Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I have just had of a couples Chrysopelea ornata imported from Thailand. Before arriving at home, they seem that they ate some mice. But they refuse to eat dead mice. On the other hand, they ate the lizards very well that me their proposed. Does Chrysopelea ornata attack some preys that if they are living?
Thank you

they won't eat dead food like thawed mice. They attack moving prey. You should feed them live lizards...thats what i feed mine and they take them in very readily...they'll snap live lizards up in a wink

Hi,
Ok, thank you.
Indeed, they eat very a lot of living lizards. I am going to try with the mouse live. But I am afraid of the bite risks because if they keep the mice in their muzzles as they make it with the lizards, I fear that the mice bite them!

i don't think the mouse will be able to bite it because ornatas will curl around their prey so they won't escape. How big are your ornatas?

Ok, I could not observe a constrictor behavior again at my ornata. It is for that that I wondered.

My ornata measures about 70 cm.

it doesn't constrict to kill..the venom kills...but it sort of curls around its prey. Whats your email i'll send you some picks of it 'constricting'

Ok. My email: benoit_remi@msn.com

I've never seen any sort of constricting behaviour by C. ornata. They just bite and pin their prey against the cage wall or floor. Personally, I'd avoid lizards because of parasitic load issues. You can try using rat pups or fuzzies to avoid the risk of prey-inflicted injuries.

Good luck.

hey francis..r u from malaysia?
heres where u can find a pic of an ornata showing some 'constricting'.I don't know.. it probably isn't constricting..just looks like it i guess. Would love to post some pics of mine but i'm having problem posting pics at forums

http://www.ecologyasia.com/Vertebrates/golden_tree-snake.htm

Hello Francis,

I agree quite for the risks of parasites with the lizards. Dice that they will have begun to eat the mouse, I make a treatment destroy parasites.

I also thought their to give some young mice that will limit the risks of bites. Will the movement of a fuzzy be sufficient to trigger an attack?
Cordially

Yes, I'm from Malaysia. That's the first time I've seen some form of constriction by an ornata(or is it merely restriction of the prey's movement?).

I've had occasion to see only 3 ornatas belonging to my friend feeding and they were all LTC. According to him, their preferred prey are lizards but he managed to switch them to rodents quite easily by using live baby mice. After that, there were no problems getting them to eat rodents.

In fact, their feeding responses are pretty impressive. Whenever the mice appears near their cages, they are on full alert.

Cheers,
Francis

i'm from malaysia too..would be good to get into contact since there are not many herpers around here.
yea they contrict so their prey won't get away..my ornata shows that behavior everytime it hunts.
The pet shops where i live don't sell feeder mice..don't cute lil hamsters so i guess i'll have to continue feeding them house geckos

I have kept three species of flying snake. My ornatas usually took prey when it was first dropped in, but ignored it on the ground (definitly movement oriented). Lizards got the best response but eventualy all went for fuzzies. I have seen the pin move with newer flyers but mine all eventualy went for pure grab and swallow.
Frank

Hello,
I have just given some young mice to my couple. The male attacked it very quickly and enclosed it in himself rings (the constriction was indeed impressive!) on the other hand my female doesn't have wanted eaten the mouse. I tried while soaking the young mouse in a juice of lizards but it seen not some either.

On the other hand I fear that they caught a pneumonia (or something in the same kind) because when they drink or eat, some bubbles make after them to the level of the lips.

I would try to put some photos dice that possible.