My ball just ate a rat alive..

[TheSnakeGeek]

Kind of disturbing.. and it's my first time seeing this. tonight is feeding night. dropped all the live rats in there like i always do. checked back on em a few minutes later, and my Blue eyed lucy had a rat's head swallowed but i could see the rat's stomach still gasping for air and hear it moaning from inside the snakes mouth. poor thing. it was close to dead any ways.. and i dont usually feel bad for the rats, i'm moreso happy the snakes are actually eating. lol i'm just glad my girl wasn't over this time. she probably would've cried. lol

anyone else ever seen this?

this is the same snake that i've seen snatch up a rat without even striking. needless to say, she's one of my best eaters. lol

[kat_black181]

This is why I don't feed live. It's amazing to watch them eat, but man... I'd feel so bad for those mice. I'm pretty tender hearted. :-/

[Diamond Serpents]

Never seen this and you would think even a exhausted rat would fight back especially that size. The snake must have bit it in the right place to like paralyze it.

[Wizard]

I know it's not anything you did deliberately but you've created quite a sad and disturbing image in my mind.

My one suggestion, if you are going to feed live, you should never leave them alone.

[MootWorm]

I know it's not anything you did deliberately but you've created quite a sad and disturbing image in my mind.

My one suggestion, if you are going to feed live, you should never leave them alone.

I don't really think there was anything to be done in this situation. Sure, the OP could have maybe tugged on the rat's tail to evoke a coiling response in the snake, but there's no guarantee that's what would've happened. For all we know, it could have caused the snake to refuse the meal altogether, leaving OP with a half dead rat to dispatch. Just my .02


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[bcr229]

I know it's not anything you did deliberately but you've created quite a sad and disturbing image in my mind.

My one suggestion, if you are going to feed live, you should never leave them alone.

I tried doing that with mine, the rats or ASF's kept jumping out of the tubs if I left them open enough to watch the action. I haven't had a BP eat a still alive live feeder, but my kings used to when they were getting mouse fuzzies or rat pinkies, and it's part of why I switched them to f/t.

[NYHC4LIFE8899]

I'm feeding mine frozen thawed and also somewhat for the same reason. I have a heart,although I will treat him to live here n there though

[Mr Oni]

I had an adorable rat fuzzy that was whimpering for a minute or two before my Butterpin grabed him... really trying to kick her off live.

[ATTFighter]

wow, that's an amazing picture. So let me get this straight, your snake struck the rat than let go of the rat with his mouth and is just coiling it to death with his body before he eats it? I never seen this before my ball python always keeps his mouth on the rat. Also, i never heard of a BP starting to eat the rat before its dead, don't they usually coil it until its dead than start swallowing it?

Kind of disturbing.. and it's my first time seeing this. tonight is feeding night. dropped all the live rats in there like i always do. checked back on em a few minutes later, and my Blue eyed lucy had a rat's head swallowed but i could see the rat's stomach still gasping for air and hear it moaning from inside the snakes mouth. poor thing. it was close to dead any ways.. and i dont usually feel bad for the rats, i'm moreso happy the snakes are actually eating. lol i'm just glad my girl wasn't over this time. she probably would've cried. lol

anyone else ever seen this?

this is the same snake that i've seen snatch up a rat without even striking. needless to say, she's one of my best eaters. lol

[AlexisFitzy]

I'm sorry that happened to you I'd be a little disturbed as well if I saw it happening to. That's why I can't feed live. I hate the way some of them scream and squeak when they are being constricted. Hopefully you won't have to witness any more disturbing events next feeding day.


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