Regis's first gerbil

[Riktasi]

I got a free gerbil from work the other day, but I didn't feed it to Regis immediately since he was already getting pretty close to shedding. Well, today I took him out of his cage to rewet the humid hide and check on his progress. I brought him to the gerbil's cardboard box just to show him the gerbil, and while Regis was still in my hand, he struck at the gerbil and got a strangle hold on it. It really surprised me since I didn't think he'd go after it.
Pics (it happened too fast for me to record it on video):
Wrasslin' the rodent
Starting to swallow
Different angle
Gerbil's head in python mouth
Hind legs sticking out
Spaghetti tail

[Royal Tartan]

wow !!! and in shed at that

[dr del]

They do tend to love gerbils.


As long as you can provide an adequate supply if he decides that's all he's going to eat it should be ok - when I tried it they weren't as prolific breeders as rats or mice so if you need to set up a colony to provide live prey make sure you can keep up.

dr del

[Riktasi]

Actually, I have a friend who used to breed gerbils; he has 17 right now and used to have like 23. From what I heard from him, it's pretty easy, and they tend to be cleaner than mice. Also, in the petstore that I work at, a gerbil has already given birth to about 6 babies.

I might try breeding some gerbils, mostly just to see what it'll be like. I don't really need that many, either, so it might work out.

[dr del]

Cool.


I used to breed them myself for a while and they certainly smell waaaay better than mice.



dr del

[TekWarren]

I brought him to the gerbil's cardboard box just to show him the gerbil...

What exactly was the purpose of this, and what did you expect would happen? This seems a little irresponsible to me. Reptiles don't look at prey items just to look at them, they are either hunting or they are not.

Sorry if I seem rude.

[bearhart]

naive maybe but not irresponsible.

If you want to get him juiced up a bit before-hand you can pre-scent. My boy goes into killing mode the instant he sights a mouse. I feed in a separate container and have been pre-scenting the tub. Now he's pretty keyed up as soon as I put him in (before I re-introduce the mouse).

[Riktasi]

TekWarren, sorry I missed your post. I was putting Regis into the gerbil box to see whether he'd take it or not. It had been a week since his last feeding, so I wanted to check to see if he'd eat, even before shedding. I probably didn't word things correctly, but please do not jump to conclusions that I was being irresponsible.

Bearhart, the box I used for the gerbil was used in a previous feeding, so I think the python might've gotten the idea that it was feeding time quickly. I might just keep using the same box, then.

[SatanicIntention]

Wow, that sounds like a great way to get bit! Maybe I'll try that with my 7.5ft boa who likes to aim for my face during feeding time. Bunny or Becky's arm? Who cares! *chomp*

I would really suggest feeding inside the snake's enclosure. Pre-scent the ROOM, not your hands/clothes/feeding tub, for 30 minutes to an hour, and then introduce the prey item to your snake's enclosure, on the opposite end the snake is on. Do not remove hides, or anything for that matter as it will just stress the snake, and you are more apt to get bit reaching in there.

I have over 20 snakes, all fed in their enclosures each week. They know when food is introduced into the room, and they can differentiate between "feeding day" and "not feeding day". I can reach into anyone's tub on a 'non-feeding day" day, and they know I am not food. They really aren't that lacking in brain cells. But if I try to reach into a tub on feedng day, and tubs of mice are in the room, then watch your hands. I wouldn't even attempt to pick up one of mine when they know what is going to happen. Anything coming into that tub is fair game to constrict.

Just my 14 pennies on the whole thing(fuel surcharge and all)