Why is my snake such a strange eater?

[John1982]

Ok so that's really a rhetorical question I guess. I've seen mine do stuff from killing and trying to eat a rat under water, to refusing to leave his hide to eat. He just sticks his head out and it looks like a turtle trying to swallow a rat. Not sure if my snake is just from the shallow end of the gene pool or if all ball pythons are such weirdos.

I have a male that I ALWAYS remove the water dish now before feeding. He's extremely picky about positioning when swallowing and will drag the rat all over the place, including through the water, before he's satisfied enough to begin. His brilliant mind also decided that a wet rodent is not a tasty rodent. After having to toss out several soggy rats(100% his doing) he finally has me trained well enough that I remove all obstacles before feeding.