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RE: Bad Striker

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Posted by: PBM at Tue Mar 18 17:07:34 2008  [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by PBM ]  
   

I get wild strikes, but looking at the situation, they happen when food is in the room, and it's feeding time. At this point, I have to pull most tubs open with the hook because as soon as the tub is open, they will shoot out with mouths wide open....before I even get the food within range. So, yeah, that's a totally wild strike because they know something is coming when that drawer opens. I still don't think being a lousy aim would be any benefit in the wild. If they just came flying out with their mouths open and swinging, a bad bite/constriction is going to become a wide open opportunity for the prey item to fight back and cause pretty severe damage to the snake. Of course no cage is like Madagascar, and likewise, you can't take what you see in captivity and assume they'd be as sloppy in the wild when prey is not presented on a weekly basis week in and week out. The captive animals are conditioned way differently than wild animals. If they sit in what ever manner you assume they do in the wild, and wait 3 weeks or whatever for food to come rambling by within range, do you think a wild misguided strike is "natural"? I would go so far as to say wild babies are not difficult feeders either, but they seem to be for a lot of people in captivity. I can't comment on the burrowing in the cage substrate as I use paper for substrate, not wood chips/mulch. I keep my babies in shoe box tubs, with paper substrate and a water bowl. No hides, no mulch, and have no feeding problems with them. Sub-adults go into larger racks and 4' cages and none of them have hides as I've simply had no use for them. I'm able to keep them all healthy, feeding, and breeding keeping things simple for about the last 18 years. Man, it's hard to believe I've kept Dumerils for that long, lol. The first one I saw for sale, they wanted $1200.00 and I was hooked! Anyway, everyone observes and comes up with varying opinions based on their own observations, the original poster will do the same. Each animal is also individual and believe me, there are some aggressive Dumerils out there, although most will tell you they've NEVER seen an aggressive one! Oh yeah, the BCI comment, mine usually either strike or not, rather than defensive strikes at the prey. So, it's a hard comparison when the attitudes seem to conflict each other. Maybe BCI are more bold, and Balls seem to either want to eat or "ball" up. Just completely different personalities to compare. Young boas seem to take as much as you'll put in the cage, Dumerils don't, and power feeding most Dumerils would prove difficult.


   

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