How long for the killing process

Ok, weird title i know. I have had my snake for 5 weeks now and he hasn't touched anything f/t so tonight i tried live.

The mouse i chose was the same girth as the snake and he struck as soon as i put the mouse in with him.

That was about an 30 minutes ago.... the mouse is still struggling and i see it breathing. the snake has it by the neck and yet it is still breathing...

is this normal? I dont think it is.. i always assumed the mouse would die within a minute or so. is their any way to separate them and try again tomorrow?

Agh, i just want to have peace of mind and get to bed.... its 3 am.

:/

thanks in advance

alright, im less worried now.... i think the mouse was just a "fighter" the snake is now actually consuming the mouse.

thanks

our boy caution is like that... takes forever to finally strike, takes his time killing (either that or he has a weaker grip) but swallows pretty quick..

how many of you feed in the middle of the night holy moly lol

I've had my guys completely bypass the constricting part, as in it's still squirming as they wolf it down. This was in the case of a fuzzy,though, so there wasn't much risk associated. Just made me go "ew" and cross my fingers that they get it right next time.

haha yeah, i read a tip somewhere that someones ball only ate a at night and when they weren't around, so I just waited until he struck and then kept a close eye on him at a distance. I was desperate for him to eat!

Anyways, all is well. no sign of the mouse, so, that means its in his stomache! and i was a little worried because i thought the mouse was a little large for him but i can barely see any bulge at all, so thats good.

yay.

Both of mine, even the baby, have the mouse dead in about 30sec to a min. It takes the male awhile for him to strike, whereas my female will just go at it!! I love watching them eat :)

I feed fluffy at 4pm on Fridays. I only use f/t adult mice (although it is time to switch to small rats). He locks up and grips for a good 10 minutes before he swallows. Which is amazing because the mouse is already dead!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mischevious21

Both of mine, even the baby, have the mouse dead in about 30sec to a min. It takes the male awhile for him to strike, whereas my female will just go at it!! I love watching them eat :)

---

yeah I had never seen my guy strike before... i must admit it was interesting...

The process of killing a mouse shouldn't take long for the snake. I feed mine live, I tried to feed f/t when I first got her but she wasn't having it, and it only takes her about a min. or so to constrict it then start chowing down.

I feed mine at night too, usually around midnight, but that is because i feed live and I am not sure about letting my kids (who are 2 and 4 yrs.) see her killing a mouse. Usually its around midnight because I work late on feeding day and don't get home til about 11pm or so anyway. Plus, if I were to feed her while the kids are up, she would have 2 extra noses pressed up to her tank trying to watch her eat.....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by coolcasemods

yeah I had never seen my guy strike before... i must admit it was interesting...

---

I think it is interesting also....kinda like watching Animal Planet but having it in your own home. Makes you fully respect them as a wild animal.

The killing usually doesn't take mine long, but it has taken him up to 45 minutes to swallow the thing...

He's tried to eat them backwards, which I understand is okay, but he hasn't ever actually gotten one down that way. He just pushed it around for a while and finally readjusted to headfirst. :)

His average so far is about 10 minutes once it's dead, though.

Both of my snakes have become really good feeders lately. Sometimes I swear they know when it is time for their food, because the night before I go to get the live mice my female ball python will come out and stare at me at night. Reshmar, the boy ball python, doesn't seem to care as much as she does.

Reshmar is known for trying to eat his food backwards, and once he actually suceeded, though I spent the whole time he was swallowing it above him freaking out about whether it would get lodged in his throat, and whether or not pulling the mouse out in that case would hurt him. He also spends some time "sniffing", or pressing his nose against the dead mouse. Sitka eats her food the right way (head first) every time, though sometimes she stares at it for a minute.

But on the main subject, both of mine take about a minute to a minute and a half to kill their dinners. I always name the mice "Dinner" when I am on the way home with them. ^_^

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by coolcasemods

i was a little worried because i thought the mouse was a little large for him

---

That's likely why it took him so long to finish the constriction. With live prey you want a fast, efficient kill so that the rodent does not have time to fight back and potentially harm your snake. Perhaps stepping down slightly in prey size will ensure a faster, safer live feeding experience.