Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Part humor, part advice seeking.
I was feeding one of the male Fl. kings I got from Bluerosy. He grabbed the mouse as soon as it hit the floor and wound up thrashing it around a bit. At some point he lost his grip on it, and when he went to grab it again, he missed and grabbed himself, and started thrashing *himself* around frantically, trying to eat himself, starting at midbody. He realized his error pretty quickly and figured out that he was in fact, not a pinky mouse. I'm just worried that it might be possible for them to hurt themselves doing this? I've never had a snake mistake itself for a prey animal before; if it happens again I'm *so* getting photos!! I was just freaking out a little and didn't think of grabbing the camera.
I'm naming this one Epicurus (an early Hellenic hedonist philosopher).

That is great your snake has a good feeding response! I usually look for things like that with animals I want to keep and raise up. I have had snakes do this before and no damage has ever occured.

However, it also means your snake is very hungry and you need to feed it as much as it will eat and as frequeuntly as it will take food. Then the feeding response may tone down a bit.

Another suggestion is how you offer the food item to a snake. This come from practise on knowing how your snake will lung at the item and sometimes mistake itself or even YOU (the keeper) as its prey. They are like sharks... Once they latch on they won't let go because they are in this feeding mode. It takes them longer to figure out a human finger is not a mouse. When they bite themselves they usually let go within a few seconds. This is also the danger of keeping young neonates together as they aften times mistake each other when there is food scent in the air.
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www.Bluerosy.com

"They that can give up essential liberty, to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty or safety." -Benjamin Franklin

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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

hehe, no one can say he's a reluctant feeder He's now had two pinkies this feeding and if I wasn't temporarily out I'd give him another one.

I just drop the food in off hemostats--nothing elaborate. He just happened to be buried in the cypress right by where I dropped the mouse.

....it's just a good thing the rodent is already dead...
If not, he'd certainly pass by being "spun to death"
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

>>...Epicurus (an early Hellenic hedonist philosopher).

we all soooo knew that.

One of a few useful things I learned in college before I dropped out Opening cans with my teeth was another one...and I think it was college where I learned the fine art of BS.

>>One of a few useful things I learned in college before I dropped out Opening cans with my teeth was another one...and I think it was college where I learned the fine art of BS.

then all in all, time very well spent, right?!

TOO DANG FUNNY!..LOL!

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

brooksi....nutjobs....

in 1990 I saw an adult, 4 foot plus brooks' male...come out of it's cage...Rich Z grabbed my hand before I could catch it's fall....
it proceded to grab the reflection of itself in the metal leg of a table beside the rack...again,and again and again,...everytime it let go it would see the movement again and grab ,and bite the metal leg....craaaazy damn snake man....
it's lucky to have any teeth...any smart animal would have left go the first time not the forth or fifth maybe....LOL>> Rich said he grabbed me so he didn't have to peel the snake off me and clean up the blood...glad Rich was so fast....!!!!

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Yeah, mine chase after me for something to attack as well!..LOL!

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"