Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a ball python 700 grams and when i first got him he was horrible at striking prey he would strike and miss a few times than get the target. he has gotten better but today again i feed him smaller prey just in case he misses and the rat gets even. today he ate two rat fuzzies and i was trying to feed him three and the third one he struck twice and once he got him he only held the rat for a few seconds and for some reason let go? he can not be disturbed while eating he will let his prey go early if he is. im just getting a little worried once he moves to bigger prey cause if he lets a rat go to earlt that rat may bite him? any feedback appreciated.

I have never had a snake get bit from a prekilled rodent. Use tongs and just walk that baby right by your little fella. If he is shy just lay it in front of him and come back later. 30 minutes should be long enough. If he still hasn't eaten it yet. Take the rodent out and warm it up under a light blub and feed it to someone else. If you don't have anyone else to feed it to. You need more snakes. Good luck and don't forget the tongs.