Quote Originally Posted by Lizardlicks View Post
That reminds me to ask what most everyone's stance is on feeding the occasional chick to a BP is. As I understand it, while they do sometimes take birds in the wild, BPs are mostly designed as a burrow dwelling snake, and live primarily off of rodents. They are of course highly opportunistic in the wild; you have to eat what you can catch! But does offering different prey items have a benefit nutritionally or psychologically for the snake? Draw backs? The only one I ever see discussed is the inevitable horrendous smelling poo...

Is it just something some owners do for their own amusement/peace of mind?
Well, while many people keep ball pythons as pets, not many people keep them long enough to fully realize how dietary choices ultimately affect these snakes.

In other words, there may be long term consequences to feeding a snake who eats several different prey items just one item. I've seen it in boomslangs and other dispholidines that I've kept until they become senior citizens. Same with some other colubrids. They develop some debilitating health problems as they age.

The behavior in males is deliberate - not necessarily casual. I'd have to re-read the papers as to the behavioral or biological necessity that drive avian predation.