Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i knew all the snakes were hungry, so i got some hot water going to thaw out everyone a meal, including the king snake ive posted about before. we moved her to fuzzies- she ate it readily and he (my bf) watched her afterwards and he thought she was looking for food still because she was so active. i reminded him that he was used to ball pythons who go seek a warm place to nap after food. lol...
well so tonight i pulled a fuzzy out and put it in the same hot water as a rat for the bigger ball python...
my bf decides to go ahead and feed her. ok, fine. i wasnt in there and he grabs the wrong bag. hes tired, hes not paying attention. he puts a SMALL MOUSE in her box for her to eat. he realizes it but he didnt take it out fast enough and she attacked it. that was a heck of a big jump for her..and really, its wayyy too big for her...but shes doing her best to eat it. she looks miserable.
i always feed just a bit bigger than the body, but not THAT much bigger...this isnt going to hurt her, will it? i didnt even try to take it away from her- she was coiled and trying to swallow it- i didnt want to hurt her...im concerned..i was hoping she would realize it was too big and let go...but NOPE..i guess if my pinky finger wasnt too big then a lil ole mouse is just a tid bit lol....
but seriously, should i be worried?
thanks yall
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~Snake Charmer~
0.1 russian tortoise (natasha)
3.1 dogs (church, bandit, willy and tonka)
1.2 cats (taz, squeaky, cami)
0.1 king snake (q aka curly q or queenie)
2.1 'normal' ball pythons (zenith, butters, zahara)and i want more snakes. guess you can say im developing a "reptile addiction"- lol

It is so hard to say that the snake would actually be hurt from this, without seeing how big both the snake and the small mouse are.

If the mouse really is that big, the situation could go many different ways. If the snake is able to eat it, and the mouse is that much bigger than the snake that it can be defined as absurd, the change of regurging is great, if the mouse really indeed is too big. But, at the same time, the snake may be able to keep the mouse down as well.
Or, the snake, may not actually able to be able to fully eat the mouse and just stop.

My only advice would be, if the snake does eat the mouse, is to keep it warm and stress free afterwards. Don't mess with the snake for a while until you start seeing it defecating and you are able to fully know that the mouse is digested.

That is a funny story though! Reminds me of when I was a kid, I put a huge bullfrog beside one of my adult garter snakes, who in no way could have eaten the frog. Well, the frog started jumping around, with the snake fully attached with its' mouth, being thrown around, like a rider trying to hold onto a wild horse. Looked like something out of a cartoon.
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Genesis 1:1

ahahah that would have been something to watch.

when i last checked on her she had swallowed all but the hind end of the mouse-but thats been a while now...ive been trying to leave her be..
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~Snake Charmer~
0.1 russian tortoise (natasha)
3.1 dogs (church, bandit, willy and tonka)
1.2 cats (taz, squeaky, cami)
0.1 king snake (q aka curly q or queenie)
2.1 'normal' ball pythons (zenith, butters, zahara)and i want more snakes. guess you can say im developing a "reptile addiction"- lol

It seems safe to eat twice their size but dont press your luck
Stick with youe rule of thumb






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"Wake me when its April"

Doug L

If it is too big the snake will spit it out. I recently had a baby milk snake (born aug. 08) eat what I consider a hopper. It was the largest meal for a snakes size I have ever seen. The snake ate it and digested it without a hitch. I did not do it on purpose and I too try to feed appropriate sized items to my snakes. I just put the thing in the wrong cage and by the time I relized it the snake was eating the "hopper". I would not worry. If the snake regurgitates the meal after a day or so you should wait a week to feed again.

I had an accident a few months back where one snake ate another. Mind you this was a 14 inch snake eating a thirteen inch snake. I know there is a significant difference in shape between a snake and mouse but it was still an enormous meal. The snake regurgitated the other in a few days and was fine afterwards though he looked a bit stretched. As the other folks have said just don't touch her and provide the correct temps and it will likely be fine.
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Lee
"Go ahead bite me I dare you..... ok oww."
0.1.0 High white Cal King
1.0.0 Mexican Black king