mouse lovin' python....

[cwarren72]

I have fed live to some of mine in the past and I have heard of snakes going many months without eating with no real harm being done to them. Just keep an eye on it and just try again later

 

[Stormangel]

this is weird but a friend was telling me about his friends rat and snake relationship, it was love at first sight! It got to the point where the snake used to hasstle the rat to cuddle up with it when it was cold and neither tried to eat eachother, I will ask this friend for pics so u can see for yourself!!!

 

[Dragon-Drew]

Ok so I don't own a snake but as you know I am thinking about it.

Is that mouse the right size for that snake I can not see how that snake could possiably fit a mouse that size in its mouth

If it is right then I am going to tell my wife that I never have to much food on my fork unless I am eating the whole plate in one go.

 

[chameleon]

you willbe suprised what a snake can put in its gob.

 

[newtosnakes]

Ok so I don't own a snake but as you know I am thinking about it.

Is that mouse the right size for that snake I can not see how that snake could possiably fit a mouse that size in its mouth

If it is right then I am going to tell my wife that I never have to much food on my fork unless I am eating the whole plate in one go.

lol dragon-drew. yes, she will happily eat a mouse that size. I was sooo amazed when i first saw my male eat. I thought "no way is he going to fit that in" and woila mousey mousey was gooooone.

Anyway, thought I should let you know that i tried her on thawed and she struck at it at first but then let it go again. I left her alone for 10 mins came back and no more mouse. So fiddlesticks to the previous owner telling me "she never eats thawed". :x At least she has eaten now so i am back to being a happy chicky again.

 

[Glimmerman]

If it does not seem interested in thawed or has been allegidly only eaten live, try knocking the mouse b4 you offer it to the stimmi. Hopefully the thrashing around of the body from the nervous system will be enough to kick start the feeding pattern.
I have had to use this technique a few times on new fussy family members with excellent results.

Just a suggestion.

 

[misky]

I am still only pretty new to all of this myself so I don't know how help my opinion is but I would definately go with fresh killed first over frozen. I was in very much the same situation as you when I bought my first python (was bought from a pet shop/had always been fed live prey/when it got home didn't want to eat (even live prey)) I tried everything I could think of... frozen rats, day old chicks, mice and no results. In the end (on the advice of a friend) i upped the temperature in the enclosure and kept it covered for a week (to reduce stress) and then after that offered a fresh killed (still twitching) rat and my python gobbled it up. I never managed to get him on to thawed but never had another problem trying to feed him fresh killed.

Hopefully that is of some help.

Cheers
Luxie

 

[shamous1]

Great pic swiftrat. Just a quick question. What type of snake is it and what did the damage to it?

 

[Koula]

Regal Ball Python - Damage verdict = snake dead from punctured brain, shock/trauma and possibly half its insides chewed out by a hungry rat, but we dont see it in the photo, so who knows.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Just a question - when most people feed or attempt to feed thawed food, do you thaw in hot water? This makes a big difference to the senses of the snake (and also ensures the rodent hasn't been sitting on a benchtop for hours with decay setting in...) As a dealer in WA in a previous life, I had to work primarily with WC herps, and I can honestly say that I had very little difficulty with any pythons taking F/T rodents that were offered to them still warm from the thawing water. All Stimson's and even blackheadeds fed without difficulty, although even feeding Stimson's would go off food for 8-10 months at a time sometimes, with very little loss of condition, but that's probably what they do in the wild.

Many snakes are spooked by live rodents in their confined space, they probably need to feel they have the element of surprise on their side (as I pointed out on a previous thread, every time a snake tackles a live meal, it faces a great risk of injury) and as ambush feeders they lose their advantage if their prey knows they are there.

Go for F/T every time - JM2C.

Jamie.

 

[reptililian]

I really wish I hadn't seen that poor snake.

 

[Moreliaman]

i put the mouse/rat in a bag & then into water, otherwise you just end up with a watery mess, which im sure doesnt smell nice to the snake, keeping it in a bag retains its natural smells, also snakes sence C02 in order to find the mouth (so they usually eat head first) if you defrost in water it looses all of those valuable smells/trigger's that the snake is looking for !
hope that makes sence!

you can also put them in cricket tubs & leave on heatmatts, remember to turn over big mice/rats & make sure they are fully defrosted before feeding.

im glad its illegal to feed live here, i did say i'd look for the pic i had in another thread, thankfully i wont have to bother now, never a pretty sight

 

[shamous1]

This sort of pic should be shown to people new to herps. It is in my book a definite must, and shows people the very real possibility of what feeding live prey to their animals can result in.