baby ball...two kills but confused...what NOT to do!

[asupython]

took my baby (5 weeks) to a local feeder and boy was this guy interesting...he was also a breeder and had racks of snakes but anyway...we decided to feed my bp there...he took his first fuzzy (live) down (second time eating for me since I got him last week)...ok good...he still looked hungry so the guy wanted to "experiment" and give.him a choice...pink rat or another fuzzy (both live)...we gave him his privacy, left and came back and well this was the outcome..
he got confused and while the rat kicked he just held the mouse in its mouth...the guy was like "shouldn't have done that" and had to force feed him the mouse...he said he never saw that before...this little guy aggressive as hell...I hope the pic worked...first time using photobucket

[Phantomtip]

Should have given 1 at a time. Not two. That pic looks like he tore the poor thing in half lol. He was trying to eat the mouse but while holding the rat pinky. He couldn't angle the mouse right.

[Sama]

Typically you avoid feeding multiple prey items at the same time. It can scare them into not eating or confuse them so they kill one, then leave it to kill the other live one and then they tend to forget they had the first one and it goes to waste.

[MootWorm]

Why did you take him to the breeder? And why did he force feed the little dude? I'm sure he was under quite a bit of stress, that breeder should have known better. It's a bit concerning....

[PitOnTheProwl]

With a good feeding response, there is no need to force feed.
You might try finding someone else to help you.

[Phantomtip]

Or better yet, go buy a rat pinky, give it to him and let him be. That way he's not stressed from being moved, and car rides. Plus he won't be forced to eat like that.

[MrLang]

With a good feeding response, there is no need to force feed.
You might try finding someone else to help you.

Yeah, the snake was well on its way to eating both of those. I would say force feeding was a bad decision and would not further recommend working with that breeder for their decision to a) feed your snake there when you were then going to transport it home b) feed two prey items at once c) feed it.. on their carpet?

On the flip side, that's an awesome photo. We've seen a few like that here but usually not from ball pythons.

[asupython]

y'all have me scared as hell now...like he won't feed for me again or something...at the least the guy admitted to fault for feeding two at a time however not for force feeding tho...I mean idunno the guy said he had been doing this since his youth but hey...it wasn't on carpet technically...it was a carpet piece (like from home depot) that he put on the table and then placed a top over it with a towel for privacy...I'm not defending the guy but I THINK I'll give him one more chance...not many live feeders nearby...he also gave me a frozen rat to try and feed him for the next feeding...he said having a snake that will eat frozen and live is priceless

[PitOnTheProwl]

Force feeding is a last resort for a snake that has not/ever eaten a meal.

[asupython]

Force feeding is a last resort for a snake that has not/ever eaten a meal.

got u...hope my guy doesn't go in reverse then