Picky Eater--but the WEIRD kind?

[VelkynKarma]

I've only had my BP for about six months, so I'm curious on getting feedback from more experienced BP keepers.

When I was first researching to get a ball python, I learned all about their notoriously picky eating habits. I was prepared for that, and prepared for weeks of a snake refusing food outright or going on hunger strikes. I was not prepared for a different kind of picky eating entirely.

Phantom hasn't done a lot of outright rejecting meals, outside of breeding season and when he's shedding (both perfectly reasonable reasons to reject food). But he is a weird eater and never seems to eat the same way from week to week. Different ways of eating include:

1. Barely being presented with a meal before he strikes (preferable)
2. Spends a good five minutes licking the meal before deciding, "Actually, yeah, I could go for a bite" and striking.
3. Shows all the signs of interest in food (intensely staring at and following the meal, lots of tongue flicking, going into a strike position) but refuses to actually take from the tongs. (Usually when he does this, if I leave the meal in the enclosure with him, he'll eat it after I go to bed. I guess he just wanted to eat privately lol).
4. Shows all the signs of interest in food (intensely staring at and following the meal, lots of tongue flicking, going into a strike position) but I guess he needs to think about it for a bit because it takes him a good 5 minutes to decide to strike
5. Shows all the signs of interest in food (intensely staring at and following the meal, lots of tongue flicking, going into a strike position) but needs to spend 5-10 minutes carefully adjusting all of his coils into the perfect-est strike pose ever for maximum effect. My arm gets tired for this one.
6. Strikes, constricts, and kills his already-dead f/t rat, and then forgets/loses it and spends a while looking around for it

He's eating his meals in the end in all these cases, so I'm not really concerned about his health or weight. I'm mostly just curious if this is a thing all ball pythons do, or if my snake is just a weirdo.

[Homebody]

I think that all falls in the range of normal for a bp.

[Bogertophis]

@ VelkynKarma- the longer you keep snakes, the more variations you'll see. Some snakes are more predictable than others, but very few seem to have "read the manual", much less signed off on "the rules" (our expectations)-

You're correct, many are very "shy" about being watched- that's instinctive, because snakes are at risk of being the PREY for other animals while they're distracted & slowed down when eating a meal. With BPs, it often helps to feed in the evenings (after dark, dim the room light) & try not to be very noticeable. The more comfortable (ie. SAFE) they feel, the faster they usually eat.

Practice usually improves things- both for us and for them. You'll get better at reading your snake, & he'll get a little braver in your presence, finally realizing you're not a predator that he has to worry about. (You didn't know you're "scary", did you? LOL)

If our arms get tired waiting for our snakes & while we're trying to be invisible, it's probably 'cause we're out of shape... So for that,

[GoingPostal]

That sounds pretty normal, I'd consider (if you aren't already) making sure you've prescented the area really well for a bit before feeding, feed in the evenings and blowing the feeder with a hair dryer right before offering, it sounds like maybe he's just not quite honing in on it and sometimes that's an easy fix if it's temp.

[VelkynKarma]

Sounds normal at least!

And for everyone suggesting evening feeding and warming the food--I do already do both and have been since I first got him. I'll usually put his rat in a cup of warm water and let it soak for a minute or two until it's around 98F before offering it to him around 9:30/10PM at night, so that if's he's having a 'shy eater' day I'll be heading to bed soon anyway and he can eat in peace. I've tried dimming the lights before too, but it doesn't seem to make a difference for his enthusiasm (or not) for dinner.

I can definitely work out though so waiting for him to decide to eat doesn't tire my arms out!

[Armiyana]

If you're putting the rat directly into the water that could be dulling some of the smell of the rat. That might lead to the slower strikes. I had a few beeps that had no problem eating wet rodents that way....
But now I have a few fussier eaters and I need to 'sous vide' them in hot water while in a baggie to lock that oh so wonderful smell inside. Lol.

[VelkynKarma]

If you're putting the rat directly into the water that could be dulling some of the smell of the rat. That might lead to the slower strikes. I had a few beeps that had no problem eating wet rodents that way....
But now I have a few fussier eaters and I need to 'sous vide' them in hot water while in a baggie to lock that oh so wonderful smell inside. Lol.

Now that's fascinating! I'll have to try it next week and see if it changes anything.

Snakes are so weird! "My rat is too wet so I'm not gonna eat it." Gotta love'em anyway though.

[Armiyana]

It definitely made a huge change with one of my shyest feeders. He'll be at his door waiting now as opposed to taking a few sniffs and hiding away again.

[Bogertophis]

Now that's fascinating! I'll have to try it next week and see if it changes anything.

Snakes are so weird! "My rat is too wet so I'm not gonna eat it." Gotta love'em anyway though.

It depends on the snakes- they're all different. When I lived in the desert & worked with (local, wild) rescues, they LOVED wet food! Not much rain in the desert, wet rodents were a bonus.

When I feed my rat snakes (& others) on f/t, I do thaw directly in water- while it does wash off some scent, MY snakes don't much care*- and also, you can use your feeding tongs to "pinch-damage" the rodent's nose just a bit, as that will also release more scent, & right on target where you want your snake to grab. *But, it does likely matter greatly to YOUR snake...

So I agree, you should try thawing in a baggie that keeps them dry- try to get as much air out first, as that slows down the thawing process by quite a bit. That's ANOTHER thing that causes refusals too- if the rodent isn't thawed completely so they're soft in the middle (always feel by hand before feeding). If they're still frozen in the middle, your snake will likely refuse it, & if it's taken, they'll probably upchuck it- you really don't want that to happen either.

This should all get easier with practice & figuring out what your snake prefers.

[dakski]

Three quick thoughts.

1. Probably total normal behavior for your BP.

2. Have you tried putting the rat down and walking away? Shayna, my 9 1/2 year old BP was similar for a long time (see below). If she didn't strike right away, I'd put the rat down and walk away and it was usually gone pretty quick. If she didn't show interest in 10-15 minutes, I'd try again another day.

3. What size rat are you feeding and how often? How much does Phantom way and how old is he.

The last question has to do with appetite. Shayna used to get medium rats once she was over about 1kg (she's now about 2kg). I offered medium rats every 2 weeks as an adult, but she would still often refuse. I switched back to small rats (still every two weeks) and she rarely misses a meal (except in shed or her winter fast). She actually put on some weight because she was eating regularly, was more active, and strikes now 2/3 of the time. If she doesn't show immediate interest, or I guess the wrong hide, etc. I just put the rat down and if not in her winter fast, the rat is usually going down the hatch or gone within 30 minutes.

Frankly, if your BP is eating regularly, I like to say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." However, number 3 could be a factor.

Keep us posted and good luck.