Missing strikes?

[Zach_este93]

Hey everyone, I was reading about spiders and how they often miss strikes at prey items. I didn't know that this was unusual. I have a ~210g normal (as far as I can tell, weighed 2weeks ago) and she often misses the first strike and sometimes the second strike at food. I am feeding her f/t large mice and I shake them around a bit with tongs. Is this normal?

Also, about a month ago, she missed and bit her own lip. I didn't think anything of it because she is young and I chalked it up to inexperience. However, after reading about the spider doing this I was a bit concerned.

Thanks for your thoughts and opinions!

[illaoi]

spiders have a neurological defect. i have no idea why they're so popular. they are very pretty, but there are hundreds of pretty ball python morphs/combos that don't have genetic defects, however benign they may be

a head wobble that doesn't seem to effect the life of the animal is still a defect. the only reason these are bred is because they are attractive and make pretty morphs. if a spider looked 99.9% like a normal but was nonetheless phenotypically discernible they would not be bred. they're bred because people are willing to sacrifice genetic integrity for attractive snakes, and there is absolutely no disputing or repudiating that.


my snakes miss as well and they're not spiders

[PythonBabes]

Babies do miss quite a bit. You have a normal, so highly unlikely that she has a wobble. Make sure you're heating the mouse properly, if not she could be confused(when I don't heat f/t properly, my snake strikes at me instead of the rat). Shaking the mouse around could also be messing her strike up. She'll get better as she gets older and sometimes they just miss.

However controversial the topic may be, I do agree with illaoi about the breeding of spiders. If the spider morph wasn't as pretty as it is, no doubt it would be bred way less and would be looked down upon more. I'm not a materialistic person, so I'll never own a snake with a genetic defect just because its pretty and attractive.
Now watch people come on this thread not even to help you or give you any advice OP, but just to try and defend spider morph

[Kcl]

Babies are just bad at things sometimes. Also, depending on how you're dangling the food/shaking the food, sometimes you accidentally pull it away from where the snake thinks it's going to be or it swings away from where the snake thought it was going to be. It's hard to mimic natural motion using the tongs. If that's the only thing you've noted in her behavior, there's no reason at all to be concerned. Mine still misses occasionally and he's 100% fine and just mis-predicted where we were moving the rat.

[Zincubus]

Hey everyone, I was reading about spiders and how they often miss strikes at prey items. I didn't know that this was unusual. I have a ~210g normal (as far as I can tell, weighed 2weeks ago) and she often misses the first strike and sometimes the second strike at food. I am feeding her f/t large mice and I shake them around a bit with tongs. Is this normal?

Also, about a month ago, she missed and bit her own lip. I didn't think anything of it because she is young and I chalked it up to inexperience. However, after reading about the spider doing this I was a bit concerned.

Thanks for your thoughts and opinions!

Both my Albino Royals are poor at hitting the mouse first time ...

That's just a visual thing though in Albinos of all species apparently


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[Eric Alan]

i have no idea why they're so popular.

Maybe you should learn why: https://jkrballstreetjournal.com/201...spiders-silly/

[BallPythonWannaBe]

Oh...I thought the poster was talking about actual spiders,like turantuals, and that they were feeding theres a large mouse! I panicked for a second thinking this person had a gigantic spider

[Pezz]

Hey everyone, I was reading about spiders and how they often miss strikes at prey items. I didn't know that this was unusual. I have a ~210g normal (as far as I can tell, weighed 2weeks ago) and she often misses the first strike and sometimes the second strike at food. I am feeding her f/t large mice and I shake them around a bit with tongs. Is this normal?

Also, about a month ago, she missed and bit her own lip. I didn't think anything of it because she is young and I chalked it up to inexperience. However, after reading about the spider doing this I was a bit concerned.

Thanks for your thoughts and opinions!

the wobble is only present in womas and spiders. you have a normal so it's not a concern you should worry about unless you plan to get one.

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[Starscream]

Mazikeen misses sometimes, though I've found that's because I didn't heat up the rat as hot as usual. I try to shoot for upper 90's F, and she instantly recognizes where the head is when that's the case.

[Jhill001]

My adult baird's rat snake completely missed the mouse and kept coming directly at my face one time. It's not just babies, captive snakes can just be derps sometimes.