Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I realize that drymarchon (specifically YT's) are probably very effective predators in the wild but are they also known to feed on carrion?

My new YT seems to wait for prey items to get just a bit on the funky side before going for them. He was eating live mice only at his previous home but hasn't taken them yet since I got him.
That's not a problem because he's eating great but it just kinda made me wonder.
If I stick a frozen thawed chick or mouse in his hidebox with him and check the next morning it's still there. But if I check back he always eats it between 24-28 hours after it's put in his cage. I've fed him several times and he's never refused a meal yet but it's always the exact same time frame.
Do any of you guys have drys that are fond of food items that are a little past their due date

I'm definitely not complaining because I'm glad he's eating pre-killed prey....I just found it kind of interesting.
Chris

i've seen that behavior before too chris but not from that snake. live mice quickly disappeared, he was never offered anything else. wierd that he changed like that. my adult male uni doesn't seem to have an aversion to older meat either but he'll eat super fresh too. once, i saw a black racer that ate it's own regurgitation! i was so grossed out.........lol

That's cool. As far as I'm concerned, eating dead is a plus so I'm glad he made the change. I didn't leave live prey items in with him for extended periods of time if he didn't seem interested.

RR, I'm not sure what happened above. I typed a reply but it somehow dissapeared. Oh well.
This guy seems healthy and is becoming more secure as he acclimates to his new surroundings. I have him in quarantine in a spare bedroom that gets no traffic so he's got plenty of peace & quiet. Defintely a really cool snake.
Glad to hear Mojo is doing well,
Chris

eat anything old...But then again, I don't leave food in the cage over night with one exception of my biggest BT male..He just rarely eats when we are serving...Always waits until there's no activity around...He's very tame, so I don't really understand why he feeds like that...Maybe he'd go for some "ripe" rats...
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Carl W Gossett
Garage Door Herps
Monument,Colorado...northern territory of the Great Republic of Texas