For my snakes, when they have their head out of the hide, they are in hunting mode. BP's will keep their body in the hide, and wait for prey to come along.Originally Posted by b8byjenny
When snakes sleep, their pupils contract down to just a sliver to minimize the amount of light going in. They don't flick their tongue and are quite literally on a hair trigger if are disturbed.
It's instinctive for them to strike at whatever disturbs them when they are sleeping because chances are it's a meal!
A lot of snakes use this ambush method, and sometimes it's good to know how they sleep and why they strike for tough feeders like yours.
Why not next time he's "sleeping" with his head out of the hide (dont matter what time of day), dangle that extra warm stinky rat next to him with no warning. Hopefully you can spur his instinct to strike and constrict.
If that doesnt work, have you considered feeding him in a separate container? I don't totally condemn feeding in separate containers, I just think the reasons people do it are pretty false.
My corn snake has tried live, and lately he's been refusing FT (which we always fed him till we ran out a few weeks ago) We pulled him out, wrangled him into a tub, threw in a chubby rat (fuzzy) and put the lid on. Took him to a quite room, threw a blanket over it and let him alone for a half an hour.
Came back, rat was gone. Some BP's will eat if they are in a small container like a 12 qt, and you put that rat in there. Make it quiet, dark, and no real way for him to avoid crossing paths with the rat.
Always worth a try if several attempts at feeding in the enclosure just aren't working. If not still, you should probably try live.
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