Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm sorry, I know these new owner feeding questions are a pain and get very repetitive, but I've read through the whole forum and haven't found this particular situation addressed...

My baby male Western invariably approaches f/t pinkies butt first, chews on them, disembowels them, and apparently swallows the internal organs, leaving all four feet and the head and shoulders intact...this has been going on for nearly two months, and that's all he's ever eaten...how bizarre is that? Any thoughts on whether he'll eventually figure out how to swallow a whole pinkie? How long can a snake live on nothing but mouse guts? I have to say, it seems to me that when snakes gave up their limbs, external ears, and eyelids, they also gave up their brains...How difficult can it be to figure out the concept of eating?

Okay, I just had to vent...I hope my guy will be okay, but I'm losing hope...

SR

that's odd..... I guess my biggest concern would be that he's not getting the calcium from the mouse bones if he's only eating the viscera. maybe you can start dusting the mouse guts with calcium/phosphorus? (sounds like an exciting thing to try huh?) does he seem to be growing and doing alright? any chance he could be fed a slightly larger size mouse that might have a bit tougher skin that he couldn't pop so easily? agree with you, snakes are strange sometimes. good luck, hopefully someone has some better suggestions
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Sue Barnett

0.1 Western hognose (Sola)
1.0 Crested gecko (Gator)
0.1 Egyptian spiny mouse (Mia)
4.2 mini rex rabbits (Basil, Pippin, Reggie, Hayden, Jackie and Peek-a-boo)
0.1 Plott hound (Molly)
1.0 half Arab (Zarr)
0.1 'found in someone's garage' kitten (Terra)

1.0 Betta (Flash) and 1.0 FL kingsnake (Vega) currently living with 1.0 boyfriend (Ethan)

Have you tried feeding with tongs or tweezers? That way you could control which way the mouse is pointing when the snake grabs it.

Very strange situation. Good luck!
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