lol, I ask 2 many Questions

[earthmother]

My Inland Python has begun to take a long time over every meal. I've fed her outside her tank from day 1. She will grab the mouse or rat but than she holds it for an hour before trying to eat it.
She doesn't play with it.
As somebody said, when I asked this question - -"It's just inconvenient".

That's correct but is it a bad habit for her to get?
How would you change her eating behaviour?

I've asked a handful of people their ideas and want to know yours. I apologise for asking a simple question, & I am aware the snake isn't ill or in danger.
I have an aversion to feeding live , any other solutions?

I've heard alott that snakes are creatures of habit, that snakes don't like changes to the tank. Is that correct?

Any answers are greatly appreciated.
Em

[angelrose]

my inland wont actually eat if shes being watched and will wrap around it for an hour or untill she believes it is safe to make herself vulnerable around me.... however if i turn the light off and leave the room, she will eat it immediately....

[Artie]

Hi Em

I assume that by feeding your snake outside the tank, that you are feeding her on the ground. If so, she might have got into the habit that she has all the time in the world and is just lazy. I had that happen to me a few times. So now I take the snake out onto a perch (log on a stand) and tease the snake from underneath with the prey, so then she has to grab it and strangle it to be able to hold it. It might not be too comfortable for too long, so it might just hurry her along a bit. It worked for me. Try that, just a suggestion.
Cheers Artie

[Artie]

Also, you might be feeding her to often and she is not all that hungry.

[Greebo]

Yeah,what Angelrose said. Try giving her a little privacy and see if that makes a difference.
Don't worry about asking too many questions. That's what this forum is here for.

[earthmother]

Hello & thankyou .

Yes, i feed her in a box outside her cage. I'll try turning the lights off, and Angelrose, what lazy lttle snakes we have!
Thankyou Artie as well, you know this snake, and as I said before she's darned perfect. lol I feed her a large mouse or rat pup every 7-10 days, she always eats but this slowdown was a change to her usual ways - - :roll: Just when I'd begun thinking she's predictable.
Em

[zoe]

hey em,

my snake does the same thing almost every time but instead of just holding it hes sniffing all around it trying to decide which end he should start on lol. and yes this takes an hour :roll:
ive begun to think hes lazy too cos for the first 45 mins or so he will keep putting his mouth around the tail or foot like hes thinking "this would just be sooo much easier" lol. he will however get distracted and take even longer if he sees me moving around outside the cage too so i dunno how much you watch of it but maybe keep very very still lol.

im beginning to think hes just a retard lol. the coastal downs all her meals straight away! she's the insinkerator lol.

[earthmother]

Lol Zoe, I watch her all the time, I take photos even.I didn't last time - - I wonder if she was waiting for the camera flash as her cue? lol

Yes, we call our slow 1s -"The Special" snakes lol.
Em :wink:

[Parko]

Hi Zoe, my Stimsons sometimes does the same thing, I've found that if I wiggle the mouse a little with a stick (after the snake has grabbed it) then the snake will get more agressive in its feeding attitude, it's almost as if the snake is taking the mouse for granted, but when the mouse is ''struggling'' the snake gets more serious about it.

[cwarren72]

I feed my bigger guys and girls in my showers, but I am lucky in the fact that they are all PIGS. By the time I walk from on shower to feed one and back again they have just about swollowed the whole thing.

[Artie]

Probably turned on the shower to wash it down quickly.

[BuggieSmuggler]

EM,
I've always fed my snakes in their enclosure. I know there are arguements for & against & I don't really care about those it's just the way I do it. But in trying to get hatchlings feeding I've noticed that carpets seem to feel more comfortable hanging from above even if the food is dead.
Also you have to realise that Artie's diamonds are poster girls for Jenny Craig. No offense intended Artie I'm sure everyone here knows your attitude to "over feeding".

[angelrose]

Hi again, Em my baby stops eating or caring about food when she see's a camera flash.... if you want to watch, video tape it, you can watch later.

[instar]

Good idea, I have a "nightshot" mode on my cam, i can video in almost total darkness. think they might know your their all the same, sense your body heat within a few feet. probably be much calmer in the dark though.

[sxereturn]

I have a Brown Tree Snake that is a pretty sketchy feeder. He'll take one mouse, but it takes a lot of effort to get him to take a second one. He'll grab and constrict it, but won't eat. I have found that stirring him up, tapping his body with the mouse etc, and when he grabs it, pulling on the mouse as if it is struggling helps a lot.