Feeding question

[deltaneutral]

This may be a silly question, but my baby BP doesn't strike when it eats.
I've had him a few weeks and each time I try to feed him (F/T) off of the tongs, he just sniffs around it but won't strike like all those great videos I see.
If I leave the mouse on the bottom of his feeding tank, he'll come up to it, sniff around, and then slowly start to take it.

Is this normal?

[Dragoon]

it is an F/T mouse and a strike and constriction isn't needed to kill it. it seems to be feeding as if it is scavenging.

[deltaneutral]

The last few weeks he has been striking fairly hard...maybe he just needed some time to get used to his environment.

I feed him in a separate container and Iactually believe he knows it going to be feeding time when I put him in.

[LAWReptiles]

Snakes are just as much scavengers as they are hunters. If a snake comes up on live food in the wild. He will kill it, then eat it.. If he comes up on the same food, but already dead.. Well, He will just eat it

"
I feed him in a separate container and Iactually believe he knows it going to be feeding time when I put him in."

Here comes the debate... lol

[Spaniard]

My biggest female is also my shyest; she will only eat off the tub floor. As long as your snake eats every week, how you accomplish it doesn't matter. Works out better in my opinion just plop the f/t rat in there and walk away. No zombie dancing and no risk to the snake.

"
I feed him in a separate container and Iactually believe he knows it going to be feeding time when I put him in."

Not to derail the thread but how do you "know" he "knows"?

[frankykeno]

I feed him in a separate container and Iactually believe he knows it going to be feeding time when I put him in.

He most likely does. These snakes seem to be creatures of habit and pretty quickly figure out simple routines that occur in their lives over and over again. It makes perfect sense to me that if your feeding routine includes him being placed in a seperate feeding enclosure than it would key him into the fact that dinner's about to be served.

[kid_mustango02]

In the beginning I fed in a cardboard box. The snake definitely knew what was coming because he would hold his neck and head in the air looking at me in a striking position. That snake could actually catch a mouse in mid-air if I tossed it in.

Now it could be that the smell of the box could have triggered the feed response, or it could be the snake recognizing the box and knew what was coming. Either way, I had a better feed response in that box than I do in the enclosure. Though with multiple snakes, it's a pain. So I just scent the area.

Now for the original post, I have a snake that will eat like that also. Of course I prefer him to constrict. Like Spaniard says, as long as he eats I'm content.

[WizzySRT10]

After watching 8 ball pythons video about feeding where it says "leave the rats 30-60 mins before feeding" actually I put the box with the rat in it on top of the screen for say 5 mins and I see his tounge out and he's looking around... so I open it up drop the rat in and dead in no time. All I have to say is so far he's a strong eater.