Not Constricting? Trying to get out? And other questions...

[missi182]

The 10-15% weight rule works for me just fine because the girth is also similar. My bp is 750 grams, his meals are 70-80 grams. Anything smaller and he just hangs out waiting for more food.

Don't forget, just because prey may weigh a certain amount, does not mean it will be a specific thickness. Many rat pups or small mice can be long and thin and weigh the same as a short and fat prey (this applies more to f/t than live)

Helena, I keep my frozen f/t in a mini fridge freezer sometimes and as long as the temperature in the freezer is set to full, it is the same as the bigger freezers I have.

Anyway, a few people have mentioned prey size - that is because what you were describing as a meal in the first post was basically a pinkie, which is not nearly enough for your bp. My male would climb his vines/plants trying to get out desperately when he was a few months old, so I bumped him up to rat pups and covered his tank better and he calmed down.

[WingedWolfPsion]

They usually won't bother to try to constrict something that's no longer than their head--it would be silly to try.

Of course I have one older female albino bp who will eat anything she can alive unless its wiggling is too vigorous. We try to feed her stunned only, as she absolutely refuses f/t (I've tried all the tricks, repeatedly, for over a year).

[Pandora]

The 10-15% weight rule works for me just fine because the girth is also similar. My bp is 750 grams, his meals are 70-80 grams. Anything smaller and he just hangs out waiting for more food.

Don't forget, just because prey may weigh a certain amount, does not mean it will be a specific thickness. Many rat pups or small mice can be long and thin and weigh the same as a short and fat prey (this applies more to f/t than live)

Helena, I keep my frozen f/t in a mini fridge freezer sometimes and as long as the temperature in the freezer is set to full, it is the same as the bigger freezers I have.

Anyway, a few people have mentioned prey size - that is because what you were describing as a meal in the first post was basically a pinkie, which is not nearly enough for your bp. My male would climb his vines/plants trying to get out desperately when he was a few months old, so I bumped him up to rat pups and covered his tank better and he calmed down.

Everybody seems to think that my concern is the size of her food, but it isn't!!
I mentioned that that is the smallest I have fed her since I got her, everything else has been bigger. Unfortunately, that was the only thing the place I go to get her food had. I'm well aware of what size her food should be and that's exactly what I've been feeding her. It's just this one time that was different. My concern was why she wasn't constricting but now I know that the mouse was too small.

[Bettacreek]

I think what everyone is trying to say is that your problems revolve around prey that is too small and the ball being hungry. She's most likely more active because she is hungry. She didn't constrict because the prey was too small. After being told by a dozen people that you need to up the food size, if you're still not concerned about her diet, then, well, you at least SHOULD be. You just asked this question, meaning that you apparantly weren't concerned about this before, just now, and, you're just now feeding a pinky, so, yes, it does go hand-in-hand. Feed the right size prey and your "problems" should all disappear.

[xanaxez]

althought not the sname snake, i have carpet pythons that do it sometimes also. sometimes they will strike,constrict then eat and sometimes they will just prefer me to lay it down and let them eat it. all of mine eat the proper size food and still do it so i agree it isnt an issue of food size. i just think sometimes they become lazy or something lol. i have noticed though if you thaw them then let them warm up to room tempurature or a little warmer they will stike more often. but if unthawed and not 70 to 80 degrees in tempurature they will just eat it like they know its already dead.

[MeMe]

My concern was why she wasn't constricting but now I know that the mouse was too small.

yes you can feed 2 in one sitting.

But feed equal value.

For example..

Say I have a male bp that takes a small rat (65 grams) but since I feed weaners to my snakes I give him 2 weaners (30-35grams each).

Some of my snakes constrict and some don't. I have snakes that constrict like they are gonna pop their prey's head off (corns are crazy!) and some that just don't care and eat it live.

[Shadow4108]

You said that she got out once earlier, maybe her scanning the top and climbing is just her trying to find the way out again.

[scotty99]

If you can buy a little mini freezer suggested by another member, then you can buy a good supply of f/t, and as they vary in size in the batches, you can pick out the right sized rodent for each meal, instead of "get what your given/ the only size they have" when you buy live. All being well your BP will be around for 10/15/20 years, so buying a mini freezer may be a good investment

ps-May be try rats... my BP was a funny eater. When i gave mice he wouldn't be that bothered (ie-not resticting letting go after restricting), i could take it away and he would let me. Now he's on rats and hasn't refused since, as for getting a rat off him ...nooo chance

[rishnack]

Kaa one time did the opposite no strike just sorta snuggled up to the rat then dicided "ah what the hey " and slowly started to constrict
he didnt get bit, but boy he shoulda ive fed him prekilled but its rare usually hafta feed live to all my snakes anyways back to your problem
i got so tired of the rat hunt every weekend lookin for the right size i just started breeding my own, sooo...lemme know what size i,ll fedx em to yah
k im kidding , if you have more than one bp, or rat eater i should say it is so much cheaper and easier to breed your own, i wouldnt worry about him not constricting he just got thrown for a loop it happens, and roaming around lookin for a place to hole up for fall, he,ll be fine

[gotballs?]

On a less serious subject... I was planning on buying those jungle vines for her tank and possibly getting rid of her log. I've seen this vines zip tied or twist tied to the lids of tanks from looking at other people's set ups. However, I don't want to lift up the vines every time I take her lid off to change the water or handle her. I'm thinking of putting them in once I upgrade her tank but I don't know of how to set them up so they look good but are sturdy. Any ideas or suggestions on how I can set them up?

I used the plastic suction cup thingies that are used to hold up window decorations... you can get them in the christmas decorations section at home depot... they work REALLY well, and we have had no problems with them!