Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 5 foot female JCP. She eats F/T medium rats. Tonight I fed her because she seemed hungry even though it's only been 4 days since her last meal. She took it as usual and constricts it but then she waits a long time before eating it. Is this normal feeding behavior?? I don't know why she does this but has done this the last few times I've fed her. She will grab, constrict, then wait to eat it. This time it was like half hour before she finally started to eat it.
Also I heard her breath yesterday when I had her out on my shoulders.It was just this one time I've heard her. I know that could be a sign of the start of a respiritory problem but could this be why she waits to eat?
Does anyone have any ideas about this behavior? She is a great pet snake and I really enjoy her.
Also is 1 medium rat a week enough or should she be eating large rats now? Thanks.

As a precaution, I'd watch her temps and keep an ear out for labored breathing and perhaps check her mouth to see if its more slimey that usual...But if she just huffed once she was more than likely just voicing her opinion at being handled. Carpets can be huffy/hissy sometimes.

My adult Female coastal has always been a hisser. How much she hisses varies of course but once she was hissing so much I thought it was her breathing. So its hard to tell sometimes.

Also I have a JCP who has always been a little strange about eating. When she was a hatchling you had to hold the food for her as she would daintly grab it and then started eating. She recently started getting some backbone but now it takes her a good 30minutes to eat...I figure as long as I'm not having to hold her food for her as she tries to decide whether or not she's hungry, it's ok. And as long as she is eating then she can have all the strange habbits she wants...

Darci
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Takes all kinds to make a World...