Moggie's eyes are bigger than her stomach

Yes, yes. I swear I saw a picture of a couple monitors tearing apart a big rat to eat it. I figured, well.. ok. One of my breeder rats had died and I gave it over to her, figuring she would get to tear it apart, enjoying eating and tearing it up.
Nooo, Moggie decides she is going to swallow it whole, DESPITE it being as large as her BODY. I took it by the tail, and she spat it back out, she had the head and shoulders down. She was grumpy about me taking her rat too. I cut the forequarters off and gave that to her, which she gulped down.
Don't they tear apart prey? Or is it only appropiate size prey?
I was going to stand right there to see if she tore at it, or tried swallowing it. Good thing. I'm not sure what she would have done.
Wolfy

What type of Monitor? Mine is the same way, she swallows everything..after thrashing it about a few times. (Nile) :chew: Why don't they chew?

you shouldnt have made her regurgitate(= unnecessary stress). she could have ate it whole. she knows what she can and cannot handle.

no, monitors dont thrash their prey if it's big enough for them to swallow whole.

Both Of Mine Bite And Slam There Food On The Ground For About 15 Seconds Befor Eating It. Maby Different Species Act Different.

You should NOT have made it regurge it... That is going to stress her out BADLY...

If it was to big for her she wouldnt have attempted to eat it.. they are smart enough to know what is too big and what isnt..

But what if the monitor was in feed mode gulped and didn't realize the rat was as big as it was. Then when he tried to spat it out it got stuck? I have seen the results of a 6ft boa try and swallow a large rat, and got the nose stuck in his glottis he then couldn't spat it out, ended up sufficating/chocking on it. I was called to take a look. If an animal has never had experience with really large prey, particularly because the owner never offered anything quite that big, he would expect whatever is offered is consumable, true or not? That is my thinking is all, any opinions??


wildlifewarrior

She wasn't choking. She also wasn't stressed, I didn't make her "regurge" it. I pulled just the head and shoulders out, more or less out of her mouth. Moggie is totally fine, and ate the piece of rat a few minutes later, and also ate 40 crickets later when I offered them.
She is a black throat monitor for whoever asked.
There is NO way she could have swallowed a rat the size of her entire body. She probaly would have coughed it back up when she got to a stage that it was uncomfortable, but I didn't want to wait for it to get stuck to act.
Wolfy

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Originally Posted by mr~python

she could have ate it whole. she knows what she can and cannot handle.

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People please listen to what she is saying. The rat was the size of her monitors body. THE BODY! Thats like me trying to eat something the size of my body. The stomach of the monitor just couldn't fit the size of its own body in it (like the rat) and with some snakes, they just gulp down the food without realizing the food is just way too big. If my snake had trouble eating his large rats per feeding I would ofcourse pull the food out even if he got stressed. That would be the risk to take so my animal wouldnt suffocate to death! She did the right thing to take the food out, especailly when she thought the monitor was going to tear the rat up not swallow whole or she probably would have offered a better size meal suitable for the size of monitor. And ofcourse I would wait a bit to see if my snake is ok, and if he showed signs of hunger I'd then feed him.

actually, depending on what she means by body, the monitor could have. if the rat was as long as the monitors length stt(snout to tail) then there is no way. if it was "body" as in the monitors torso then its entirely possible. a while back my ackie at a fuzzy that was as large as, or close to the size of his torso. he was looking pretty stuffed after that too.:cool:

the rat was as long as nose to vent, but easily as big around as her, as it was a pregnant rat.
I still say, physics says, no way. Unless she has no heart, lungs, intestines, or bladder, she couldn't have fit that in. Isaw a cow die from overeating until its lungs were compressed and it suffacated. I kid you not. I realize reptiles are totally different, but I would have pulled that rat now, even with everyone saying it was fine. I just know now to not offer anything that large, as she is too impatient to cut her food and chew it twenty times like she should.
Wolfy

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

... as she is too impatient to cut her food and chew it twenty times like she should.
Wolfy

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:giggle: They just don't teach 'em good table manners anymore, do they??? :P

They may enjoy some silverware instead of tearing it up with their mouths!!:D


ww

lol, She'd probaly eat the silverware. I am teaching her a food signal. I'll let everyone know how that works.
Wolfy

like have her touch on a target or something??

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Originally Posted by wildlifewarrior

like have her touch on a target or something??

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lol. Or tuck in her napkin before a meal and after each bite dab her face?:D

Not targeting yet, that will be later. Right now it is a audiable signal given each time repeatedly until she notices that there is food available. Rats on tongs is great for this. Now she is visably startling and looking for food upon making that audiable noise. Target training for food is on the slate for later. Sheis so greedy that I don't anticipate any trouble training her for a few behaviors.
I'm hoping to train her to :
1. Be aware and ready to eat when she hears the signal, hoping to dampen the feeding response when the audiable signal is not present. So far early results say this is working well. I have nearly no feeding response unless I give the signal OR she smells the food already. (I tested by placing a thawed mouse in without the signal and she took several minutes before she noticed and came to eat it)
2. Target training. She will have to walk up and place her nose against a target and hold still until she is released with her food signal and rewarded with the food.
3. Opening her mouth, and holding it open. Allows me to examine inside her mouth without being invasive, or not so incendantly, risking my fingers.
4. Offering feet for examination, which is still a possible, I haven't worked out how well that will work, but this would allow me to examine toes for leftover shed etc.
These are the types of things I am slowly working towards, and I will of course keep up the reports. The only training I am using is positive reenforcement, utilizeing a method I have used multiple times for various species, including chickens, dogs, horses, a goldfish, cats, and etc.
Wolfy

wow you got some pland, keep us updated!!!

ww

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

lol, She'd probaly eat the silverware. I am teaching her a food signal. I'll let everyone know how that works.
Wolfy

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Well I finally got my toddler to understand my signs and now her and I sign very well to each other. I believe that if I had the patience to do that, for sure your little lady will get it with time, I cant wait to see this once she does learn, I'm sure its amazing when she does respond to you. Good luck! :)

I have a V. Indicus monitor by the name of Mannie who use to eat hoppers like tic tacs. So one day I bought a mouse to see if he could handle it. It took quite a few tries but eventually he got it down. The whole thing :sabduel: was quite nerve racking and stressful for the both of us. The first time he tried he couldn't get past the stomache and everytime he tried to take a breath he got skinnier and skinnier until he finally spit it out. The second time he thrashed it around and he even propped it up against things to try and push or force it down. At this time I figured it was too much for him to handle but every time I tried to remove it he would pick it up and run away with it (obviously he didn't think so)..:rolleyes: ..so I let him have another go. Around the third or fourth try as usual he couldn't get past the stomache (he made a lil progress but not much)....only this time he started scratching at the belly until it ripped open :O releasing enough of the organs so that he could get it down and he went back for the rest when he was done. Needless to say I didn't :colbert: expect that and I don't know what happened if instincts kicked in or if he was just trying something different because everything else didn't work. But he got it.....Mannie Graduated:carrot:it was about time to, those hoppers start to add up when they're taking between four and six a feeding:D .