Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all,

I'm a beginner snake owner and needs some assurance my ball python is alright. I've had him for about 4 or 5 months and he is about 1.5 years old. He always had no problems eating, but last time and the time before when I fed him (frozen/thawed) he grabs the mouse, then starts to try and eat the mouse sideways instead of head first. I takes him about 1-1.5 hours to get the whole thing down. The first time I tried to help rotate the mouse, but he wasn't having any of it. Last night, I just let him be and eventually he finished it. Is it OK that he is trying to eat this way or is it a sign something else is going on?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

As long as he is eating... it's fine...

~ Mike

Yea, it happens. It may take him longer to eat it, but it's alright. If they feel uncomfortable with the way they are eating it, they will let go and try again from another spot.

-John

To make you feel better you might want to try using a pair of tongs and offer it head down so he has to take it from the head.

At a year and a half old, the mouse is probably a small enough prey item to him that it's not an issue to eat it sideways. My younger female tries to eat her rats sideways too, but usually gives up and goes for the head.

You could try Melindaste's suggestion with the tongs but upping the prey size could work too.

Good luck!

~jenny
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1.4 normal ball pythons (Cindy, Darwin, Periscope, and dah bebbies)
0.2 rescue chinese water dragons (Yoni and Linga)
1.0 rex rat (Scurvy)
1.0 gerbil (Yerbul)
0.1 mice (Cute Girl Mousy)
0.1 bunny (Spazz)
1.1 betta fishes (Vicious and Killer)
2.2 great danes (Shasta, Odysseus, Merlot, and Watson)
1.0 fat fuzzy mutt (Smokey)
1.1 cats (Thidwick and Turtle)
3.0 horses (Buddy, Sam, and Scout)
1.0 goat (Billy Jack)
0.0.1 chupacabra (it ate our chickens)

jenny.thegreenes.org

Thanks everyone. I'll leave him be and let him enjoy his food. FYI, I usually do use tongs and "deliver" the food head first, but he wraps it, then moves it around as if he is purposefully eating it sideways. Once I'm out of the smaller stuff, I'll upgrade to the next size.