feeding oddities

[Gurgie]

Hi folks...your friendly neighborhood pest again.

2 questions I guess this time....

1. I got out of the hospital on Thursday, and fed Nag on thursday. was late because I was going to feed him Sunday night, and never got around to it in between passing out, and have my arms stuck up like a pincushion.

I also offered him a mousie tonight as well, as this is my usual feeding schedule...Sunday evenings. Well, he ate Thursday really well, and he snapped up his mousie tonight as well.

does this mean I should start feeding him twice a week, or is it that the mousie was too small?

2. this is a little weird

When I fed Nag tonight, I did the warm-it-up thing (thanks again whoever suggested I do that lol) and put it down right in front of Nag's nose. he snatched it up so fast...it was so cool.

anyway, he seems to want to start eating the front limbs first, which is now unusual I know...he has to work around to the head. but here's where it got weird tonight.

nag struck and coiled...most impressively I must say, and did the suffocation thing...but then when he started to eat the mousie, he had trouble getting to the head. or at least I thought it was trouble.

I watched him for 10 minutes...rubbing his chin all over the mousie, and tongue-flicking all up and down the body of the mouse. it looked to me like when he was chin rubbing like he was looking for the head so he could eat, but the he started to wander away from the mousie somewhat, and would go back to it. it has never taken him this long to eat before, and it tripped me up.

I ALWAYS make sure to point the head of the mousie so Nag doesnt struggle with it, and that has worked well except for the past 2 feedings. now dont get me wrong, he is still eaitng, and well, but that odd behaviourism was strange to watch.

anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? Just wondering if this is normal and nothing to worry about.

thanks

[ddbjdealer]

does this mean I should start feeding him twice a week, or is it that the mousie was too small?

Once a week is fine. Ball Pythons are oportunistic feeders... so while they WILL eat more often if food is available, it doesn't mean it's good for them. They have a fast metabolism (for a snake) but not fast enough to eat more often than is suggested (once a week). Hence why everyone says don't handle them for 48 hours after feeding. Notice how your BP moves to the warm hide after a meal and just sits there for two days? That helps them digest their meal and then they can go on with thermoregulating and moving back and forth between the cool side hide and warm side hide. If you feed more often, they'd be stuck in that warm hide, and eventually (probably) you'd have feeding problems.

anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? Just wondering if this is normal and nothing to worry about.

Yup, completely normal. Sometimes the way they strike and coil, they find the head right away... other times, they have to "sniff" around for it. No problems at all.

Hope this helps!

[4Khan]

Khan does the same thing. It takes him a while to get to he head, he has to do a little checking out and assesing. He reminds me of myself at a buffet. I am eyeing up all these goodies displayed before me but I know its best for me to start with a salad (in our snakes case, the head) since Its light and will go down easy for me...stops me from filling up on all the not so good stuff.


Hahaha...ok just forget what i said..lol

[frankykeno]

Once a week is recommended but if you feel the prey isn't filling enough for your snake perhaps either offering two prey once per week or moving up in size of prey might be the answer. Your snake will let you know what works for it.

As far as the fiddling about with prey, sometimes they do just mess about for awhile. One of ours (Rionach) went two weeks where she hit and constricted her prey then oddly felt she had to drag it over to her water dish and dunk it in - repeatedly! Then and only then was it to her snakey satisfaction and promptly (and wetly) snarfed down. Two weeks of this...then she went back to her normal behaviour. Haven't a clue why, snakes are just wierd sometimes LOL.

[Davu]

Wow, thats pretty funny! Maybe it added flavor, kinda like us dunking our chicken strips in Ranch or something!! How weird!

[Gurgie]

thanks folks. I feel I have never owned a "normal" animal, and I just figured Nag fit right in with the rest of my critters.

I just bought some new adult mousies and I finally saw a small bump in his belly when he swallowed. so i think I finally got the right size...for the time being anyway. should work out fine i think.

thanks again folks for all your help