He bit himself and coiled!

[Sleepy Panda]

Okay, so it was feeding time last night, and I thawed out a nice little rat for my BP. Aside from one or two mice in the beginning, he's been eating perfectly for about 7-8 months now.

Anyway, I was dangling the F/T rat into the tank as per usual. He was already waiting to be fed. He came out right away to sniff the air, then when he got closer he jolted forward to grab it and squeeze.

Things went a little different than normal. It all happened so quick, I don't know exactly how it went down, but it basically looked like he missed the rat by an inch or so, but coiled anyway, thinking he had snagged it. Next thing I know, the rat is still dangling away and he's biting himself and is fully coiled to try and strangle the prey. (in this case, himself!)

I tried nudging him slightly to see if he would release but he just tensed up at the touch. I left him alone for about 2 minutes after that but continued to wave the rat around to try and get his attention. After the 2 minutes, he released his grasp and came after the rat.

This was last night so I didn't have a chance to check for any puncture marks or scars. He did eat his meal though, and was chilling on the warm side this morning.

Is he mentally sane? He's missed his mark a couple times, which I've read can happen due to poor eyesight, but biting himself and holding there for a good 2 minutes??

Any advice, comments, etc.. are extremely welcome!

[Nate]

interesting.....that's all i can think to say.

no pics? lol

[Freakie_frog]

he got a mouth full of something warm and soft and he's hanging on. He'll let go just check him out to make sure he didn't do any real damage. LOL

Now thats a first!

[Razaiel]

I have heard of it before and wondered what to do if it happened to one of mine - I think I would be tempted to spray the snake with water - not sure if this is the right thing to do though ... anyone?

[jknudson]

Get a hemostat and hold the f/t item near the shoulder blades and hold it in front of your snake. It's hard for them to aim on a swinging object, that's probably why he struck himself...

Plus holding it in your hand is a good way to get tagged with a swinging prey item...he's not looking for rat shapes, just body heat.

-Jason

[steveo]

I had that happen to me before, i was feeding my male Argentine boa and as typical argentines (very agressive feeders ) he missed his prey , bit and threw a coil around himself . i waited a few minutes nudging him but like Sleepy Panda said they just tighten there grip even more..its an instinct thing i guess . I sprayed him with water and he let go almost immediatly then fed and slithered off onto his hotspot .......god i miss those guys

[Broseph]

WOW!!!! never heard of that... hope all is well with him.

[lillyorchid]

LOL my corn Jinx did that when he was younger. He didn't coil, but he missed the f/t hopper and garbed his and bit his side. I was a bit surprised! He let got after a few seconds.

[Kizerk]

i never heard of snakes doing that, never occured to me as a possibility

did the bites puncture the skin?

[lillyorchid]

Not sure about the OP's snake, but I know my Jinx did not leave a mark on himself.