Weird Feeding! Anyone Ever Seen This?

I feed my snake a small rat once a week. I feed live so the kill and eat usually takes around 10 to 15 minutes. I stay and make sure the rat is taken out with no injury to my snake. Today the weirdest thing happens. The rat doesn't move. He freezes half-standing in the corner of feed cage. He doesn't twitch, move, sniff, no movement at all. Well Cyrus was trying was checking him out-he moves slowly toward the rat. It doesn't move. He sniffs the tail -no movement. My snake draws back to figure out what is going on. I am freaking out. I am thinking this rat has got to be the smartest animal alive. He must know the snake can't get a good grip on him in this position. I am just about to take my snake out of the feeder cage when my snake decides he is going to try again. He slides around and comes straight at him. The rat doesn't even breathe. He gets closer and closer. I am having a heart attack now. I am sure that something bad is going to happen. Cyrus is hovering right over the rat now. He opens his mouth and grips the rat's back-still the rat doesn't move. He wraps himself around the rat and only when he tightens does the rat move and try to get away. What just happened? Do you think he was so terrified that he didn't react or do you think he just didn't know what was going on? He looked healthy. This was a first for me. I had Cyrus for close to 9 months and this has never happened before. Weird.

i really don't believe that ratties or mice even know that the snake is going to eat them to be honest. i've had mice go right into my snake's hide and sniff around... and come back out unharmed. they sniff the snakes tail... and wander around.

most likely the rattie was just stressed out and was standing really still trying to figure out where he was and what was going on in his life...

i do have some advice for you though. never reach in and remove your snake when there's a prey item in with it... especially when you can tell your snake is interested in eating... as you will get bit! only put your hand in IF you snake shows no interest in eating at all.

Or just imagine a giant snake sniffing you!! :8:

It could of been terrified of its new environment. When i fed a black male adult mouse the other day.. made me feel bad. I just basically "switched for the time being to live" just recently and well the black male mouse would sniff Chester my Bp, then go back in the corner (which is inches away) and do a tail twitchy thing, and sprays. I think some mice and rats do know whats comming for them and others do not.

if the mouse was spraying... it was probably marking the tank saying "this place is MINE" ;)

I had a male ball that did the very same thing. The rat was standing really still in the corner and David really slowly reached out and bit the rat on the side and slowly brought him in and coiled around it. I thought it was kinda strange too. This ball would eat anything though f/t, fresh dead or live what ever I had available.

I have had something similiar like this happen with my pastel male.He could not get the rat to move so he starts eating the rat head first of course.The rat never moved until his eyes were covered with Brunos mouth.I think some rats have a extra instinct that tells them to freeze up instead of RUN DUMMY :P .

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Originally Posted by joepythons

some rats have a extra instinct that tells them to freeze up instead of RUN DUMMY :P .

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:rofl:

My boas do that everytime!!! In my case its just because the rats are frozen thawed!! :D

Aw, come on guys!! You know it's because snakes hypnotise their prey!! Haven't you ever seen The Jungle Book!

http://images.google.com/images?q=tb...man410/a15.JPG

Thanks for your responses. I was truly freaked out. I felt so
bad for the rat. I was concerned about putting my hand anywhere
near Cyrus. He is a determined hunter and I know better then to get
near him when he is doing his thing. I just wasn't sure the rat wasn't
planning an attack. Clearly that wasn't the problem. Thanks again.
Tina
:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by MARCUS ANTONIUS

Aw, come on guys!! You know it's because snakes hypnotise their prey!! Haven't you ever seen The Jungle Book!

http://images.google.com/images?q=tb...man410/a15.JPG

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:lmao: i love that movie!

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Originally Posted by rmune0750

:lmao: i love that movie!

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They used to call me Mogley(sp?) because when I was a kid I ran around in just a diapar all the time like him!! lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wholuvsyah

Thanks for your responses. I was truly freaked out. I felt so
bad for the rat. I was concerned about putting my hand anywhere
near Cyrus. He is a determined hunter and I know better then to get
near him when he is doing his thing. I just wasn't sure the rat wasn't
planning an attack. Clearly that wasn't the problem. Thanks again.
Tina
:rolleyes:

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Just a few thoughts here Tina. If you are buying live from a pet store type supplier you might want to create a holding tank/tub for your rodent(s) and give them a few days of feed and water before feeding them off. You'll end up with a healthier, much less stressed rat/mouse to present to your snake. A less stressed rodent of appropriate size that has eaten and drank recently makes a far better and safer live prey item in my opinion.

As to feeling "bad" for the rat. Hon, the rat and the snake are just doing what nature intends for them to be doing. The fact that they are doing it in a captive environment in the end means little to them I believe. In nature BP's hunt in tight spaces where their prey doesn't have a huge space to run from them anyways so I'm sure you're snake was handling this rat just as it's instincts drove it to do.

As much as I enjoy breeding and raising rats I'm very comfortable in not feeling bad for them. They are raised well and humanely and enjoy a life far better than the average rodent. They then fill their natural role, as do our snakes...I'm just a small cog in that wheel really. My only job as I see it is to provide supremely healthy prey of appropriate size to a snake that is itself healthy and ready to eat. Anything beyond that is really just human emotion getting itself involved in a dynamic that's not at all human. :)