Aussie Pythons and Snakes

junglemad · #1 30-Oct-05, 12:26 AM

For those who offered me advice I have good news. Tangles, my little coastal with no tongue, ate by himself last night.
He is in an enclosure with a 10 month jungle male. They are great mates. I put a live mouse in for the jungle and tangles struck at it and grabbed its nose. It was much too big for him but it is the first time he has struck or looked like striking.

I have been assist/force feeding him and it was stressing him out. After he struck so well at the mouse i put a live fuzzy in with him. He hit it after a while and then began to eat (backwards but who cares)

I though he would never feed normally without his tongue and Jacobsen Organ etc...but he did.

You little beauty!!!!

pugsly · #2 30-Oct-05, 12:51 AM

Thats great news mate, hope he continues it for you, cute little guy he is!

Wrasse · #3 30-Oct-05, 05:26 AM

I am not touching this...

Oh wait, I did...

rascal779 · #4 30-Oct-05, 05:48 AM

lol....didnt think you would be the one to start it wrasse.

you're up a bit late? or...hmmm early?

alexr · #5 30-Oct-05, 08:47 AM

Hey junglemad thats great news! I though that snakes only strike at items they "sense" are food... so they must also rely on sight.

How big is he now?

Dicco · #6 30-Oct-05, 09:14 AM

I'm with Wrasse.

junglemad · #7 30-Oct-05, 10:06 AM

I thought they only found their prey by scent but he must be relying on heat to strike.

Size wise he is a bonsai, but he will go from here. He is about 18 inches and as round as a pencil. I have pics to post of his feast but i can't upload any more and i don't know how to delete the ones i have posted to make room.

fishead · #8 30-Oct-05, 10:19 AM

OK guys I'll start it. There's no way I'd feed live let alone with two snakes in the one enclosure. A bud up my way fed a live mouse to a yearling water python not long back, he saw it grab and constrict so walked off. Next morning he had a look in there and there was a live mouse running around and a water python sitting there with it's nose chewed off!!!!
For some reason the snake must have lost interest in his meal and let go. Don't know exactly what happened there but a shocker of an outcome! And on the two snakes in the one enclosure issue with one mouse issue there's huge potential for at least one dead snake there too. Why create hazards? I think if you create opportunites for sh-t to happen, you might get away with it for a while but it eventually will happen. I think good husbandary is about getting back to basics and eliminating risks. Babbling now. See ya, Steve.

Surfcop24 · #9 30-Oct-05, 10:40 AM

Hmm Great news that he is eating.... But I gotta agree with "Fishead" form everything I have read and been told... - Not a good idea to feed live food...... - And also feeding a snake in with another, asking for trouble....

junglemad · #10 30-Oct-05, 11:14 AM

gee..thanks a lot fellas...you can watch your snake die if you are worried about feeding live but i won't. I won't let a snake die without force feeding it either.
There is now way i would leave a live item in with a snake overnight. And the snake had no tongue when i got him. All these horror stories about prey chewing snakes noses off don't scare me. If your mate didn't see the snake eat he should have taken it out.

so relax and watch your snakes die because you won't let them kill prey the way nature intended. If a snake will take dead prey that is what they will get here too but if they won't I will try EVERYTHING I can.

Do any gecko and dragon owners out there feed their animals on dead crickets and other dead insects?

pugsly · #11 30-Oct-05, 11:57 AM

Im with you Junglemad, guys you cant try telling me that if you had a snake that wont eat thawed or anything at all that you wouldnt try everything you could to get him eating... I have seen this little guy and he is like a worm, if he can eat when its live than so be it. In my opithere is no difference in smakin a mouse on the side of a brink than feeding live to a snake.

Luckily I can feed my snakes thawed but if I had to get a problem feeder going of course i would try live. As for them both being in the same enclosure the jungle's last i dea of a prey item would be Tangles, its about 1/10 of his size or worse. I say good on ya mate, I feed snakes at the same time and never have had a problem with good supervision, just because of one story of some guy who left them be had a bad experience doesnt mean that everyone will.

Dicco · #12 30-Oct-05, 02:08 PM

Puting a live mouse in with two snakes is just irresponsible, simple as that. And why is a coastal in with a Jungle 10 times it's size?

junglemad · #13 30-Oct-05, 02:21 PM

Coz i can Dicco, coz i can. Have u ever seen a 20 foot jungle?
I will buy it if u have one...it's just mathematics mate

AustHerps · #14 30-Oct-05, 02:25 PM

It's stupidity like that which is why I refrain from posting here often.

There is no reason to ever feed live. If you put a live rat in with a snake, no matter how bloody hard your watching it, you're not going to be fast enough to grab the rat if it has a go at the snake. A friend of mine lost a large collett's snake a few years back because the rat, upon being dropped into the enclosure, and after being stunned, sprung to life and clawed through the main blood supply to the snake's head. It's an even stupider idea to put a live rodent in with a long, skinny, frail, weak snake! Force feed it for months if you have to... force feed it for the rest of it's life! Tis better than risking death, or the loss of an eye. It's your responsibility to ensure the safety and longevity of the snake, above all things.

Also, if a snake isn't feeding, why on Earth would you let it share an enclosure with another snake??! A perfectly healthy snake with all faculties can go off feed from the stresses involved with living with another. Once again, just bloody stupid.

Even more! You feed the snake whilst in the company of another snake! If you end up with one very very fat, dead jungle, and nothing else, I wouldn't be surprised. Stupid. Some people keep snakes together, and separate for feeding. Two snakes, two separate tubs. But what about when the two snakes are put back into the enclosure? Both of them have had their feeding responses activated. Both have adrenaline running through their systems. BOTH SMELL LIKE FRESHY KILLED RAT. Some people have no bloody idea.

AustHerps · #15 30-Oct-05, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by junglemad

Coz i can Dicco, coz i can. Have u ever seen a 20 foot jungle?
I will buy it if u have one...it's just mathematics mate

Did it ever occur to you that Dicko wasn't referring to length? Weight wise, I don't think he'd be far off.