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My BP is a bit finicky - he won't take FT prey unless it's been thawed and then warmed to at least 108 degrees - then I have to make it 'dance' and then drop it in front of him. When it hits the ground he strikes. If it's 114 degrees or more he'll strike from the tongs w/o me having to make the mouse dance. When the temp of the prey (measured w/ a temp gun) is under 108 degrees he shows little interest - so obviously the warmth of the food is attracting him.

My question is, for snakes that lack heat pits I wonder how important the heat of prey is?

The only time my Kenyan Sand Boa has struck at food is when it was warmed on a light after thawing - other times he would just swallow the food after I left him in his deli cup for awhile (but he doesn't always eat).
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I've never measured the prey temp (I just run 'em under the tap), but heat can be important in inducing feeding strikes in KSB's. It's my number one trick for reluctant feeders, along with teasing.
When I try to switch my mandarin ratsnakes over, I'll be sure to report if heat helped with them. I wouldn't be suprised if it helps.
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Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convient pocket size!

The only reason I started measuring was because I was wondering why my BP sometimes ignored the prey and only sometimes struck from the tongs - so I did an experiment.

I guess I assumed temp of prey wasn't that important with my KSB since they lack heat pits (that do lack them - don't they?). Now I'm thinking I need to make sure my KSBs prey is warmed as well.
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all snakes can sense heat just because they don't have heat pit does not mean they don't sense heat

Yeah, I think I just underestimated the importance of heat in snakes without pits.
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They do lack them- they're not so handy when you're rooting around in dirt all day.
Many sand boas will strike and eat room temp items, it's just that heat can make the difference in ones that aren't quite sure.
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Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convient pocket size!

I think I've got one of those - guess it would only be fitting that my KSB would be picky one and make me work more during feeding time just like my BP. They've got me trained so well. LOL.

Thanks for the info!
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If he's young he might grow out of it. So there's hope.
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Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convient pocket size!

Yeah he's only 8 months old - maybe this is the snake version of the terrible two's.

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>>My question is, for snakes that lack heat pits I wonder how important the heat of prey is?
>>

When I feed my corns the mice are usually room temp. My youngest corn, who is the nervous type, has always ignored the food for about 20 minutes before making her move after I put her into her feeding container. Yesterday I decided to let the mouse sit under a heat lamp for awhile to see if it would make any differance. Wouldn't ya know, she latched onto it before she was even out of my hand. So in this case, I think it made a big differance.
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Emily
"His will was set, and only death would break it."

So it seems it does matter - and probably more than a lot of people realize. Could be a reason behind a lot of difficult feeders.
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For REALLY picky eaters (pythons especially, I've found), warm and dry is better than warm and wet. So many a night I've been standing over a dead rat with a hair dryer thinking how my life is everything I always dreamed it would be as a little girl.
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Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convenient pocket size!

.
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yeah i don't know. my king takes any fuzzie i throw at it as long as i move it, cold or warm. if he strikes and i leave it sit there, he lets go and looks at me like he's clueless. the second i move it he strikes and constricts as long as i keep shaking it. my hognose took pinkies no matter what at first, he just went back on feed this week after a month off and i had to let the pinkie sit with him for hours so it had to be cold. i guess it depends on the species and individual. My roomate's king from the same clutch takes thawed pinkies without hesitation. Mine didn't eat for a month and had to get in on live lizards for over a month. it took 2 live fuzzies to finally get him switched to mice. i assume there is no golden rule to get any snake to eat consistently.