Nervous BP hissing at f/t prey

Tonight I attempted to feed my new ball for the first time. He has been a bit shy since I got him, although not overly so. The breeder I bought him from fed live, but I figured I would at least give a good attempt to get him onto frozen/thawed, since it is easier for me. I brought him out of his hide and showed him the mouse, and his head and neck immediately went into "S-shape". Mind you, I didn't stick it directly in his nose. I just wanted to get him out of the hide so he would see it. I shook it around a little, did the "zombie dance", and he struck it a few times. But I think this was fear striking and not food-striking. (When my female strikes to eat she will immediately wrap herself around the prey.) Then he started hissing at it, which I figured was a sign he probably wasn't going to eat. :( I left it in there and he has hastily retreated into the hide. I don't have high hopes for him eating tonight.

A few questions...
1. Should I bother leaving it in there overnight? Because if I remove it soon, I can salvage the mouse and give it to my corn, who will probably take it.

2. When is the next time I should try to feed him?

3. Should I try f/t again, or pre-killed? If I do pre-killed, I don't have a CO2 chamber or anything, so I'd probably have to use the "whack" method, or just stun the mouse and feed him live/stunned.

4. Was it a bad idea for me to have taken him out of his hide to show him the mouse - do you think this just scared him further?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

-Icygirl

1) - This is a new snake, and you should be practicing quarantine. If you take the mouse and give it to your corn, that would be violating quarantine. If you are really worried about wasting the mouse, you could re-freeze it, as long as you keep it separate so you know it can only go to your new snake. I think my choice would be to leave it overnight and see what happens.

2) - The most common recommendation when new snakes don't eat seems to be to wait 5 days then try again.

3) - You could try f/t again. Most people recommend to feed a new snake whatever it was getting at its old home until it is settled. So give it live until the snake is settled and you've got a few successful feedings. When we first got out snake, she was used to live. We tried 1 f/t, which she refused. We gave her live a few times, 3 I think, and then tried f/t again. She took the f/t then and has never refused a feeding since.

4) - Yes, you probably scared him by taking him out of his hide. He is still getting used to his new home. Especially if he is a baby; they get frightened more easily. You will probably have better success if you feed at a time when he is active anyway (late evening) so you won't have to worry about removing him from his hide. Also, pre-scent to get him in the mood to eat.

Darn Casey it's too soon for me to give you a good rep hit again. Nice post! :)

I'd pre-scent, don't remove the hide (they ambush hunt) and if you want to feed F/T then offer only F/T to your snake. Your snake will eat it when your snake has stressed down. Wait a week and offer it another mouse!
AND, don't worry- your snake WILL eat at one point!!

Pe senting is key. I have tried it out the last few weeks and it has worked wonders. That will also eliminate the need of you having to take it out of the hide.

Removing his hide was probably what triggered the defensive strikes but in case you run into problems next feed make sure your prey item isn't too big. Some snakes are very picky about the sizes of food and too large an item can trigger defense mode instead of hunt mode.

PRE-SCENT PRE-SCENT PRE-SCENT. Think in terms of letting your snake hunt, rather than you spoon feeding him.

Imagine your in the bushes, watching a ball python hunt. He's sitting there with his head happily sitting outside of his hide. Night is falling, crickets are chirping, a few buffalo groan in the distance. Our BP suddenly smells something. This perks him up and he draws a little bit more into his hide, waiting tensely for what is coming.

Across the way through some tall grass, a little mouse darts into the opening. Nibbles some food, darts again, poops, eats some food he finds on the ground.

He continues his little trek, inching closer and closer to the BP's hole. You are watching the BP, you can see his head staying completely still, his tongue is flicking... his body is tense and ready to strike.

It's quiet, hardly any movement, except from our little mouse.

Then with out warning, BAM! Our BP pulls the mouse into his dark hide, constricting it with his coils.


Key is prescenting, quiet and dim, no disturbances, and let him hunt from his hide. :gj:

Very descriptive scene Connie...

I almost jumped out of my chair for the "BAM!" :)

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Originally Posted by Spaniard

Very descriptive scene Connie...

I almost jumped out of my chair for the "BAM!" :)

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Hahaha, you've got one heck of an imagination! :P

Its an overcast gloomy day in NY; its possible my head was looking for some stimulation due to the boredom I'm experiencing but either way your words got the wheels turning...

Next thing you know its like an animal planet special going on in my head and Connie's narrating ;)

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Originally Posted by Spaniard

Its an overcast gloomy day in NY; its possible my head was looking for some stimulation due to the boredom I'm experiencing but either way your words got the wheels turning...

Next thing you know its like an animal planet special going on in my head and Connie's narrating ;)

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Did I have the accent?! I better of had either a british or australian accent! :D

OK, so pre-scenting. I have heard this before in Adam Wysocki's feeding video. The problem is, I don't breed rodents, and my other snakes are on frozen. Would I have to buy a mouse at the pet store then return it? :confused: Maybe try and catch one in my basement, I found a dead one down there once.... :D (kidding) Anyways how would you suggest I do this?

I definitely understand that my whole spoon feeding scenario was wrong. Sadly I knew that going into this, but I guess I just wasn't being very logical. I did end up leaving the mouse overnight, but he did not take it (as expected).

Starmom, that is what I usually do - no matter who eats or doesn't, I offer prey once every 7 days. So I shouldn't bother with pre-killed and just keep trying with the thawed mice? How long do you think till he takes it?

Really enjoyed the story, Connie. Would like to read chapter 2 as well :D:D

Chapter 2

Our BP finished swallowing the prey whole, just as the night reaches full darkness. Being a young snake, the mouse was more than enough of a meal to satiate him for a few days.

He slowly crawls from his hole in search for some water. Luckily, the rainy season is not a too distant memory, and he is able to reach a small pond. The pond is secluded from large predators by a natural form in the land.

He dips his head into the water, and gently starts to swallow the water. A startled frog quickly swims away as our BP heads back for his hole.

Crawling back into the hole with a full belly, he will hide for tonight, only to emerge in the morning to bask in the warm sun. He will be ready to eat in about a day, and will most likely emerge the next night, waiting for the next chance mouse to come by.

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Chapter 2

Our BP finished swallowing the prey whole, just as the night reaches full darkness. Being a young snake, the mouse was more than enough of a meal to satiate him for a few days.

He slowly crawls from his hole in search for some water. Luckily, the rainy season is not a too distant memory, and he is able to reach a small pond. The pond is secluded from large predators by a natural form in the land.

He dips his head into the water, and gently starts to swallow the water. A startled frog quickly swims away as our BP heads back for his hole.

Crawling back into the hole with a full belly, he will hide for tonight, only to emerge in the morning to bask in the warm sun. He will be ready to eat in about a day, and will most likely emerge the next night, waiting for the next chance mouse to come by.

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That was great!! I never knew a ball's life could be so interesting!! :D

Beginning of Chapter 3
A few years have passed with the ball python living happily in his termite mound. One day, he is waiting around for a mouse to come by when suddenly he sees... could it be... a female ball python coming by!?

Dun dun dun... to be continued! :snake:

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Did I have the accent?! I better of had either a british or australian accent! :D

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Australian since I play the didgeridoo; British accents give me the tea and crumpets vibe. :weirdface:D

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Originally Posted by icygirl

That was great!! I never knew a ball's life could be so interesting!! :D

Beginning of Chapter 3
A few years have passed with the ball python living happily in his termite mound. One day, he is waiting around for a mouse to come by when suddenly he sees... could it be... a female ball python coming by!?

Dun dun dun... to be continued! :snake:

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lol, im about to leave work, so ill type something up when i get home :P

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Originally Posted by icygirl

OK, so pre-scenting. I have heard this before in Adam Wysocki's feeding video. The problem is, I don't breed rodents, and my other snakes are on frozen. Would I have to buy a mouse at the pet store then return it? :confused: Maybe try and catch one in my basement, I found a dead one down there once.... :D (kidding) Anyways how would you suggest I do this?

I definitely understand that my whole spoon feeding scenario was wrong. Sadly I knew that going into this, but I guess I just wasn't being very logical. I did end up leaving the mouse overnight, but he did not take it (as expected).

Starmom, that is what I usually do - no matter who eats or doesn't, I offer prey once every 7 days. So I shouldn't bother with pre-killed and just keep trying with the thawed mice? How long do you think till he takes it?

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Err, before this gets completely off topic, anybody got some answers to my questions? :P:rolleyes:

Presenting with a F/T item can be accomplished by using a heat mat or heat lamp to heat up the FT in the area in which your snakes are for 20 min...just make sure the lamp or mat or not too hot or you'll have a squishy rat which goes pop if you snake strikes it.

You could probably do a search on this and find tons of suggestions.

I let the mice thaw at room temperature on top of the BPs cage for about an hour, then warm them up to what I estimate to be mouse body temperature (a few degrees higher than ours) under a heat lamp. A blow dryer probably would do more for getting the scent spread around, but it hasn't been necessary for me.

Some things that have been suggested (I never had to use any of these) to help with the transition to f/t are braining the mouse (gross but apparently effective), or getting some fresh smelly mouse bedding from your local pet store (they'll probably look at you weird but give it to you) and put it in or near your BP's enclosure as part of the pre-scenting process.