Stuck on feed mode?

[Gerardo]

Yesterday I fed all 5 of my BPs. Nothing unusual about it. Today I get home from work and I go to check on them and 4 out of 5 definitely went into feed mode for a few seconds. My big female struck and came at me. Got about halfway out of her tub. That got my attention real quick. She calmed down as soon as I picked her up. This has never happened before. Any theories?

[BCS]

There are two reasons I can think of and experience with my own collection.

I find those with a stronger feeding response need a little more time to get out of the response. I have one female and one male I have to leave alone for 48 hours for this reason.

The second reason is after they eat, they are slower and more vulnerable. BPs and other snakes, whether born in captivity or not rely heavily on their instincts. Your BPs could have been defending themselves (yes from you even though you meant no harm) while they were in the middle of digesting their meal.

[Gerardo]

I guess I am surprised because this has never happened before. The only thing I did different was that yesterday they all ate live. Other than 1 BP that doesn't take F/T they have not had live in about 5 months. I don't know if maybe that could make a difference. All my BPs definitely have strong feeding responses. Today when I opened their tubs they were all out of their hides and had those very noticeable movements of being in feeding mode.

[DVirginiana]

If she doesn't usually do it, it was probably just a fluke. Any time I've worked with wild animals (including wild animals that live in captivity like BPs) it's like 90% of the time they are aware of their surroundings and remember that you won't hurt them, but sometimes a smell or a shadow or just the way you move will trigger an abnormal response like that.

[JoshSloane]

I have had similar experiences, especially with other python species like retics and burms. What we call a 'feeding response' is really a complex interplay of various physiologic functions. There is a whole cascade of neurological and hormonal events that take place to ready the snakes system to first catch, and then digest a whole animal prey item. Many times, once this system is ramped up, it has a hard time dissipating.

This is analogous to the flight or fight mode people experience when in a dangerous or stressful situation. The sympathetic nervous system releases adrenergic chemical messengers that dilate bronchioles and increase heart rate. Once the threat is diminished, the cholinergic parasympathetic nervous system takes over, slows breathing, and ramps up digestive functions. However, if you have ever experienced this, you know that it can take some time, even after the threat is gone to regain normal heart rate and breathing. Some snakes just deal with it better IMO.

[BCS]

I don't think live has anything to do with it. Because of F/T availability in my area, I have to feed live sometimes. I have been very lucky that many of my BPs will still take F/T after being offered live. But I see no difference in behavior whether I feed live or F/T. I really don't think it is something you have to worry about.

[Marissa@MKmorphs]

In my ball pythons ( I have 12.28 currently), if I go to mess with them at night, 90 percent of the time they are in feed mode. I just use a hook to tap them on the head lightly to get them out of feed mode, and that usually works. I hook train pretty much everything though, just as a safety precaution, and because I WANT them to retain strong feeding responses.

[Reinz]

I have had similar experiences, especially with other python species like retics and burms. What we call a 'feeding response' is really a complex interplay of various physiologic functions. There is a whole cascade of neurological and hormonal events that take place to ready the snakes system to first catch, and then digest a whole animal prey item. Many times, once this system is ramped up, it has a hard time dissipating.

This is analogous to the flight or fight mode people experience when in a dangerous or stressful situation. The sympathetic nervous system releases adrenergic chemical messengers that dilate bronchioles and increase heart rate. Once the threat is diminished, the cholinergic parasympathetic nervous system takes over, slows breathing, and ramps up digestive functions. However, if you have ever experienced this, you know that it can take some time, even after the threat is gone to regain normal heart rate and breathing. Some snakes just deal with it better IMO.

This totally makes total sense after seeing my sweet girl stuck in ravenous wolf mode.

[JoshSloane]

This totally makes total sense after seeing my sweet girl stuck in ravenous wolf mode.

Haha! That's one way to protect your home.

[Gerardo]

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to just call this a fluke.