Can snakes be mentally handicapped?

[ogdentrece]

HAHAHA I had this once and I do have pictures of it! I believe it was my mistake though, I dropped the rat as he struck at it. But its amazing that they still can a firm grip on the body which looks pretty safe without getting it right. I doubt its mentally handicapped, moreover it managed to recover and hold on to the tail to keep its meal and still find and constrict the body. Cool stuff.

[mainbutter]

Maybe it's just not warm enough.

Pythons in general, and ball pythons in particular, do not rely on their eyesight for hunting nearly as much as you might think. In general predators are thought of as relying on eyesight as their primary sense.

Pythons rely on heat pits first. Jacobson's organ second. Eyes third.

This is why feeding reaction strikes occur. Little baby BP things your hand is a rat? Kingsnake tries to swallow your finger? They sure aren't using their eyes very well.

It'd be like you closing your eyes and using your hearing to try to punch someone in the face while they're jumping up and down. Sure you'll have a good idea of where they are, and very well may hit them in the chest or somewhere else, but you won't be accurate, and you may miss or just get glancing blows.

I believe that python eyes are pretty good in a physical sense, but that their minds don't interpret the images very well and use the input to the best of their ability.

My bet is that your feeder was thawed to room temperature, and your BP couldn't use its heat pits to aim.

[tcutting]

I dont know i got one that tries to bite me through his glass constantly no matter how many times he bounces off of it when i am working with the others. I wouldnt consider him one of the smarter ones thats for sure, and if he wasnt slow before he is now.... poor guy

[crepers86]

My big girl is funny in away but it does show a sign of intelligence. When I fed love (which is most of the time) she will brutely strike sn constrict. How ever on thr couple times she has had a FT she just bites it and eats it no striking no constricting.

I honestly dont believe there is any thing wrong here to wory about. Just enjoy the entertainment you get from it...

[AK907]

Kenny the tiger with down syndrome says:



I wouldn't worry about your ball being a little derpy. You can try heating the rats up a little more like they said, but worst comes to worst, you said he still eats like a champ and is on f/t, so you don't need to worry about him getting hurt.

BTW, that second pic is great! You should enter it in the photo contest.

[SpartaDog]

BTW, that second pic is great! You should enter it in the photo contest.

Lol, everyone seems to love it, so I just might. I might clean it up a little better first, but yeah, I think I will.

Thanks for all your help, guys!

[Salamander Rising]

Sorry, this picture is just hysterically funny.

...yeah, some of mine are dumber than others. But it's probably also got to do with the heat pits. The snake smells the mouse, which get his appetite going. But he won't strike until the heat pits detect a warm target. If your finger is warmer than the thawed mouse, he'll strike towards the back, or even nick your finger.

Try warming the nose of the mouse under a heat lamp or with a hair dryer for 60 seconds or so. Or let the head of the mouse sit under hot water for 30 seconds and then dry it off. I think you'll see his aim improve.

I'm not ruling out the possibility that he's a few cards short of a full deck! But at least this'll give him a clearer target to aim at.

Well, Iggy just made the Village Idiot BP list tonight.

She literally swallowed her mouse sideways.

She always has a lousy aim and grabs it "wrong" but up 'til now, has always managed to get it longways, whether butt or head first.

She had a really tough "bar room brawl" with this particular dead mouse [maybe it really was a Zombie] and before I could do anything about it, she slooooowly, agonizingly [for me, anyway] started swallowing it 'wrong'.

I was freaking out the whole ten minutes it took her to get it down.

I considered running into the living room to post an emergency "OMG! MY SNAKE IS EATING HER MOUSE SIDEWAYS!!!!" thread for advice but was too afraid to leave her alone in case she needed help.
[although what kind of help I could've offered, I have no clue...moral support? holding her hand? the Heimlich maneuver? a rousing "EAT! EAT! EAT!" sorority chant?]

Anyway, afterward, she took a long sip of water and went back to bed like nothing had happened.

[I took a Valium]......

And there you have it...my dear little Iggy is "spayshul", too.

(and just to be on the safe side, I'm keeping her away from any roving sheep]

[SpartaDog]

Well, Iggy just made the Village Idiot BP list tonight.

She literally swallowed her mouse sideways.

She always has a lousy aim and grabs it "wrong" but up 'til now, has always managed to get it longways, whether butt or head first.

She had a really tough "bar room brawl" with this particular dead mouse [maybe it really was a Zombie] and before I could do anything about it, she slooooowly, agonizingly [for me, anyway] started swallowing it 'wrong'.

I was freaking out the whole ten minutes it took her to get it down.

O_O Ten minutes? Damn. Ramses has taken them down sideways and it takes him a LOT longer than ten minutes. Hell, when he gets it down right it takes him at least fifteen to twenty minutes. If he gets it backwards or sideways, it's just longer.

[iHAZreptiles]

Mine has pretty bad aim every now and then. Sometimes he'll get it on the first time, sometimes he'll do what Kinra said and try a few times and then bite it slowly, and several times he's tried 2 or 3 times and then gives up completely and goes back to his hide.