First bite, new concerns :(

[shelliebear]

So today I scrutinized several DIY's on how to assist a snake if it had an incomplete shed. After reading about 4-5 posts, all saying to do the same thing, but in different words, I put Nergal in a container of lukewarm water for an hour.
I then took him out and ran him through a wet wash cloth.
The shed wouldn't come off in anything but little pieces--and he had only shed a small piece under his chin by himself.
I got it all off by gently peeling and rubbing with the towel, and he was very calm. I also managed to get a small piece that went around his labial pits, and the top of his head. I did NOT mess with his eyes, and I didn't see any eye caps come off at any point.
So, this brings me to my point of concern.
I fed Nergal an adult mouse, which he struck at and got, but on the mouse's side. It took him over an hour to finally move up to the head of the mouse, and so before he did I put him back in his tank so he couldn't climb out of his feeding box, and let him eat the rest there.
Well, I checked on him a few minutes ago, by lifting up his rock. I wanted to feed him his other adult mouse because I know one is not enough for him. So I held the mouse by the tail with my tongs and dangled it over his mouth.
He immediately s-shaped, and was slithering towards, not the mouse, but my hand. I knew he was going to bite me, and not the mouse, because the whole time he had his eyes fixed on my finger.
Sure enough, he bit me when I was trying to pull the mouse away.
I have a picture--he barely got me at all, and released right away, but my concern is, could he be visually impaired somehow and have thought I was the mouse? It seemed like he knew I wasn't food, but was pissed at me and wanted me to leave him alone. I'm just worrying as I always do--he is my pride and joy, and I love him to death.
I refroze the mouse. Should I try feeding it to him again tomorrow, since he seemed really angry today?
Also, here's a picture--my first tag

Shellie

[bsash]

My guess would be that the mouse may have not been hot enough and the snake thought your finger was the mouse. My second guess would be that multiple feedings stressed the snake, or that it just wasn't hungry.

[rabernet]

They rely on their heat pits more than their eyesight for zoning in on prey. If your finger was warmer than the mouse, then it makes sense that he was following the smell (close enough to your hand) and zoning in on the heat signature of your hand.

I just offered a f/t rat to my pastel female that I knew probably wasn't warm enough and she struck past the rodent towards my hand (missed me though - I knew what she was about to do). I took the rodent, re-submerged it in hot water for a minute and re-offered it to her and she struck true.

[shelliebear]

Hmm. Ok, I'll try heating it up in water for a bit longer this time. Thanks so much. will gives thanks and reps to everyone.
Shellie

[Vypyrz]

Hmm. Ok, I'll try heating it up in water for a bit longer this time. Thanks so much. will gives thanks and reps to everyone.
Shellie

You can also blast it with a blow dryer. I do this to heat it up and to blow the scent into the enclosure so the snake is ready and waiting...

[BPelizabeth]

also you probably smelled a bit like mouse...lol. It happens....my husband got it the other day...lol.

I love the blow dryer idea....I have heard great reviews on ppl that feed FT doing that.