Has your snake (any kind) ever fished a f/t rodent out of a bowl of water?

[Gio]

I have to post about this- as I've been feeding many snakes & many kinds for many years, but I've never seen one that managed to fish out their f/t prey after they accidentally dropped it into their bowl of water. Normally, they just lose interest, but today, one of my Trans Pecos rat snakes did just that.

I had fed him a small f/t mouse & had just offered him a second one- he was up on his branches & accepting food from my tongs when suddenly the second one slipped from his mouth (he doesn't wrap dead prey- he just eats it politely from tongs). Plop, right into the water bowl.

I watched to see what he'd do, because he kept staring at it, & soon he was nosing it in the water. It didn't sink, so maybe that would have made the difference?

But still I think this is remarkable, because this is a DESERT snake- not many bodies of water around where they evolved. They do have good vision though, & have always seemed to me to be fairly smart as snakes go. But I was still amazed when he ate this mouse out of his water bowl. In the past, I've always had to fish them out myself for all kinds of snakes, many of which were from environments known for more bodies of water. I think I'll let Mitali* go fishing more often?

Guess what? After eating the second mouse, he went into his hide, but now he's back out, waiting by his water bowl, just above it! No kidding! I love these snakes, & it's obvious they can learn.

*Mitali- Hindu for "friend" He's 15 years old, & 5' long, by the way...so snakes are never too old to learn new things, eh?

Absolutely yes. Almost every one of mine has.





The Bredli, which is a desert species seems to be a pro. Although there are watercourse areas in their habitat, they are not full year round.










This typically happens right after I change their waters out for fresh.