Change in Stimson feeding behaviour

[AndrewQLD]

Hi,
We've had our Stimsons python for a few months now and I was having trouble getting decent fresh/frozen food, the two suppliers we used in Bundaberg had quality that varied and sometimes Mica would sniff around the food and eventually take it (reluctantly) and sometimes she would have a sniff and then turn her nose up at it and go back into the hide and sulk.

So we decided to breed our own food and purchased 2 female mice and a male, we've had a couple of litters now and euthanized them at 3 weeks and then froze them.

When dinner day comes along Mica now strikes at the food and then coils around it before ingesting, this is something she has only started doing since going on the new diet, is this normal behaviour and do you think it's because the food is fresh?

Here's a couple of pics (sorry about the quality)

Cheers
Andrew

 

[shellfisch]

Sounds to me like a happy snake doing what comes naturally

 

[Kristy_07]

Normal and hungry, mate!

 

[AndrewQLD]

I thought it was normal but I was interested to see the difference when we supplied our own home grown food, I really thought the lack of interest originally was because the mice were substandard, perhaps slightly tainted, does that sound right? Or will a Python still hammer offerings that are not very fresh?

Thanks for the help.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[hallie]

mine smashes anything put in front of it.

may have still been settling in when not eating..?

 

[Glimmerman]

I believe it depends on the animal on the day. Sometimes they will just open their mouths waiting for it to be put in - other times they will launch from one side of the tank to the other. I supose it is a bit like our behavior. Some days we like food more than others. :lol:

 

[MrBates]

All my snakes strike at their food then coil it to make sure its "dead" then eat it.

 

[Opalsdad]

My Childreni grabs any defrosted and warm mouse that's put in front of it, It will then constrict it anyways like it is trying to kill it. Normal behavior for a snake

 

[Contagion]

Sounds to me like is the food.

It could be that you're doing something differently to th eold supplier and she's liking it. maybe it smelt fresher, or just stronger, or cleaner? I dunno, but certainly I'd be leaning towards the food being the cause for the sudden enthusiasm.

Then again it could just be coincidence that she's settled in and started feeding well just as you've got your food ready.

 

[AndrewQLD]

Sounds to me like is the food.

It could be that you're doing something differently to th eold supplier and she's liking it. maybe it smelt fresher, or just stronger, or cleaner? I dunno, but certainly I'd be leaning towards the food being the cause for the sudden enthusiasm.

Then again it could just be coincidence that she's settled in and started feeding well just as you've got your food ready.

The one thing I always noticed with the bought food was that it was always wet and soft/squishy when defrosted, our stuff is dry and firm and looks like a fresh mouse.

Either way I'm glad we started our own food factory even if it is just for piece of mind.

Andrew