"Milagro" (translation "miracle")

[Bogertophis]

I had been waiting for my mice to deliver some new pinkies but last night I saw Mirikel finally out of hiding since her shed a few days ago, & she was drinking water
& she looked hungry, so I thawed 2 pinkies, since I was also being watched by Milagro.

Mirikel had previously been offered a f/t pink but left it...but that was "then". She took her first pinkie late last night, after a little "tease" as I'd done with Milagro.
This is a technique that works well with rat snakes, but not something you'd do with shyer snakes like BPs, & it's not something I'll need to continue doing either...it just
starts their learning process: as I approached & uncovered where she was hiding, she was coiling & striking with open mouth in self-defense. Offering the pinkie on
tongs, it took a number of hits before it dawned on her that it tasted pretty good & maybe it was edible? Finally she hung on, I remained motionless & down it went!

The use of this technique is only temporary: what begins as a defensive bite teaches the snake what is good to eat by teasing it until it tastes the pinkie. The first time
I offered her a pinkie without much tease & left it overnight, but she didn't eat it; she was pretty shy & may not have even come out of her hide to know it was there,
or if she did, she wasn't hungry enough yet. Had I left it IN her hide, she might had eaten it, but doing so would have stressed her more than I wanted to at the time
due to the way her home is set up with lots of 'cover'. Rat snakes are looking for prey that moves, & if live pinks are unavailable for their first meal, this usually works.

The other pinkie was chowed down by a happy Milagro, who openly ate from the tongs for the 1st time last night. This was her 13th meal, & she's doing great- she's
visibly longer now too, & last night's solo pinkie was a small meal for her...she's taken 2 at a time previously. It's fun to watch a tiny rat snake learn that my presence
is nothing to fear & that I sometimes bring goodies... She's calmer when handled now too, off to a great start.

Wundertat missed the party last night: not quite due for a second meal and due for a check-up as well, I wanted to wait another day or so to focus on her. Checking
her home just now, I see that she had no trouble digesting her first pinkie...the results are in, or should I say, out? I'm so curious to check on her, but not about
to rush her, or any of them. I've had lots of practice raising rat & corn snakes...patience is key.