Snake bit himself!!

I'm a new BP owner, first time owner (i know, bear with me).I've had my juvinile BP for about a month now and still hasnt eaten for me yet (shocking)...his temp and humidy is doing just fine and he is more frequently exploring his enclosure.
Last night as I tried (again) to feed him a frozen-thawed fuzzy mouse, he refused to eat and went back into his hide rock. I lifted the rock from the enclosure :stupidme: and again dangled and waved the prey in front of him.....dropped the prey accidently on his body, he recoiled as if annoyed, and as I picked the mouse back up with the tongs, he struck at it (assuming out of anger) BUT missed and BIT himself on the body!!! He struggled for a second to release himself, and I covered him back calling it a night. I just felt soooo bad for himself......
Question is.....I havent had the opportunity to look at the wound if there is any, but wanted to know..is there any concern for infections from the tag?? I can imagine a bite from live prey would be more traumatic, but I'm wondering if this is anything to be alarmed about.
By the way...I'm leaving him alone for atleast another week to chill out and not stress him out anymore. Any advice would help please.

Oh and whats everybody's take on putting the uneaten mouse back in the freezer? Acceptable??
Thx!

Dont refreeze the mouse, and trust me everyone battles with feeding there BP every now and then, just give him some time and try again, i would try again in about a week, but this time resent the room leave the mouse close to his tank,tub whatever for about a hour or so then try to feed. Or you can try a rat pup instead hope this helps

Ok, but if I dont refreeze during this "feeding strike" of his, it would be expensive to toss out all these perfectly good mice. IMO I guess. But thank you about the scenting tip!

Hi,

It would be just as expensive if he ate them. :P



dr del

try live mice, then after you get him started well then try f/t. this will also save you money if he dont eat just keep the mouse fed for a week.

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

It would be just as expensive if he ate them. :P



dr del

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Touché

I am babysitting a a (year old now) BP. I was given by the owner fuzzy mice to give to him weekly. He had no thermostat or thermometer. Well once i got some research done on BP's, thanks to this great forum and my local reptile room,i found the BP was being underfed and underweight by his owner and by me for the 2 months i had him . Now his temps/humidity are correct etc with Habistat/ digi thermometers.

He never got excited about the fuzzy mice and used to miss strike (no wonder they are that small), he's now on rat fluffs and eating well. I pre scent with the paper towel the rat was defrosted in an hour before feeding, and he goes wild climbing up the enclosure. I would suggest getting him on rats or larger mice asap. Don't chase him with food by lifting his hide up as it will leave him nowhere to feel safe and add more stress, i guess striking out was his last means of telling you he's not happy after his safe place was lifted away.

I got frustrated when he wouldn't eat, and it took a few unsuccessful attempts to switch to new rodent size, but everything seems to be going well so far, touch wood.

I am no expert and still learning about snakes, but i would try the rats as it made a massive difference in my BP's eating response...(he's filling out already!)....and yes it looks like he's with me for good as owner has gone AWOL!!:O

good luck

If there is a wound i would get some polysporin asap, dont worry about the stress that is something you need to deal with immediatly.

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Originally Posted by scotty99

...and yes it looks like he's with me for good as owner has gone AWOL!!:O

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It sounds as if you should come up with a good cover story in case the previous owner calls. He is much better off with you.

OK, I think based on all the helpful replies that have been comming in, I've configured a plan for next week:
Thaw frozen fuzzy in paper towel to pre scent, get a rubbermaid or sterilite tub as the feeding container and drop in the paper towel..add Harley(my pastel BP) and leave him in there for 5-10 min to get the scent (and maybe a clue) and then dangle the ft fuzzy and see how he reacts.
OR if the plan fails....
Plan B is to pre scent the container with a live mouse in a container for an hour...take out mouse-in-a-box, and add Harley, wait 5-10 min for him to get the clue, and add mouse to tub.
I really want to stick to the F/T way of feeding, but if this is the best means to get him started to eat for me, I will try LIVE under supervision....and hopefully he will grow out of LIVE back to F/T in no time and not tell the difference.
On another note, if and WHEN he feeds and constricts his prey, can I THEN at that constricting ball phase of his meal lift him up and put him in his regular tank house?? Or will that possibly cause him to let go of his mouse and ruin my plans?
thanks everyone again! :)
*update on the bite: No wounds visible on his body:gj:

I would not remove him from the enclosure to feed as this might well cause more stress responses. Ball pythons are ambush hunters and hunt best when in their own enclosure and often times from within their hide.

I pre-scent with the prey in a bag thawing by the snake environment. When the rodent has thawed, open the bag and leave it open for at least 30 minutes so that the snake will know what is going on.

It might helps us to help you better if you describe the enclosure that the snake is in and how you're measuring temps, humidity, etc.

For now, indeed wait a week and let your snake settle in more :gj:

I don't take him into another container to feed, agree with you there starmom.I pre scent on top of enclosure

The theory goes that they don't associate putting your hands in the enclosure with food time if you feed outside the enclosure. Every time you take the snake out for handling/ cleaning, surely the snake is going to think it's food time. But hey,If taking them out to feed works for other keepers then fair play to them. Everybody has their own routine.


I really strongly recommend changing prey ReefMedic1, The BP is not going to grow on fuzzy mice, been there so i know first hand.May be take fuzzys back to where you bought and see if you can swap them/part ex them for something bigger.:rat:

RE Sonya- Thanks, yeah don't think he will ask for snakes back, he's not contacted anyone of his friends inc me since he left. The BP struck at him twice(didn't bite though) while he had him, so think he took the easy option and palmed them off to me. BP has not shown any aggression towards me...yet....now I've said that he will rip my face off next time i change his water!! lolz

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Originally Posted by 771subliminal

try live mice, then after you get him started well then try f/t. this will also save you money if he dont eat just keep the mouse fed for a week.

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This isn't a good idea unless you are able to buy a live mouse every week or care for a bunch over time. You probably will not be able to get him back to f/t easily once he's eaten live. If you decide to feed live there is nothing wrong with that, of course; personally I find f/t is less expensive and more convenient.

Seems like either you've got a picky eater (it happens), or the snake is not feeling secure in his enclosure. If he is constantly roaming around it sometimes means he does not feel secure. What does his enclosure look like?

Also, was this snake eating f/t mice well with whoever you bought him from?

I had a 2100 gram female do that to herself. She was a he, now, he is a she, but, we named her when she was a he. Her name is Oscar after Oscar the grouch. You cannot take her out of the rack without a hook, you have to be very cautious when you have her out, and, you cant touch her when shes in her home. She sleeps belly up and is a bit retarded. Anyways, she thinks everything is food and so thus she tried to eat me and instead of getting my hand she got herself. She preceded to strangle herself and she coiled around tighter everytime we tried to free her. We left her alone for about 15 mins and she had given up on trying to kill herself at that time. Luckily, no blood was spilled and no broken bones seemed to have come from it. Snakes are strange at times...

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Originally Posted by scratchypen

I had a 2100 gram female do that to herself. She was a he, now, he is a she, but, we named her when she was a he. Her name is Oscar after Oscar the grouch.

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Blimey, I'm dizzy:rolleye2: So you have shemale snake lol or is that a maleshe???

Sounds quite a character you snake does. Glad no harm was done when biting strangling herself.

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Originally Posted by icygirl

This isn't a good idea unless you are able to buy a live mouse every week or care for a bunch over time. You probably will not be able to get him back to f/t easily once he's eaten live. If you decide to feed live there is nothing wrong with that, of course; personally I find f/t is less expensive and more convenient.

Seems like either you've got a picky eater (it happens), or the snake is not feeling secure in his enclosure. If he is constantly roaming around it sometimes means he does not feel secure. What does his enclosure look like?

Also, was this snake eating f/t mice well with whoever you bought him from?

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What's more important? Getting the snake EATING or convenience? ;)

Right now you need to get this snake eating, and you may have to change some things. Because you said he's 'roaming' his cage a lot, this tells me that in some way he is stressed out (cage too big, insufficient hides) ext.
You can switch a live eating snake to a f/t eating snake. But first let's find out why he's not eating.

Also, like everyone else said, removing him from his enclosure to eat is just going to stress him out even more.. so keep him in his cage.

Go out and buy a mouse that seems about the size as his thickest point on his body and put it in the cage and watch from a distance. Make sure lights are off and all is quiet with no traffic.

Tell us all of your husbandry details in case you missed something. Where is the tank located? Is it high noise/traffic? Size of tank? Bedding? Hides? Temps? Ext.

Good luck!

Thats weird but was the snake eating when you bought him?

Sorry everyone about the delay in response..
His enclosure is a 10 gallon glass aquarium that sits on one of my nightstands with a black background. His light/heat source is Night light (purple) that gives off heat on one side of the cage. Aspen is the bedding. Hide is one hide rock on the heat side ( I mentioned to the reputable reptile store guy that maybe two hides are best, and he said not always the case as a baby and that he'd do fine with one hide for now. Water bowl on the cool side of the cage. Current temp 85F and humidity at 40. The light/heat is always on. The tank is in the bedroom, no excessive traffic or noise.
The fuzzys seem to be the size of the thickest area of the snakes body, so I thought this is the right size.
When they say to pre-scent by the enclosure, do they mean just outside the cage, on top of the cage or inside of the cage, what might work?
Yeah, Im going to give him a few more days before I try to feed again FT, and if that doesnt work I'll try live. And maybe not mess around with getting another enclosure.
Thanks for everybody's help!! Keep 'em comming, hope I described the enclosure well enough

Oh and where I got him was at on of the Reptile Conventions in Orlando Convention Center. The guy that sold me him didnt tell me what he was feeding on or when the last time he ate, so I'm kinda gauging it right now.

no luck yet, I'd hate to get a live mouse because if he STILL doesnt eat, then I got a new pet :mad: SO... but he did strike out of defense though:confused:

Sounds like your snake is really agitated and stressed? People here are offering advice and you don't seem to want to go with their advice (no offense).

You still are talking about wanting to feed in a separate container when various members have pointed out that this will stress your snake out more at this stage.

Sorry for the straight talking but on sSNAKESs forum a woman was posting questions about a BP over a few months that was stressed and not eating, she didn't follow their advice and the snake died.She then posted asking what do you think happened to my snake?, why did it die?, please feel sorry for me. One member suggested she get a pet rock next instead of another animal, because they tried to help her to no avail.

I'm not saying that your situation is the same but sooner you get your snake happy and eating the better.

I'm new to reptiles and no expert, but i had trouble with my BP eating as mentioned in previous posts. Switched to rats (thanks to advice from an experienced keeper) and he goes crazy soon as he gets of smell of the ratty. Guess mice didn't do it for him. ...hint hint get some RATS!! lol try with frozen first.:D

good luck Scott

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Originally Posted by ReefMedic1

no luck yet, I'd hate to get a live mouse because if he STILL doesnt eat, then I got a new pet :mad: SO... but he did strike out of defense though:confused:

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Most BP will never switch to FT. Feed him live. I have over 50 snakes and 90% wont even look at FT. The reality is he may never eat if you dont feed him something live.

Live. Got the hint. Thank you. I tried feeding him INSIDE his cage and he seems like he doenst want it, so this time I will feed LIVE,..and if he doesnt eat, oh well I'll have a pet rat until he decides he wants to eat.
But, no...thank you

I agree with the above.. The snake will probably be more receptive to live food. all of our bps eat live. and 2 will eat frozen out of almost 40.. Some like mice, some rats.
Do you know the persons name from the show? If you do maybe you can work on contacting them and see what was fed or maybe someone on here knows who they are.
You also need to space out the offerings a little.. It looks as though you are offering every couple days. All thats going to do is frustrate the snake.

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Originally Posted by ReefMedic1

Live. Got the hint. Thank you. I tried feeding him INSIDE his cage and he seems like he doenst want it, so this time I will feed LIVE,..and if he doesnt eat, oh well I'll have a pet rat until he decides he wants to eat.
But, no...thank you

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This is what i dont understand... You bought a snake most of them eat LIVE MICE or RATS... Why didnt you think of this before hand?

Update on whats going on.. He finally ate for the first time with me a few days ago. I stopped by and got a live small mouse and he got it and swallowed it no problem. Thanks for your help, I guess its a live feeding regimine for him and not F/T

Great, glad you got him eating my friend. May be once he has been eating regularly for a while, you could try him back with f/t. I have only one BP who eats f/t so not had to feed live yet. I used to keep rodents as pets when i was younger, so I am not looking forward to the time when i may have to feed live if I have a snake that will only go for live prey, but i realize i may have to at some point which comes with the territory.

Regards Scott

I really can't stand the minority of snake owners who give other snake owners a bad name who post live feedings on youtube etc titled "death of stuart little!!!!" Some people get a kick from that, the sort of people who have a pitbull called "Tyson" people who are low down in the gene pool

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Originally Posted by 771subliminal

try live mice, then after you get him started well then try f/t. this will also save you money if he dont eat just keep the mouse fed for a week.

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I know that alot of people out there have had alot of sucess on feeding b.p. f/t. However I have tried w/ine a few times anno luck! They (mine) loves using the heat sesors and loves to stalk. So yes IMO also I would def. try to feed live. Just watch close espeacily if this is first live feeding that he does not get bit. You should also start w/ something a little smaller to again decrese the chance of the mouse/ Rat getting him/her. My B.p. eats 1 large rat every Sunday and I NEVER leave him alone "just incase" something happens. I also always sent the room( alothugh my husky wants that rat worse than the snake.lol). Hope some/any of this helps. And good luck!:gj: Ray

yeah well what I did was have the mouse in a critter keeper straight from the pet shop and add the same bedding of the b.P and let the mouse scent the bedding...about a half hour before I planned on tossing the mouse in, I sprinkle "mouse bedding" around the snake's hide rock so he might get the scent. That's my pre-scenting method at least, it seemed to work, he poked his head out and seemed interested! But thanks for all your help!