Ball striking at heat lamp

[killedbyfire]

i just fed my ball less than 3 days ago 2 small rats. and she is striking at the heat lamp when i move it. she will even come out of her hide to investigate the movement and stretch out towards it to strike. Should i try to feed her again or wait? not sure how old she is since i got her from someone that couldn't take care of her anymore but she is about 3-4 foot. someone suggested a larger rat but she almost seems to have problems getting the small ones down sometimes.

[loonunit]

Yeah, she's probably hungry. You can try feeding her another rat--if she doesn't take it, then I guess she's just plain crazy...

[killedbyfire]

should i feed her a medium rat instead of a small one though??

[RR - Mackenzie]

should i feed her a medium rat instead of a small one though??

Here are my three favorite rules:

* The weight of the rat should be 10-15% of the snake's body weight.
* It should be at least 2x the size of the snake's head.
* The prey should be as big as the middle part of the body.

[ericzerka24]

If it keeps doing it, you could get a different heat source. Try replacing the bulb with a ceramic heater or use a heatpad under the tank. I use belly heat for all my snakes and it works really well. Much easier to maintain humidity with.

[sarahlovesmiike]

If it keeps doing it, you could get a different heat source. Try replacing the bulb with a ceramic heater or use a heatpad under the tank.

I'm not sure if changing to a ceramic heat emitter would work. You're snake is identifying the heat source with its heat pits, it will be able to "see" the ceramic emitter as easily as the regular lamp. I agree that you might want to switch to a UTH if you aren't already using one.


I think your snake is just nuts, lol.

[stevepoppers]

Maybe it's stressed by the size of the tank. Does it spend time in it's hides? Do you have several identical ones? The big heat source could look like some scary predator and the snake is proactive in it's defense.

[Emilyellenburke]

i just fed my ball less than 3 days ago 2 small rats. and she is striking at the heat lamp when i move it. she will even come out of her hide to investigate the movement and stretch out towards it to strike. Should i try to feed her again or wait? not sure how old she is since i got her from someone that couldn't take care of her anymore but she is about 3-4 foot. someone suggested a larger rat but she almost seems to have problems getting the small ones down sometimes.

Hi there! I know this was literally 9 years ago, but my Ball Python is striking at the heat lamp, too! What was the end result? He only does it when he's been fed, so maybe he thinks it's a bigger snake and is getting defensive?

[Bogertophis]

Hi there! I know this was literally 9 years ago, but my Ball Python is striking at the heat lamp, too! What was the end result? He only does it when he's been fed, so maybe he thinks it's a bigger snake and is getting defensive?

No...snakes that have just fed stay in "feed mode" for a while (from hours to even a few days), where they are pumped up & ready to eat again (even if they're full).
It's a bit like us, when we eat too fast, we can over-eat easily because our sense of being "full" hasn't reached our brains immediately.

So now think about how ball pythons find food: they have heat sensing pits all over their face to detect the body-warmth of their prey. They do NOT identify things
visually...thus, a "heat lamp" to you & I looks more like a possible live rat to a still-pumped up ball python. Your misguided little beep thinks he can eat the lamp, lol.

For future reference (and to keep our moderators happy) please start a new thread for your questions, rather than adding on to an old one like this...OK?

[Zincubus]

Yeah, she's probably hungry. You can try feeding her another rat--if she doesn't take it, then I guess she's just plain crazy...

Agreed .. still hungry ..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk