not happy about this feeding :(

[recycling goddess]

well i'm not real pleased about the feeding my hog today. i was sitting, waiting for drake - my hog island - to take down his rattie. everyone else was long done striking, constricting and eating... and he was waiting for that silly rattie to come out from behind his water dish.

this little rattie would not come out... drake struck, missed, hit the side of the enclosure... didn't seem too pleased about it. i think it's his first miss EVER in his life!

so he waits... patiently... stalking the rattie... hoping she'll pop her head up from behind the water dish.... would she? no freakin' way!

finally... it must have been 15 minutes later cause i know my arm was going numb holding up my head while i watched patiently for him to strike... he strikes again. now i don't know exactly what went wrong... if he hit the side of the water dish as well... but he was not a happy boy. he was yawning his jaw over and over again... the left side kept going down (almost looked like someone has a fishing line tied to it and was pulling it down) and i looked... there was the rattie laying beside the water dish... was she dead or just not moving? i wasn't sure.

so... i sat as he worked his jaw over and over and over and over and over again... finally he went over and started eating. i think he scared the rattie to death... cause he never constricted or really hit her (i used my flashlight and couldn't see any damage at all, she was wedged down beside the water dish and the side of the enclosure) - but she was dead... he ate her.

so that's the longest feeding experience i've had... must have taken about 30 minutes or longer... i felt like i was sitting there f-o-r-e-v-e-r.

[Laooda]

Wow... that's a first!!!! Sorry it was so frustrating, for both of you!

[recycling goddess]

i kept thinking... if only i could push a button and his water dish would move out of the way LOL

[Laooda]

I started pulling hides and dishes out when I drop feeders in... a few of mine are not that bright, and it seems to help!

[lillyorchid]

I HATE when rats do that! It drives me crazy. I now take everyone's water bowls out that eat live before putting the rat in.

[Christina]

i feed live, and one time, the mouse curled up and fell asleep right next to my snake, who also fell asleep. 2 hours later she woke up and grabbed him. that was an experiance...

[recycling goddess]

oh wow, i wouldn't leave a live prey in for that long...

but drake was out and READY to eat... i can't reach in and take out his dishes or hide... i'd get tagged for sure. boas have a nice looooong reach when it comes to dinner :eek:

[Christina]

that's what i was worried about. i didn't want to disturb her, but i did sit there and watch her the entire time to make sure that darn mouse didn't try anthing!

[recycling goddess]

good to hear!!!

[recycling goddess]

sorry super busy day...

so we checked on drake this morning and his mouth seems totally fine. i was very happy to see that.