Why does she do this?

[Mindibun]

When my girl eats live she strikes and eats, end of story. But when I give her f/t which is the majority of the time, she does this weird thing where she smells their feet/butt first, maybe drags them by the feet a little ways, and then she'll get around to eating it. What gives? She did it again tonight but in the end decided she didn't want it, though I expected it because I had to help her finish a shed and she'd had enough of the world for one night. lol

Here's some pics:



and again:




Also, apparently "Spamalot" was terrible; I wouldn't go see it...

[nevohraalnavnoj]

hmm..i dunno why she does that.

My male spider will sometimes strike at FT but then not eat it. One thing that really helps is to give it a tug after he strikes so that he really thinks it's putting up a fight. Sometimes I make squeeking noises like a mouse in pain to really simulate the experience

JonV

[dcgator24]

Hey that's funny because snakes don't really "hear".

[Nordinho]

Some of my snakes do that too. Most of the times it's my own fault; the rats aren't warm enough...

[rabernet]

She's most likely looking for a heat signature to figure out which end is the head (the nose is usually warmest). Try warming the nose of the prey on a heat lamp for 20 seconds or so before giving it to her to help her out.

[Thunder Kat]

mine will do that with f/t she will "kill" it but not eat it. so i switched back to live. some snakes are picky about live and f/t and some will eat anything.

[Bright202]

Mine did that last night, he went in his hide and I just left it by the hid opening, he ate it then, just give them time

[Holbeird]

Mine doesn't do that, but I do have one that will drag the mouse into her hide before eating after she's killed it.

[juddb]

Sometimes I make squeeking noises like a mouse in pain to really simulate the experience

JonV

But he wouldnt be able to hear it, cause snakes dont have ears!!!

[Mindibun]

I'll try heating the nose then, as that seems like the most logical explanation. The body of the rat was warm enough - I let it sit in a covered pan of hot water for ages, constantly changing the water to keep it hot, and then I let it sit under her heat lamp. I guess she just doesn't know where to begin. Though that doesn't really explain the dragging of the animal. She doesn't take it back to her hide, she just moves it a little.

I should stop trying to explain all the things this girl does. She's always been a little wacky. For example, http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=53035