Bad aim... problem?

[kc261]

Tonight I fed my BP. We do f/t and the zombie mouse dance.

For some reason, she missed about 3 or 4 strikes. I don't believe I was doing anything significantly different such as moving more quickly.

I remember one time in the past she missed on one strike, but that time I did feel like I'd made an extra jerky move. I believe other than that she's always gotten the f/t on the first strike.

I haven't seen signs of her going in to shed. I think it is too soon since her last shed anyway.

Anything I should be concerned about?

[andwhy6]

how old is she cuz younger snakes in the past that i have owned have sometimes had the same problems that you are describing. all my snakes are BA's when they feed now so i dont think you have much to worry about unless the problem leads to it not eating.

[dr del]

Hi,

When you say she missed was her mouth open or closed?

Just trying to determine if they were botched feeding strikes or if she was defensively striking to get the "threat" to leave her alone?


dr del

[littleindiangirl]

Could be a number of things. Was the rat/mouse hot enough that your hand didn't confuse her?
Was she defensivly striking at the rat/mouse?

[kc261]

She is young. We got her in Sept 07 and she was supposed to be about 6 or 8 weeks old at the time. So that should make her about 6 months old.

I guess I can't say for sure that her mouth was open. They move so fast when they strike, and it didn't occur to me to try to notice if her mouth was open or closed. But I definitely interpreted them as feeding strikes; I didn't notice anything different about the way she was striking, other than the part about missing of course!

I think the mouse was hot enough. I used the same method I always do: let the mouse thaw at room temperature until it is still cool but there are no longer any hard frozen places (which also pre-scents the room), then heat it under a heat lamp for maybe a minute, with the last 10-15 seconds aimed directly at the head.

She wasn't aiming at my hand, that's for sure. I was using the same tongs as usual but I suppose it is possible my angle was different. Maybe if my hand was behind the mouse from her, it could have confused the heat signature?

She did finally strike the mouse and from there everything went like normal. Constrict to kill the dead mouse, then swallowed it. It just seemed wierd that she'd be so consistent about always getting it on the first strike then have one feeding with so many misses. Are BPs like human athletes? One miss can throw off their confidence and mess up the whole game?

If it makes any difference, it wasn't like BAM-BAM-BAM. There were pauses between each strike. Actually after I think the third miss, it was a long enough pause that I began to wonder if she was now going to refuse the mouse, although she was watching it and looking interested the whole time, but she usually strikes pretty quick. Then after that long pause was when she struck successfully. So maybe she just needed to regroup herself or something.

[frankykeno]

It's hard to say Casey. I do think sometimes when they miss or mess up they do regroup a bit. If you think about it, in nature if a snake went for a live prey item and missed, the prey would like run off and then the snake would have to wait again (being that they are ambush predators by nature). So maybe it's just a function of instinct at work.

I've also had snakes strike, miss and smack their nose on the side of the tub. That will put some of them off and they won't even hunt again that night. It's not common to have that happen, just occasionally and usually with younger snakes that are still developing their hunting skills.

I'd say to just keep an eye on her over the next few feeds and see how it goes. It may be that you need to get that prey a tad warmer to help her zero in on it more accurately. Sometimes a blast with a good hot hair dryer will bump it up just enough to do the trick.

[cheryls]

My bp missed last week, but it was just before he shed, so I chalked it up to that. He also used to miss when he was younger. Now though, during a regular feed, the mouse dance barely begins before he's made his strike and begins constricting.

[kc261]

Thanks to everyone who responded. I guess I'll just wait and see how the next feeding goes. It is good to know no one is saying "oh gosh get her to the vet quick!"

[frankykeno]

Casey, sometimes with these snakes it's best to step back. Assess the whole situation, including husbandry, routines, etc. not just the one single action the snake did. Also to look for patterns of behaviour, look for whether this was a one time odd reaction or a new and different behaviour developing. Then back to the assess the whole situation thing...is the behaviour a good one and natural development of the snake or an iffy behaviour that concerns you. Is the behaviour something you are doing or not doing that triggers it. That sort of stuff.

If you ever feel though that your snake needs to see a vet, you go or at least phone your vet. It's always best, in the end, if your instincts say something is really, really not right to see a vet and get your concerns addressed by a professional who can do a hands on exam.

[Peter Williams]

I have had this problem many times, one of my females absolutely will NOT eat at all once she misses once. I believe i solved the problem, for me anyways. Whenever one of my bps missed, the were always aiming at me, and they hit the tub. The reason I think they do this is because the mouse/rat has cooled too much. Theyre in hunting mode, they smell it, but they do not see it. The only heat they do in fact see, is you. So they strike at the only heat they see and they smell rodent in the air and they think theyre aimed at it, but really theyre aimed at you, and they miss the mouse/rat.