My snakes sorta have their own style that's typical by species: my big Florida rat snakes (yellow/gulf hammock) are like feeding a boa- they literally throw
themselves into their work of constricting already-dead prey, while my corns just grab & eat, mostly without much constriction (depending on their mood?),
and my Trans Pecos rat snakes tend to eat politely off the tongs- they'll approach & then stop & tense-up...they appear as if they're going to strike but then
as if remembering their manners, lol, they politely eat from the tongs. I had one years ago (a w/c adult) that carefully took food from my hands, but I didn't
continue doing that. She'd refuse prey on my flat open palm, but would take it if I held it between my fingers so it stuck out a little, as if being careful not to
bite me by mistake. My rosy boa prefers to constrict her f/t, while my TX Longnose is happy to just eat them, he "knows". When I kept rattlesnakes, they
usually like to "make sure" by biting first & waiting, but some learned to eat right off the tongs. So many kinds, so many "styles".
Another thing: many snakes catch on that pinkie & fuzzy rodents (mice OR rats) cannot fight back, so they just gulp them down, even if live, but once they
graduate to larger prey, they will constrict until they learn they don't have to (when always fed f/t- p/k).
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