color preference???

[mattramsfan]

do all or some call pythons have a color preference that they like their rats to be... everytime i give my BP a black or brown rat he wont eat it.... BUT a white rat... he reacts like a fat kid reacts to cake. its crazy.... i think he prefers white rats... is this possible???

[Kymberli]

I've heard people say their BPs have color preference when it comes to feeders. Personally, mine will eat anything I dangle in front of them, but I suppose it is very possible!

[mattramsfan]

could it be that the breeder i got him from fed him white mice while he was a baby???

[Kymberli]

I'm not really sure, but I suppose that could be a reason. I can't imagine they taste any different lol if it's possible for you I guess you'll just have to get white rats from now on! I get mine from a local reptile shop who breeds BPs and feeders so I call in advance and they freeze however many I want. They have so many different colored rats that I'm sure they'd pick out white ones if I needed them. Do you buy from a rat breeder or the pre-boxed ones from pet stores??

[mattramsfan]

i buy from a breeder... i actually fed him today and asked for a white rat and they kinda looked at me funny.... and i was like just trust me... i need a white rat. hahaha. and they were like ok u have a racist snake...lol

[Kymberli]

Well luckily you have the luxury of buying them based on color! I can't see a reason why they wouldn't give you white rats
Just be happy your BP is actually eating something. They're such strange little animals lol they can be so particular.

[Vypyrz]

Here is a quote that I posted this past weekend on this subject. Sometimes it does seem like they can distinguish colors, but without knowing exactly how their brain is wired or exactly what they see, I don't know.

Most people will tell you they can't tell the difference in colors, but from personal experience they can and do.
I had a massive normal female years ago, back when I didn't know what I was doing, and she only ate high white prey. Solid white, or mostly white with some colored splotches. She would not touch a solid grey, brown, or black prey item. And believe me, we tried.
So, it is possible for them to refuse based on color, at least in my experience. That is why all of my current snakes get fed a wide range of colors from the beginning.
Gale

Mine does the same thing. He will take solid, or mostly white prey, but he won't touch solid, or mostly colored prey. Yet, if I leave the colored prey in front of his hide and darken the room, usually within an hour or so, he will eat it, which leads me to two possible theories:

1) The color of the preys fur somehow affects the heat signature, much like the way light colored clothing and paint will reflect light and heat, whereas dark colored clothing and paint will absorb it.

Or

2) They have way better eyesight and color differentiation than we give them credit for. This could possibly explain why he will eat a colored prey in the dark, because at that point, he is relying on smell more than sight and can't see what the color of the prey is.

I wish I knew...

[psychophobia]

snake dont see something in colour,did u know how snake eye work???.it just see the temperature n movement only.