Strange feeding habit?!

[Renee]

Hi guys, my little spotted python has been showing some strange habits while feeding...
After she came out of hibernation, she began feeding as usual (around end/mid-august). Over the last couple of weeks, she has been refusing to take food. Tonight, she refused again. Frustrated, I pestered her for a while with the mouse, and she kept turning away! After about a minute, she gently took the mouse from the feeding tongs, and proceeded to curl around the mouse! Its almost as if she were acting polite

Is this an unusual behaviour, or anything that I should be worried about??

[patonthego]

She reminds me of my daughters atherton who does the same thing. Did your girl eat it or is she still coiled around it??

Kellie said she was going to try her again tonight with another fuzzy ratsmaller than what I feed my coastal who never knocks back a feed!! I think she is reluctant to try as they are only wasted and it's frustrtating not knowing what to do surely they all like to eat weekly not every 3 weeks or so. ever since she tried her with fuzzies instead of the pinkies.

[RevDaniel]

what is the size of your snake? What temps do you have for it?

[Jen]

Mine do that sometimes, Virgil especially will just go up to the meal and open his mouth rather than strike

[herpsrule]

lol its just like when you feed a dog and say in that voice 'niiiiiice' 'geeeeeentttttle' and they only just take it out of your hand. only this time its a snake

[RevDaniel]

any chance of photos of your snake?

[Renee]

Yeah, she ate it. Only because I pestered her though! Let me know how your daughter goes with her atherton!

[Renee]

Yeah I will try to post a photo Daniel...

[Renee]

Hope this works...

[Stu-man]

When I got my boy I was given some good advice.
He had been a little bit fussy for the period just before I got him and played with his food.

The advice was to give him his food and leave him alone with the rat/mouse in a dark container.

The first time I fed him he struck at the fuzzy and took it from the tongs. He then proceeded to wrap just one coil around and sit there looking around.

Thinking that he was not responding to the unmoving food I thought that perhaps I should take back fuzzy and offer it to him again. He was having none of that!! That is the only time he has tried to strike at me!

I then actually followed the advice I had been given at the start. I put the click clak that I had him in for feeding into a quiet place and covered it to make it nice and dark inside. About two hours later when I checked on him - no fuzzy and one fat snake.

Ever since I have maintained a routine. He is fed once a week in a separate container and is only ever in that container when he is being fed. No problems with feeding and he is growing incredibly fast.

There are lots of people on here who know far more than me but this worked for me.

[Renee]

Stu-man, do you just leave the mouse in the container with the snake? And was the fuzzy alive or defrosted?

[Dan19]

yeah i am also looking for some ways to make my diamond x coastal eat he is very fussy and when im luck he feeds about every 3-4 weeks
i try to just put it in his face and the dark container and stuff but he seems to just run away from it??
can someone please help with some techniques aswell please ( sorry to do this in your thread renee )
pm me or post here or something please
thanks

[Renee]

lol, no worries Dan! Be my guest, the more the merrier! (and it might increase our chances of getting some help)

[Stu-man]

My boy is coming up to 10 months old and is feeding on defrosted fuzzy rats.
I have not had any problems with him feeding since the first time when he played with his food.

[raxor]

I have a roughly 8 month old stimmie who won't eat while you're watching.. I leave the defrosted mouse in her cage, go to sleep, and in the morning it is gone. Magic!