Feeding Rituals

[YungRasputin]

came up with an interesting thought and wanted to poll the forum - what is your feeding ritual? how do you prepare you prey items for you BP and how do you present that

i am curious because i have been having a lot of success with getting a f/t rat, getting it real toasty, and quietly laying it in front of her den - sometimes if she seems real motivated i’ll present it to her directly with tongs, do a little rat dance, pretend it’s struggling etc just to keep those instincts sharp

it also occurred to me that i have been doing this with my African rock and i did this with my Angolan python but not anyone else - all of my other snakes are supremely food crazy and we have the routine down so tight that they’re always bobbing and weaving and ready when it comes to feeding time so i usually just have to put the rat in their face and it’s a done deal

basically i’m curious if this is a particular thing with African constrictors in captivity

[Homebody]

Nothing special. I fed my bp at night. I thawed the rat in cool water. Brought it up to room temperature in warm. Put a hairdryer on it until it was dry. Fed him from the thongs. If he didn't take it right away, I'd try to entice him with some wiggling. If that didn't work, I'd just lay it in the enclosure. If the rat was still there in the morning, I threw it in the garbage. Whether he ate or not, I waited 10 days before I fed him again.

[GoingPostal]

I feed f/t to all of mine, thaw in my fridge for a couple days, then I'll set them out in the snake room for a couple hours to get up to a warmer temp and stink the whole area up really well. Then I have a hairdryer to blast them before I offer, most of mine would take food without that but I'd rather they focus on the food and not aim for the big hot thing holding it. Then just open the door, I have all easy feeders and they know the routine. Even my fussy borneo finally got on board.

[Zincubus]

Nothing special. I fed my bp at night. I thawed the rat in cool water. Brought it up to room temperature in warm. Put a hairdryer on it until it was dry. Fed him from the thongs. If he didn't take it right away, I'd try to entice him with some wiggling. If that didn't work, I'd just lay it in the enclosure. If the rat was still there in the morning, I threw it in the garbage. Whether he ate or not, I waited 10 days before I fed him again.

If we are talking about a snakes with heat pits then the trick with the hairdryer isn’t just to dry the rodent - it’s to raise the temperature high enough for the rodent to register with the said heat pits ..

I feed evenings , in a dimly lit room and have the hairdryer plugged in next to the snake vivs …

I thaw the rats / mice naturally in the snake room then give the rat a good blast around the head shoulders area then offer / dangle it in front of the snake INSTANTLY whilst it’s still warm …

Royals / Ball Pythons strike extremely vigorously if they are under a hide and you dangle the WARM mouse /rat in front of the hide entrance.


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[Animallover3541]

I thaw in a mug of warm water, but then I actually further warm up the head using the CHE that I use for my bp's ambient temp. I lay the head under the lip of the lamp so it doesn't burn and check it every 30 seconds or so. Part of the reason I like doing this is because my snake can start smelling it before I put it in and he will poke his head out of his hide and not be so nervous. Otherwise I might spend 10 minutes wiggling it in front of the wrong hide lol.

[Sirus Uno]

Saturdays. Rats thaw for a few hours in the room which is 80-85°f ambient. Around 9-10 pm I put them in a backup incubator at 98°f for another hour or so to get to temp.
Feeding time. I go in, put some Hip-Hop on... Wu-Tang, Onyx, Mobb Deep, NORE, ETC. From hatchling racks to Adult female racks, one by one I present with tongs. A bit of teasing, a little dance and bam.

[Wanik4]

With my burmese even tho not BP he could care less. I usually thaw in a Tupperware, forget about it then rewarm for 10 seconds in hot water and lay it on a rock in his enclosure. I'm convinced he'd eat frozen Rats if given the opportunity haha. No ritual needed

[MrMoyb]

My girl is currently on her winter fast, but she's established a few golden rules. If any of these rules are broken, I can expect a dead rat waiting to be thrown away the next morning. I feed frozen/thawed, at night after kid tuck ins, with tongs.


She must be in "hunt" mode with her head out of the hide. She can be partially or completely out, but the head MUST be out. If she's on her way back in and smells/feels me coming, she speeds into the hide like a slurped spaghetti noodle.

The rat must be very warm. I thaw in warm water and finish in very hot water. If I rush the final heat-up, she refuses it.

I have to puppet the rat in a teasing manner. Get a little close, then wiggle away. Repeat until struck. A thawed rat left motionless will remain motionless until I remove it the next morning.

If she strikes and misses, she gets embarrassed and returns to her hide.

At no time can the rat touch the water bow. She can strike and coil, but if she accidentally gets the rat in the water... game over.


Sometimes I swear she even refuses rats that are slightly missized. And just before her current fast, I switched suppliers and these rats are black and white instead of her usual all white. I know that's not why she's fasting, but... Sometimes I wonder.

[EL-Ziggy]

I’m not sure I’d call it a ritual but I guess it is a bit of a routine. I thaw a bunch of rats, mice, and chicks during the day. When it’s dark and they’re fully thawed I super heat them with a hairdryer. I throw a large rat in with my female bullsnake first because she’s the only snake I can’t feed with tongs. Then I’ll feed the scrub who always ends up draped outside his enclosure which I have to stuff him back into. After that it’s the olive, boas, and carpets. My Bredli always eats last because he’s the only one who eats mice.

[Caitlin]

I thaw in a plastic bag in a container filled with cool water and placed in the fridge the day before feeding. Just before feeding I warm the rodents/birds with a hair dryer.

I target train my snakes so the whole process of offering food is tied to target training. This is usually an evening activity unless a particular snake is really active during the day.