HELP!! BP has HORRIBLE aim & won't eat!!

[sarahanne]

I have been having trouble feeding my 4-month-old bp since I got him. He has terrible aim and every time I've tried to feed him (f/t), he strikes but misses his prey at least once. He either ends up with a mouth-full of substrate, or occasionally a mouth-full of skin off the top of the rodent's head. The rodent is usually 1-2 cm from his face when he strikes and I always heat it up with a hair dryer before trying to feed him, yet he still has trouble locking on.

I am trying to transition him to f/t rats because that was his diet before I bought him. The first meal I fed him was a f/t mouse due to unavailability of rats at the time, and I have not been able to get him to take a rat since. He always shows interest and strikes at rats, but whenever he strikes and misses a rat, he always is too spooked to strike again (and usually is irked by the mouthful of dirt he ends up with) and won't eat. However, with mice, he is willing to strike a second, third, and fourth time after missing. It's frustrating because I have been trying to get him on a rat diet, but he's only persistent when it comes to mice.

Any possible advice/answers are welcome!! I'm a first-time reptile owner and would appreciate any help I can get!

[Bogertophis]

Are you using long feeding tongs to offer prey to him? That can help you line it up better for him, while staying out of his way. Hold the prey a few inches above the substrate so when he grabs it, he's not getting a mouthful of substrate. I can see why that would ruin his appetite- it would ruin mine too, lol.

Another possible consideration: sometimes a snake deliberately misses when they don't intend to eat, & just want to scare off the prey. Defensive strikes often happen when a snake "knows" it's going into shed before we can see the evidence & when we make the "mistake" of offering food they don't want.

They may also repel meals when the cage temps. are too low, making them "lose their appetite". So what are the cage temps.???

Snakes also sometimes make "test strikes" too, trying to assess what they're "up against" before they actually try to constrict prey they fear is too big or tough for them. They don't seem to know that we're offering dead prey, either- they're just being careful to avoid injury. Your snake obviously knows that rats are a bigger risk than mice are, or he may prefer the taste also- they aren't the same. As you now probably realize, it's best to stick with the same prey that a snake is eating reliably- now you have to start over, trying to get him on rats, but first, I'd concentrate on having him feed regularly. There are ways (like cross-scenting the prey) to help him switch.

[chakup]

I have a girl that would almost always strike early and miss. I've started just laying her prey on the substrate and she eats no problem.

[Bogertophis]

I have a girl that would almost always strike early and miss. I've started just laying her prey on the substrate and she eats no problem.

It's always worth a try, some snakes will eat this way & some won't. Love it when they do!

And that reminds me of yet another possible issue: in an effort to make the prey seem alive, some owners make the mistake of supplying too much motion to the f/t prey, or worse yet, making it appear to approach the snake -which is something prey never does, "volunteering to get eaten"- so that often scares off a timid snake. You want the prey to appear to be casually passing by where the BP is lying in ambush, but never approach the snake, instead you want to elicit a slight "chase" from the snake.

Another way to help a BP target their prey is properly warming it first. Once thawed, many like to warm the rodent's head with a blow-dryer, & quickly offer while it's extra warm. BPs are snakes that have & rely on their heat-sensing pits for finding their prey.

[BeansTheDerp]

does he have spider in him? spider BPs can have HORRIBLE aim because of the corkscrew way that they move their heads. I have actually heard of them almost not being able to eat because of their horrible aim. like some have said, laying it on the ground so that they can try getting it on their own might help, but make sure the bedding isn't something that would attach to the rodent and could become dangerous and cause issues if digested by the snake. I really hope you can get your snake eating again! best of luck!