on Wednesday night made a mess so I decided to clean his tub. Before putting him back I held him for a short while, where he proceeded to cuddle up against my arm and start eating my wrist. He didn't strike...just started eating. I hadn't handled any feeders or my geckos, I actually just washed my hands. It was surprising because he never takes mice like that...he has to strike and wrap them....

I was wondering if maybe since he ate 3 days ago he was still kinda in "feed mode"? Or if maybe there are some BPs that just aren't picky eats and will take pretty much whatever you give them? I have no doubt he will switch to rats with ease....which is coming in 3 weeks...but I'm assuming this will all change when he hits maturity, correct? Or is it possible he just keeps on keeping on?

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Many of my best eaters over the years have been Royals !!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

the small rats I give him are between 40-69 grams (at least according to Layne Labs). That said, I have been feeding on a 7 day schedule.

I would agree that he's definitely slowing down...I'm just wondering if I should stay at 10 days or fall back to 2 weeks. He used to be the most aggressive eater, so it's very surprising to me that he's still eating, just not striking. Prior to these, he would absolutely slam the rats.

I guess he was slowing down because for the first time ever he turned down a meal...and this was after waiting a full 2 weeks.

I waited another 2 weeks and fed him last night and he took the rat pretty quickly.

I guess I'll just stick with a 1x per 2 week schedule and monitor his weight moving forward.