First Feeding and a Problem

This is my first feeding ever. I had Madeline post and you guys wanted to know how my first feeding went , so this is what happened: I thawed out my rat, then looked in my enclosure and my little guy was popping his head out his hide. I dangled the rodent, then he struck in about 5 seconds, being my first feeding I jumped because it surprised me, which caused him to miss. Right after though he struck again, hot, and wrapped around the rat. I watched for about a minute then left. I came back about 3 minutes later and he was starting to put it in his mouth. After about 20 seconds of watching him, he saw me, dropped the rat and started slithering to me [emoji37][emoji31]!! I left right after that, and barely peeked my head around the corner and the rat was still on the floor and he was just smelling all over and around it. I left right after that and haven’t gone back in. It’s been about 30 minutes since then and I’m not sure what to do. This is my first ball python and first feeding so I need some help. I hope he eats it!!


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Hopefully he’ll go back and finish his meal. Check on him in an hour or so. It sounds like he might be a shy feeder right now. Leave the feeder in overnight and see if he eats. If not, discard the prey item and try again in 7-10 days.

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

Hopefully he’ll go back and finish his meal. Sounds like he might be a shy feeder right now. Leave the feeder in overnight and see if he eats. If not, discard the prey item and try again in 7-10 days.

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Ok thanks, his tank is in my room, so should I just sleep somewhere else for tonight to not disturb him to guarantee best results?


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Don't worry! My girl was a super shy feeder at first too, and I'm jumpy so I scared her when she struck just like you did. What I would strongly suggest is what worked for my snake Miriam and me, which was just putting a blanket over the side of her tank so she couldn't see me. I still jumped (it takes a while to get used to how they strike), but it didn't scare her with that method. It just took her some time to get used to me, and it took me some time to get used to the strike so I wouldn't jump anymore. Don't beat yourself up over it, jumping is a natural thing to do. It sounds like your snake is pretty shy, so I'd recommend just keeping yourself as hidden as possible after he strikes. You might even want to leave his room completely after he gets it and leave him in low light.

Hopefully the fact that he looks like he's trying to find it is a good sign and he'll get it again - my Miriam never refuses a meal after she's struck it, at least. I'm wishing you all the best, I really hope he eats for you tonight!

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Originally Posted by arpowell

Don't worry! My girl was a super shy feeder at first too, and I'm jumpy so I scared her when she struck just like you did. What I would strongly suggest is what worked for my snake Miriam and me, which was just putting a blanket over the side of her tank so she couldn't see me. I still jumped (it takes a while to get used to how they strike), but it didn't scare her with that method. It just took her some time to get used to me, and it took me some time to get used to the strike so I wouldn't jump anymore. Don't beat yourself up over it, jumping is a natural thing to do. It sounds like your snake is pretty shy, so I'd recommend just keeping yourself as hidden as possible after he strikes. You might even want to leave his room completely after he gets it and leave him in low light.

Hopefully the fact that he looks like he's trying to find it is a good sign and he'll get it again - my Miriam never refuses a meal after she's struck it, at least. I'm wishing you all the best, I really hope he eats for you tonight!

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Thanks so so much! Glad to hear what you had to say. He doesn’t seem to be shy when he’s about to strike, it just seems to be when he is eating. I know over time I’ll get used to the strike, but he still quickly struck soon after. For now on, I’ll leave and turn the lights off for at least an hour after he strikes. I’ll check in about thirty minutes to see if he ate and put an update. Thanks again! [emoji4]


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UPDATE: I just checked back on him and I don’t see the rodent anymore! He’s back in his hide with his head popped out again, so I can’t see if there’s a lump inside. Is it possible he moved the rat somewhere else or if I don’t see it where it was does that mean he ate it?


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Originally Posted by EthanMG

UPDATE: I just checked back on him and I don’t see the rodent anymore! He’s back in his hide with his head popped out again, so I can’t see if there’s a lump inside. Is it possible he moved the rat somewhere else or if I don’t see it where it was does that mean he ate it?


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Sounds promising! My thought is definitely that he's eaten it if you don't see it. I don't know many snakes who will push rodents all over the place, so that sounds like good news. You might want to have a better look around his tank if you'd like to right now, if only for your own peace of mind so you know he's eaten, but if the rat's not where you left it, it's probably become dinner.

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Originally Posted by arpowell

Sounds promising! My thought is definitely that he's eaten it if you don't see it. I don't know many snakes who will push rodents all over the place, so that sounds like good news. You might want to have a better look around his tank if you'd like to right now, if only for your own peace of mind so you know he's eaten, but if the rat's not where you left it, it's probably become dinner.

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He’s in his hide still. I can’t see much of hos enclosure because of all the clutter I put, and I don’t want to open the enclosure or move anything to stress him out because of regurgitation and blow the chance of him eating if he had not yet. I’m going to see if he’s out in the next hour or two. I’m leaving the lights off for now on hopes he comes out. Thanks for helping me out it means a lot! Glad that he most likely ate!


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It sounds like he ate! Congratulations may be in order!! You can look around his cage tomorrow. Going forward if he’s in your room you’ll probably have to dim the lights and steer clear until after he eats at least until he’s well established. Eventually your presence won’t bother him. I have 11 snakes and I don’t think they could care less if I’m in the room. I still watch them eat sometimes. It’s still fascinating to me even though I’ve seen it a thousand times. Congratulations again!!

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Originally Posted by EthanMG

He’s in his hide still. I can’t see much of hos enclosure because of all the clutter I put, and I don’t want to open the enclosure or move anything to stress him out because of regurgitation and blow the chance of him eating if he had not yet. I’m going to see if he’s out in the next hour or two. I’m leaving the lights off for now on hopes he comes out. Thanks for helping me out it means a lot! Glad that he most likely ate!


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You can just wait .. if it is lying around somewhere you will smell it in a day or so :)


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Well, I guess he ate! Im so happy! I lifted his hide to check, and I don’t see it. Only thing is I don’t see a lump in him. Is there supposed to be one?the picture below is the picture of him when I just lifted the hide and the other picture is right after I unboxed him a week ago to compare for a lump. Not really sure if you’re even supposed to see a lump…?https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...3e84009794.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...00130c884a.jpg


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Yeah!! Glad he ate for you. Don't worry about looking for a lump, it all depends on the prey size if its really noticeable.. Plus right now he is coiled and it will be harder to tell..

You will eventually get used to the strike, the 1st time is always the hardest cause you don't expect it to be so fast.. Seems all went well with the 1st feeding other than he seems to be shy eating... With time that will probably change, one of mine always drags her prey back into her hide to eat. The rest could care less that someone is staring at them...

Looks like he ate, congratulations! Totally agree that the first time is the hardest, and you actually got luckier than me - my girl was so shy it took her almost a month to eat for me, but now she's practically a garbage disposal. Very pleased for you, I know that must be a huge relief.

Don't worry about not seeing a lump, I really only notice one right after my girl's eaten. Unless you fed him something quite large for him I wouldn't be concerned.

(Also, wow, he's a beautiful snake!)

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Originally Posted by arpowell

Looks like he ate, congratulations! Totally agree that the first time is the hardest, and you actually got luckier than me - my girl was so shy it took her almost a month to eat for me, but now she's practically a garbage disposal. Very pleased for you, I know that must be a huge relief.

Don't worry about not seeing a lump, I really only notice one right after my girl's eaten. Unless you fed him something quite large for him I wouldn't be concerned.

(Also, wow, he's a beautiful snake!)

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Thanks!! It is a huge relief. He’s an enchi bamboo 50% het pied. I know, I love his colors and patterns, very handsome boy. [emoji4]


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Originally Posted by EthanMG

...He doesn’t seem to be shy when he’s about to strike, it just seems to be when he is eating...

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With practice you'll get better at not jumping when your snake strikes, but it's pretty normal.

The BIG thing to remember is that while our snakes are "predators", they too have predators to worry about in nature, and THEY are at risk when they're busy trying to swallow prey. That's why your snake is "shyer" about you watching him eat- it's instinctive, & they'd rather lose the meal they just caught than become a meal themselves for something else that's watching them. ;)

In time, most of our pets learn to feel safe with us around (even when they're eating) but right now it might help to dim the room lights & be as "invisible" as you can; you might also cover his home with a towel, or temporarily tape up some paper on the sides (just newspaper or anything) so he cannot see you while he's trying to eat.

Congrats on getting the first meal into him now- with any luck, it will get easier. :snake: Before you know it, you'll be "thinking like a snake" & you'll understand him much better. :snake:

And by the way, some snakes (like some of mine) get distracted by me (my motion, nearby) when I feed them too, but it's because they think I'm something to be CHASED as PREY! :rofl: So "count your blessings" as they say. LOL

One down, 999 to go! Keep up the good work. 😀

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Originally Posted by EthanMG

This is my first feeding ever. I had Madeline post and you guys wanted to know how my first feeding went , so this is what happened: I thawed out my rat, then looked in my enclosure and my little guy was popping his head out his hide. I dangled the rodent, then he struck in about 5 seconds, being my first feeding I jumped because it surprised me, which caused him to miss. Right after though he struck again, hot, and wrapped around the rat. I watched for about a minute then left. I came back about 3 minutes later and he was starting to put it in his mouth. After about 20 seconds of watching him, he saw me, dropped the rat and started slithering to me [emoji37][emoji31]!! I left right after that, and barely peeked my head around the corner and the rat was still on the floor and he was just smelling all over and around it. I left right after that and haven’t gone back in. It’s been about 30 minutes since then and I’m not sure what to do. This is my first ball python and first feeding so I need some help. I hope he eats it!!


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BTW, what I would have tried under the circumstances: after you watched briefly to see if he'd pick it up & he didn't, I'd have retrieved the rat using tongs, warmed it (probably with a blow-dryer) & re-offered it via feeding tongs. What went wrong there, besides the distraction, is that the rat cooled off. BPs rely heavily on their heat sensing pits to find & pounce on their prey- they get confused if they drop it & it cools off- they can still smell it, but may fail to find it & eat.

Re-warming the prey can often help. No guarantee, of course, some snakes will just be intimidated by your presence, but that's what I'd have at least tried, rather than leaving it in his home overnight. (Leaving it works okay for some snakes that rely on scent, but BPs rely more on warmth & "signs of life".)

The fact that your BP was slithering toward you suggests to me that he's not as shy as you think, & that he was after your motion as the potential prey he just "lost". If you had just reached in to retrieve the rat right then, you'd likely have found out what a BP-bite feels like- it sounds like he shouldn't be too hard to feed, once you both get on the same page. ;)

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

And by the way, some snakes (like some of mine) get distracted by me (my motion, nearby) when I feed them too, but it's because they think I'm something to be CHASED as PREY! :rofl: So "count your blessings" as they say. LOL

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Mine got spooked by the feeder laying there Friday. Stuck his head and neck out of the hide, turned, saw the feeder laying there and shot back in the hide. First refusal I've had with him lol. It worked out well though because he's in blue as of today and prefer him not to have a rat in the belly when he's in shed, plus I had a good laugh at his reaction.

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Originally Posted by Hugsplox

Mine got spooked by the feeder laying there Friday. Stuck his head and neck out of the hide, turned, saw the feeder laying there and shot back in the hide. First refusal I've had with him lol. It worked out well though because he's in blue as of today and prefer him not to have a rat in the belly when he's in shed, plus I had a good laugh at his reaction.

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Silly sneks! :D You're right though, when they're in shed (or even just going into shed & before it's even noticeable to us) they often react with fear :O to the prey we offer them.
Most snakes are not the "tough & relentless killers" that the general public thinks they are, that's for sure. And yours going "EEEK! A Rat!" sure proves that point. :rofl:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

BTW, what I would have tried under the circumstances: after you watched briefly to see if he'd pick it up & he didn't, I'd have retrieved the rat using tongs, warmed it (probably with a blow-dryer) & re-offered it via feeding tongs. What went wrong there, besides the distraction, is that the rat cooled off. BPs rely heavily on their heat sensing pits to find & pounce on their prey- they get confused if they drop it & it cools off- they can still smell it, but may fail to find it & eat.

Re-warming the prey can often help. No guarantee, of course, some snakes will just be intimidated by your presence, but that's what I'd have at least tried, rather than leaving it in his home overnight. (Leaving it works okay for some snakes that rely on scent, but BPs rely more on warmth & "signs of life".)

The fact that your BP was slithering toward you suggests to me that he's not as shy as you think, & that he was after your motion as the potential prey he just "lost". If you had just reached in to retrieve the rat right then, you'd likely have found out what a BP-bite feels like- it sounds like he shouldn't be too hard to feed, once you both get on the same page. ;)

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Thanks for your thorough responses, very helpful! So you’re saying if this happens in the future where I see he can’t find the rodent after leaving him for some time, to still go in and re heat it even like you said I have a high chance of taking a feeding response bite? He was locked onto me and head cocked back about to strike the glass last night when he saw me and dropped his rat. Not sure I’d be able to go in there and get his rat from him without him launching himself at me. Have you ever done this, and should I have just waited until he moved away from the rat to take it out and re heat?


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Originally Posted by EthanMG

Thanks for your thorough responses, very helpful! So you’re saying if this happens in the future where I see he can’t find the rodent after leaving him for some time, to still go in and re heat it even like you said I have a high chance of taking a feeding response bite? He was locked onto me and head cocked back about to strike the glass last night when he saw me and dropped his rat. Not sure I’d be able to go in there and get his rat from him without him launching himself at me. Have you ever done this, and should I have just waited until he moved away from the rat to take it out and re heat?


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Use feeding tongs, & if needed, use a cardboard box lid (for example) to block him from biting you. This is a BP, not a charging rhinoceros. Get some 18" non-locking hemostats, or use some long, blunt ended BBQ tongs. Yes, you can wait a little while until he calms down & loses interest, but the delay makes it more likely he'll lose interest in food too.

"Have I ever done this?" Yes, for many many years & keeping many kinds & sizes of snakes, lol. And I don't like bites any more than you do. I also practice the "art of distraction" pretty well- if he's following your motion, let him follow the hand that's not doing the retrieving. This is a matter of practice & experience, trust me I'm not trying to get you "eaten" by a BP, lol. Estimate his "reach"- a little more than half a snake's body length, & stay out of his reach. Or put something between him & your reaching hand. Multiple ways to do this- you'll get this. ;)

If you think this guy is challenging, you should have met my 7.5' boa (BCI) at meal time. I had trouble opening her enclosure to get the food in- she always KNEW when food was on the way, & she was "loaded for bear" & aiming at me the whole time.

The visage of a snake being grotesquely swollen with prey isn't necessarily accurate the majority of the time, at least as far as we're concerned as keepers. Especially when it comes to young snakes that we have to carefully gauge prey size with so they can safely swallow and digest. And even if there is a visible lump it doesn't take terribly long to get broken down. Those stomach acids have to dissolve an entire body after all.

And to add to Boger's point about how vulnerable snakes feel during feeding, put this into perspective. What are a snake's two best ways of defense? Fleeing and/or biting. The act of eating severely hinders both options so it's an extremely compromising position for any snake to be in. When you jumped after his strike (which is understandable considering how slow BPs tend to move at any other time) that spooked him and made him feel very unsafe. In his mind, there's a big scary predator about, it's too risky to try and eat.

But as also pointed out, it will get better with time. He will learn that you aren't a big scary predator and will grow comfortable with your presence. You both simply had a little road bump is all. ;)

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Use feeding tongs, & if needed, use a cardboard box lid (for example) to block him from biting you. This is a BP, not a charging rhinoceros. Get some 18" non-locking hemostats, or use some long, blunt ended BBQ tongs. Yes, you can wait a little while until he calms down & loses interest, but the delay makes it more likely he'll lose interest in food too.

"Have I ever done this?" Yes, for many many years & keeping many kinds & sizes of snakes, lol. And I don't like bites any more than you do. I also practice the "art of distraction" pretty well- if he's following your motion, let him follow the hand that's not doing the retrieving. This is a matter of practice & experience, trust me I'm not trying to get you "eaten" by a BP, lol. Estimate his "reach"- a little more than half a snake's body length, & stay out of his reach. Or put something between him & your reaching hand. Multiple ways to do this- you'll get this. ;)

If you think this guy is challenging, you should have met my 7.5' boa (BCI) at meal time. I had trouble opening her enclosure to get the food in- she always KNEW when food was on the way, & she was "loaded for bear" & aiming at me the whole time.

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Lol thanks [emoji23] “charging rhinoceros” lmao[emoji23]! I was laughing while reading your response. I know he’s just a little baby BP, I couldn’t imagine feeding a boa. I’m kind of scared of them because they can be unpredictable and whip around. Definitely sticking to ball pythons for now. Thanks for explaining how to do it. I’ll definitely do this next time if it ever happens again [emoji3]


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It’s great he ate !!

I haven’t read through the recent posts but ... I’d feed over a piece of card to minimise the chance of ingesting substrate.

Also feed in the evenings, low /dim light .

I find it best to wait until they’re settled UNDER a hide then a quick blast with a hairdryer and dangle it whisked it’s still warm in front of the hide entrance.

Don’t blink


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Originally Posted by EthanMG

Lol thanks [emoji23] “charging rhinoceros” lmao[emoji23]! I was laughing while reading your response. I know he’s just a little baby BP, I couldn’t imagine feeding a boa. I’m kind of scared of them because they can be unpredictable and whip around. Definitely sticking to ball pythons for now. Thanks for explaining how to do it. I’ll definitely do this next time if it ever happens again [emoji3]


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Yes, I was laughing too. :D But no joke, you don't want a "feeding bite" from a snake, as they tend to hang on & wrap on you- some snakes can be very determined once they "catch something", lol.

BTW I currently have 7' rat snakes that are quite fast at grabbing food too. Keeps my reflexes in good shape. ;) But with them, I can "tell them NO" with a little spritz of clean water mist to their face so they know it's me & not "incoming prey", whereas that might be too much for a baby BP- BPs are much shyer snakes & you don't want to scare them. Honestly, nothing could scare my rat snakes, & they'll happily drink from a water spray. :rofl: They're fun snakes, with great appetites.

Zincubus brought up a good point too, when feeding f/t rodents, it's best to offer with cardboard for a "plate" underneath if you can, to minimize the chance of your :snake: swallowing substrate.

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Originally Posted by Snagrio

The visage of a snake being grotesquely swollen with prey isn't necessarily accurate the majority of the time, at least as far as we're concerned as keepers. Especially when it comes to young snakes that we have to carefully gauge prey size with so they can safely swallow and digest. And even if there is a visible lump it doesn't take terribly long to get broken down. Those stomach acids have to dissolve an entire body after all.

And to add to Boger's point about how vulnerable snakes feel during feeding, put this into perspective. What are a snake's two best ways of defense? Fleeing and/or biting. The act of eating severely hinders both options so it's an extremely compromising position for any snake to be in. When you jumped after his strike (which is understandable considering how slow BPs tend to move at any other time) that spooked him and made him feel very unsafe. In his mind, there's a big scary predator about, it's too risky to try and eat.

But as also pointed out, it will get better with time. He will learn that you aren't a big scary predator and will grow comfortable with your presence. You both simply had a little road bump is all. ;)

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Very well said, thanks so much!!


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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Yes, I was laughing too. :D But no joke, you don't want a "feeding bite" from a snake, as they tend to hang on & wrap on you- some snakes can be very determined once they "catch something", lol.

BTW I currently have 7' rat snakes that are quite fast at grabbing food too. Keeps my reflexes in good shape. ;) But with them, I can "tell them NO" with a little spritz of clean water mist to their face so they know it's me & not "incoming prey", whereas that might be too much for a baby BP- BPs are much shyer snakes & you don't want to scare them. Honestly, nothing could scare my rat snakes, & they'll happily drink from a water spray. :rofl: They're fun snakes, with great appetites.

Zincubus brought up a good point too, when feeding f/t rodents, it's best to offer with cardboard for a "plate" underneath if you can, to minimize the chance of your :snake: swallowing substrate.

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Mmm

With my King / Rat snakes I don’t offer with tongs as my nerves can’t take it :)

I just place the warmed rat / mouse on a piece of bark or card and get out of the way sharpish :)


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Originally Posted by Zincubus

It’s great he ate !!

I haven’t read through the recent posts but ... I’d feed over a piece of card to minimise the chance of ingesting substrate.

Also feed in the evenings, low /dim light .

I find it best to wait until they’re settled UNDER a hide then a quick blast with a hairdryer and dangle it whisked it’s still warm in front of the hide entrance.

Don’t blink


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Is it necessary to put something under if the rat isn’t wet? Also, most have said it didn’t matter where he is when you feed, but he’ll most likely be in his hide when I do. Thanks [emoji3]


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