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my year old ball python ive affectionatley re-named him from quiz to gordo the retard (not trying to offend anyone i have an aunt who is retarded and im not making fun of this in any way nor am i making fun of the name gordo one of my best friends) he is just "slow" he has a great feeding response he struck the mouse while i was still holding him from changing cages for feeding let me start by saying: he wraps up dead mice as if the mouse was alive, and if it was alive im sure hed be dead, he then holds on the mouse for about 20 mins in this position-no joke 20 mins. this is where the fun starts after he lets go he tries to swallow the mouse from all directions except the head rear 5 times side 10 times i left the room for about 30 mins and he finally gets most of his meals down sometimes we "try again" the thing is he doesent search for the head of any mice we give him no matter what size he just starts to try and swallow from anywhere he may be even the side. He was sick when he was first brought home rot mouth and his breathing was heavy so maybe resp. infection but the vet gave us mouthwash and some shots i gave him for a couple weeks, he had shedding problems also but his last shed has come off in two whole pieces instead of a million little ones that needed help. Ive never owned any other ball pythons or snakes that did this hence his new name.

sorry for the long post just bored and no work for a few days so...

I am not sure you should call it retarted. Everything you mentioned there is about normal for a snake.
THey still have the instinct to 'kill' that is why it coils around the food even if it is dead. It would also know (I would think anyway) whether it needs to eat head first. If the food item is small enough, it can go down just as easy feet first. Yes, it would be a bit strange to see a snake eat a food item from the side, but if it trys, more power to it. As far as the time, who is in a hurry here? I would not say it is out of the ordinary for it to take 20 minutes to eat at times either. I have had thousands of snakes in the last 18 years and you have just discribed most of them.
As for the mouth rot and the possible resp. infection, I hope it is doing better.
Shedding is pretty common as well. The million pieces are for a couple reasons.
1. Not hydrated
2. Did not grow all that much since it's last shed so the skin is not that thick.

Give your little guy a some credit, sounds like a good old snake to me.
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Brian Oakley
Phoenix, Arizona
BrianOakley@qwest.net

I have a female that would always take it sideways. Then I gave her bigger food and she got it right. I have some that constrict on the food forever, 1 female that knows it is dead she lines her mouth up to it and just starts to take it in. They all have there own style.

dont get me wrong hes a great snake i was just bored and complaing about anything, my gopher snakes wont swallow anything without finding the head first...as for him being sick he is doing much better now rot mouth is gone no more loud breathing. As for his shedding i believe he was very stressed from the injections, mouth wash, new home, and with all the rough handling with the use of his meds im sure i didnt help-he has water at all times and even a little humid hide(since he was having the trouble shedding i added this little box filled with moss and sprayed with a little water everyday he likes it a lot ive found out, but he also likes to poop in there and mold grows easy on the moss i check it daily for this so no issues) im pretty sure if someone who didnt know much about snakes took him home he would be dead. Since he was sick the day after buying him.