Has your snake (any kind) ever fished a f/t rodent out of a bowl of water?

I have to post about this- as I've been feeding many snakes & many kinds for many years, but I've never seen one that managed to fish out their f/t prey after they accidentally dropped it into their bowl of water. Normally, they just lose interest, but today, one of my Trans Pecos rat snakes did just that.

I had fed him a small f/t mouse & had just offered him a second one- he was up on his branches & accepting food from my tongs when suddenly the second one slipped from his mouth (he doesn't wrap dead prey- he just eats it politely from tongs). Plop, right into the water bowl.

I watched to see what he'd do, because he kept staring at it, & soon he was nosing it in the water. It didn't sink, so maybe that would have made the difference?

But still I think this is remarkable, because this is a DESERT snake- not many bodies of water around where they evolved. They do have good vision though, & have always seemed to me to be fairly smart as snakes go. But I was still amazed when he ate this mouse out of his water bowl. In the past, I've always had to fish them out myself for all kinds of snakes, many of which were from environments known for more bodies of water. I think I'll let Mitali* go fishing more often? :D

Guess what? After eating the second mouse, he went into his hide, but now he's back out, waiting by his water bowl, just above it! No kidding! I love these snakes, & it's obvious they can learn.

*Mitali- Hindu for "friend" He's 15 years old, & 5' long, by the way...so snakes are never too old to learn new things, eh? :snake:

Funny. My BP dropped her rat in the water bowl a few nights ago.

I left the room reminding myself to retrieve and dispose of it in the morning (I always leave it overnight just in case). For the first time ever, the rat was gone. Normally she refuses to eat unless everything goes absolutely perfectly.

Must be something in the water! (sorry)

By the way, this rodent was f/t in cool water, & not heated in any way. Besides, Trans Pecos have no heat sensing pits. And with the scent mostly covered by the water, he was clearly using vision to follow his almost-lost lunch.

Hey, Homebody- see if your little python will do this? You're always testing him with new things anyway.

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Originally Posted by MrMoyb

Funny. My BP dropped her rat in the water bowl a few nights ago.

I left the room reminding myself to retrieve and dispose of it in the morning (I always leave it overnight just in case). For the first time ever, the rat was gone. Normally she refuses to eat unless everything goes absolutely perfectly.

Must be something in the water! (sorry)

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That's amazing! BPs are known for insisting on prey warmth...maybe they've just messing with y'all? Making you drag out hair-dryers & all, to warm up their meals? ;)

My dwarf Retics are a huge learning curve for me right now after having colubrids for a bit and then all ball pythons.

The female decided to wrap her rat and drop it in the water dish after. Took her a little bit but fished it out on her own. No problems at all. She definitely knew what she was looking for.

They also both took room temp chicken hearts with no problems at all, so now I just need to figure out the best way to present it.... Which is most likely going to be a bowl to keep them easy to find and away from substrate.

Gonna try some other chicken cuts from leftovers maybe. I usually have some when prepping for my dog's specialty diet.
Might try some other critter meat too.

For BPs, I've only had one eat a soaking wet rat from the bowl and that was because they wrapped it there and didn't drop it. Any others I've had are super picky on it and leave it until I fish it out and try again

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Originally Posted by Armiyana

My dwarf Retics are a huge learning curve for me right now after having colubrids for a bit and then all ball pythons.

The female decided to wrap her rat and drop it in the water dish after. Took her a little bit but fished it out on her own. No problems at all. She definitely knew what she was looking for.

They also both took room temp chicken hearts with no problems at all, so now I just need to figure out the best way to present it.... Which is most likely going to be a bowl to keep them easy to find and away from substrate.

Gonna try some other chicken cuts from leftovers maybe. I usually have some when prepping for my dog's specialty diet.
Might try some other critter meat too.

For BPs, I've only had one eat a soaking wet rat from the bowl and that was because they wrapped it there and didn't drop it. Any others I've had are super picky on it and leave it until I fish it out and try again

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I can totally picture retics (dwarf or otherwise) & things like anacondas (that love water) & probably boas (but not desert rosy boas) will be pretty good at "fishing". And certainly garter snakes will go "fishing". Also that your dwarf retics are QUITE a change from the others you've kept- :D

I've had various kinds of snakes that wrapped prey & ended up (prey & snake together) in the water bowl that kept going & ate their prey soaking wet because they never let go of it. But I was very impressed today that my big-eyed desert rat snake saw exactly what to do, since I've seen so many other snakes just lose all interest once prey ends up dropped in the water bowl- only eating it once I retrieve it with tongs & re-offer it. (& I'm a long time keeper of various rat snakes & also kings & pituophis-family, etc.)

I'll admit though, having seen my share of "failures to fish", that I usually just grab my tongs & take over- so in hindsight, perhaps I didn't give all of them enough time to pass or fail the test? Anyway, Mitali made my day. :snake: Especially when I saw him come back out for another look in his water bowl. :rofl: I can guarantee that I'm going to throw a mouse in on purpose in the future & see how well he remembers his new skill.

Funny this came up. Mine hasn't ever dropped his rat in the water dish but twice after grabbing it from the tweezers he put his whole head with the rat in the water dish. I dont think it was intentional. He still gobbled them down.

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Originally Posted by mistergreen

Funny this came up. Mine hasn't ever dropped his rat in the water dish but twice after grabbing it from the tweezers he put his whole head with the rat in the water dish. I dont think it was intentional. He still gobbled them down.

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That's odd. Maybe he was washing his food? :D Or just thirsty...a little water helps to wash it down. Silly snakes...

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

By the way, this rodent was f/t in cool water, & not heated in any way. Besides, Trans Pecos have no heat sensing pits. And with the scent mostly covered by the water, he was clearly using vision to follow his almost-lost lunch.

Hey, Homebody- see if your little python will do this? You're always testing him with new things anyway.

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Surely, my eyes deceive. An original personal post from Boger! I do declare! What's next? Pictures? ;)

A foraging exercise? I've got a pretty good idea how that would go. I've tried it. Wiggles would find it almost immediately and, unless he was very hungry, ignore it. Children's pythons aren't natural foragers. In the wild, they will eat carrion if they come across it, but snakes in the wild get a lot hungrier than our pets do.

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Originally Posted by Homebody

...A foraging exercise? I've got a pretty good idea how that would go. I've tried it. Wiggles would find it almost immediately and, unless he was very hungry, ignore it. Children's pythons aren't natural foragers. In the wild, they will eat carrion if they come across it, but snakes in the wild get a lot hungrier than our pets do.

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No, it's not exactly "foraging". Try showing him the food when he's hungry & ready to grab it, then drop it in the water bowl near him (assuming that he won't drop it there on his own like my TP did), & see if he sees & goes after the food in the water. ;) It's about being able to recognize it even when the scent is covered up by water, & it's not being wiggled for attention.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

No, it's not exactly "foraging". Try showing him the food when he's hungry & ready to grab it, then drop it in the water bowl near him (assuming that he won't drop it there on his own like my TP did), & see if he sees & goes after the food in the water. ;) It's about being able to recognize it even when the scent is covered up by water, & it's not being wiggled for attention.

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Fair. It'll still be obviously dead though. It might work with a mouse. Reptilinks are a tougher sell. I'll try it and let you know how it goes.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I have to post about this- as I've been feeding many snakes & many kinds for many years, but I've never seen one that managed to fish out their f/t prey after they accidentally dropped it into their bowl of water. Normally, they just lose interest, but today, one of my Trans Pecos rat snakes did just that.

I had fed him a small f/t mouse & had just offered him a second one- he was up on his branches & accepting food from my tongs when suddenly the second one slipped from his mouth (he doesn't wrap dead prey- he just eats it politely from tongs). Plop, right into the water bowl.

I watched to see what he'd do, because he kept staring at it, & soon he was nosing it in the water. It didn't sink, so maybe that would have made the difference?

But still I think this is remarkable, because this is a DESERT snake- not many bodies of water around where they evolved. They do have good vision though, & have always seemed to me to be fairly smart as snakes go. But I was still amazed when he ate this mouse out of his water bowl. In the past, I've always had to fish them out myself for all kinds of snakes, many of which were from environments known for more bodies of water. I think I'll let Mitali* go fishing more often? :D

Guess what? After eating the second mouse, he went into his hide, but now he's back out, waiting by his water bowl, just above it! No kidding! I love these snakes, & it's obvious they can learn.

*Mitali- Hindu for "friend" He's 15 years old, & 5' long, by the way...so snakes are never too old to learn new things, eh? :snake:

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Absolutely yes. Almost every one of mine has.

https://i.imgur.com/y28QtdH.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/1evF3Jo.jpg

The Bredli, which is a desert species seems to be a pro. Although there are watercourse areas in their habitat, they are not full year round.



https://i.imgur.com/9UGro1Q.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/giYdZEW.jpg



This typically happens right after I change their waters out for fresh.

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Originally Posted by Gio

Absolutely yes. Almost every one of mine has....The Bredli, which is a desert species seems to be a pro. Although there are watercourse areas in their habitat, they are not full year round.....This typically happens right after I change their waters out for fresh.

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:gj: You have some talented snakes there! Isn't it odd that even some desert species are good at this? Maybe it has more to do with their overall skills & vision. It's like when you train some dogs, & put an item under something else, some catch on & search for it, but to others, it's just "gone". And I know exactly what you mean about them polluting their water bowls right after they've been changed. Mine do that too. :D Snakes! :rolleyes:

I don’t have pictures but my experiences echo Gio’s. Most of my snakes, the boas, colubrids, and pythons, have eaten their meals after they, or I, dropped it in their water bowls.

BTW- It’s great to see you Gio! Your critters look amazing as always!!

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

I don’t have pictures but my experiences echo Gio’s. Most of my snakes, the boas, colubrids, and pythons, have eaten their meals after they, or I, dropped it in their water bowls.

BTW- It’s great to see you Gio! Your critters look amazing as always!!

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Zig,,,,

I feel the same. I am really happy to see and Richard popping up here lately.

Boger has been keeping things going as a mod. Good job!

JM pops in rarely but we are in touch by text often.

This board has been running longer than any snake board I've ever joined which is pretty cool.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the Royal doing the same but she has as well.

All is well here and nothing new as far as new critters.

Everybody is growing still and the Royal will be 13 years old and the boa will be 12 this summer.

Apologies for the semi derail. I'm happy to see Zig and Daski and Richard.

I may have to find another photo place other than Imgur as I can't seem to post what I load there. All of these photos are old.

Again, another derail but worth it to say hello!

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

But still I think this is remarkable, because this is a DESERT snake- not many bodies of water around where they evolved.

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as a current resident of their natural range, I can confirm this statement.




sorta on topic, today my BP "played with" his food unlike I've ever seen him do before.
f/t adult mouse. he attacked it with malice in his heart (like he almost always does).
squeezed him a lot longer than normal.

then drug him around his habitat. dropping him, then snooping around. pick him up and move him again.
position him into perfect eating position, then just carried and dropped him. tried bring him into his favorite hide. then dragged him back out.
at one point it even looked like he going to try to bury it like a dog would a bone.

he did this for a good 30 minutes before periscoping, taking a glance around, then eating him.

My pythons and boas pretty regularly dunk prey in the water bowl during the grab/wrap phase. No biggie, just pick up the ball of snake and set it on the enclosure floor.

OTOH my rattlesnake hit a rat once and the rat managed to climb into the water bowl before expiring. Mr. Buzz Butt couldn't find it. That was not fun.

Again, & just to be clear, I'm not talking about snakes that hang onto their prey & dunk it in the water...yes, that happens. I was asking about snakes that completely drop their prey into the water (lose contact totally) & then proceed to fish it out- apparently by using visual cues only, since water pretty much covers the scent.

Either way though, our snakes get a bit creative, don't they? :D

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Again, & just to be clear, I'm not talking about snakes that hang onto their prey & dunk it in the water...yes, that happens. I was asking about snakes that completely drop their prey into the water (lose contact totally) & then proceed to fish it out- apparently by using visual cues only, since water pretty much covers the scent.

Either way though, our snakes get a bit creative, don't they? :D

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I had Rhinoceros ratsnake that struck from the branches and took it straight underwater and ate it there !!

I have mentioned it in this very forum and posted photos .


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Originally Posted by Zincubus

I had Rhinoceros ratsnake that struck from the branches and took it straight underwater and ate it there !!

I have mentioned it in this very forum and posted photos .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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But again, that's not what I was asking. You said he "took it straight underwater..." meaning he struck & did not let go of it. I am asking about snakes that totally drop their prey into the water, losing contact completely, but still manage to find it (visually) & eat it.

It is funny this thread started recently. Last feed, Shayna, my BP, dropper F/T rat in her water bowl after striking and coiling it. I feed 7 snakes, so I did not see her drop it, but checked on her about 20 minutes later and she was frustrated and looking at the area, but not getting the rat out. 20 minutes later, the same. I took it out and she had no interest.

I offered another F/T rat and she took it at ate it immediately. That rat was warmed.

Maybe it depends on the snake? Both individual and species.

Shayna was pretty frustrated but did not seem equipped for problem solving. I also cut her some slack because the her het pits weren't exactly going crazy with the rat in a water dish on the cool side of her tank.

I imagine my boas would not care. Having said that, they will not strike the F/T prey if I leave it in the tank. I've tried as an experiment. They need it moving. I have to feed on the tongs. It doesn't take much for them to strike. However, I have had Behira (female BI) stare at a F/T rat for hours. I move it an inch and she's on it. If they had struck and coiled and then dropped it I imagine they would go after it. I would hope so! I wouldn't want to fish that rat out with them in food mode!

BTW - Also nice to see some friendly faces on here. Gio - I appreciate the call out. I have been absent for a while. I'm glad to be back. No promises, but I'll do my best. Life can get in the way though!

dakski- That's what I was getting at, that it mostly depends on the species. I'm not surprised your BP lost interest, since BPs depend mostly on their heat sensing pits, & motion. This just illustrates how differently the various species react- & how much (or how little) they use their vision. It's also why you can drop-feed some snakes & not others...some really go by scent, others not as much. Water covers a lot of the scent, so if you ever have to fish out dropped prey, it's best to dry it off on a paper towel before re-offering. You can also pinch-damage the nose to release a bit more scent that the water rinsed away, & depending on the species, you might need to re-warm it too.

I've had other snakes drop prey in the water bowl & lose interest, as if they thought it had scampered away? :D And most of the time, I haven't waited to see if they finally find it- I just fish it out & re-offer, but I got such a kick out of watching my Trans Pecos, because he never stopped staring intently at the mouse in the water bowl, & after a minute or so, he successfully pursued it- and like I said, he's a desert species, so I gave him a "gold star" for that. :cool: These (TPs) have large eyes & excellent vision- they don't much care if prey is warm or cool- & mine generally eat from tongs- with a little wiggle of the prey. Fishing was a whole new "skill" for him-:snake: And just for kicks, I'll try it again (deliberately) in about a week.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

But again, that's not what I was asking. You said he "took it straight underwater..." meaning he struck & did not let go of it. I am asking about snakes that totally drop their prey into the water, losing contact completely, but still manage to find it (visually) & eat it.

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Ok


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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

But again, that's not what I was asking. You said he "took it straight underwater..." meaning he struck & did not let go of it. I am asking about snakes that totally drop their prey into the water, losing contact completely, but still manage to find it (visually) & eat it.

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That won’t happen to many Royal pythons that’s for sure


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Originally Posted by Zincubus

That won’t happen to many Royal pythons that’s for sure


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I agree, I would not expect a BP to do this. Which is why I asked about "any kind" of snakes...many kinds other than BPs are kept by members here. And by discussing this, it also helps illustrate the differences among snakes for those who have only known BPs so far. I think that's why I've enjoyed so many years of keeping snakes- because they're NOT all the same.