i new :) feeding question!.

[reptiguy]

I have two normal balls. Not sure of weight, one is 3 feet and a little thinner(sasha), and ziggy my big guy almost 4 feet. Ziggy will be patient when eating and will wait for the medium rat to "kiss" him before he strikes the face.. sasha on the other hand strikes at anything less than a second after it hits the bottom of the feeding bin. (super docile any other time) so because of her anxious eating I feed 3 mice as opposed to a rat cause she shows no interest in warm pre killed. And I don't want her bitten. She has not been bitten but she will strike anywhere on the mouse she sees first. Is this normal? Is my method of 3 mice one after another acceptable? I fear an acceptable sized rat would chew on her rather easily

[BPLuvr]

One option would be to use a pair of hemostats and hold the rat by the tail. This way she strikes before she can be bitten. If you hold it above her then her only option would be to strike at the head.

Hemostat

[reptiguy]

Have not thought of that thank u

[rabernet]

I would NEVER dangle a live prey item by its tail, clamped in a hemostat in front of any of my collection.

You've taken a an otherwise relaxed prey item and immediately made them fearful and on the defensive and more likely to lash out.

I've fed over 15K live prey items off. I've never intervened in feeding and I've never had any of my collection have problems effectively dispatching their prey without injury to themselves.

I only offer well fed, well hydrated prey, and I drop them in the opposite end of the enclosure as my snake and let the snake kill it however it prefers.

If your snake will eat three mice in a row, then keep doing that. When I first started keeping ball pythons, I was also scared to move up to rats. Now that's all I feed, other than mouse hoppers to new hatchlings. Get a rat that's 2 x the size of a mouse to start with - your snake will be fine.

[MeinDraco]

I have done both. I have dangled the live rat by it's tail and dropped it in the bin. depending on the feeding response of my snake. both have their risks of the snake getting bitten since the rat is still alive. one method has no risk and offers the benefit of a live feeder. Some may not like it, but I will take a live rat and dispatch it with a sharp blow to the head and then dangle it. If you have a reliable eating snake, they will take it every time. Some people say it is cruel to the rat, but in my opinion it is not. it is the most instantaneous way of dispatching a rodent and there is not risk to the snake. hope this helps

[BPLuvr]

Thanks rabernet. I hadn't thought of it that way and was going off of a video I had seen on youtube where the breeder had fed all by the tail either live or FK.

[MeinDraco]

Dropping a live rodent into a snake tub is never a good idea. regardless if the rat has been well fed well or not. once the snake strikes it, if the rat can reach the snake it WILL bite and chew its way out. Rats have nasty teeth and can easily kill a snake with one bite in the right spot. Do yourself a favor and kill the rat before you feed your snake.