My new/old Bredli female fed for the first time with me today, bang on cue (her regular weekly feed day). So hopefully that's a sign that she's comfortable in her new environment (see other thread). It wasn't all plain sailing though! She struck like a pro, half-heartedly threw a single coil around it and then proceeded to try and eat it ***-first. She kept getting her teeth snagged in the tail and had to keep starting over. Then she seemed to lose interest. I was tempted to just leave her to it and check back later but being a new snake, I wanted to get the first feed done and dusted to put my mind at ease. At some considerable risk to life and limb :lol: I went back in with the tongues and presented Ratty to her a second time (she didn't seem to mind the intrusion). She struck again, threw a good couple of coils around him and waited for him to 'expire'. She then let go and.. you guessed it, tried to eat it back-to-front again! She kept sniffing the head, had a little go at starting to eat from the head-end and then seemed to lose interest again. I then noticed the rats head was tucked under it's body. So in I went again. This time she wasn't as happy about it though. She postured up and started straight over to me. She was definately gonna have me, no doubt about it. Luckily I managed to get Ratty re-positioned so he was lay straight out with his nose pointing straight in her direction. Once she was happy that she'd seen me off she then started to eat from the head-end and in less than five minutes Ratty was just a memory. She absolutely scoffed him!
After she had finished I called the place I got her from and they said she used to get it back to front quite often (funny they didnt mention it before the sale).
Now, please bear in mind that this is my first time feeding a snake in over twenty years. I have never encountered this problem before, as back in the day I only used live food. This is the first time ever using dead, thawed food. I never had a single instance (in a total of 21 Pythons over those years) that ate ***-first. Am I going to have this pantomime every week or is there something I can do with feeding technique to ensure a smoother feed? Just leave her to it? The majority of snakes I owned back then were wild-caught (it's just how it was) is this the difference between wild and captive-bred? Or more to do with live prey vs dead? Or do I just have a big old idiot? :lol:
Thanks!
After she had finished I called the place I got her from and they said she used to get it back to front quite often (funny they didnt mention it before the sale).
Now, please bear in mind that this is my first time feeding a snake in over twenty years. I have never encountered this problem before, as back in the day I only used live food. This is the first time ever using dead, thawed food. I never had a single instance (in a total of 21 Pythons over those years) that ate ***-first. Am I going to have this pantomime every week or is there something I can do with feeding technique to ensure a smoother feed? Just leave her to it? The majority of snakes I owned back then were wild-caught (it's just how it was) is this the difference between wild and captive-bred? Or more to do with live prey vs dead? Or do I just have a big old idiot? :lol:
Thanks!