My prior King/Milk experience is with the kingnsnake clan:
L. g. getula
L. g. californiae
L. g. nigrita
L. g. nitida
L. g. conjuncta
They generally were frenetic hunters. Once the prey was sighted, they quickly advanced toward it, often striking wildly until they latched on. (Not unlike Racer behavior.)
The sole exception was a male hatchling conjuncta, who was the most deliberate & cautious of the hunters. Even he advanced slowly towards the prey, however.
My gaigeae is a male, 2.5-years-old, and was fed frozen-thawed prey at the pet store for the last 2 years.
I have heard about their feeding response being like a Reticulated Python, and that they are aggressive feeders, so I've been curious to observe his stalking & feeding. (I feed live, for several reasons.)
He had his first live mouse a few days ago. He surprised it by striking from behind from thick cover and struck once, pinning it against the glass for constriction.
Yesterday, he had his first hopper rat. He was at the left end of his 20-gallon vivarium, the prey was at the right. For awhile, the prey was not seen, and kept to the far corner.
Eventually, the prey moved slightly when my snake was crawling out towards the front. The snake slowly advanced toward the prey cautiously & deliberately, but then turned and crawled under the log den, as if disinterested.
The rat remained hidden in the right corner, behind a large rock. A moment later, the snake surfaced from below the bedding and struck the hiding rat from behind the rock pile, pinning it down in a small crevice while he casually constricted.
His stalking style was like that of a jaguar! He seemed to have deliberately stalked the prey from underneath & behind, and then pounced for the strike! I'll monitor future feeding to see if his stalking style is consistent.
Anybody else seen this with your gaigeae or other Milks??
