Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My 3 & 1/2 foot retic bit her tail...after i fed her a mouse in her feeding basket she somewhat wandered around in it then striked at an invisible target maybe the basket floor itself was the target,i don't know. Then when i put her in her enclosure I was surprised when suddenly she bit her own tail!? is this normal? it is her 6th feed and this is the first time she do what she did(?). This happened only once, but i am worried about my retic's behavior. My guess is that she has a veeery aggressive feeding response and the mouse is not enough(but it creates a 'bulge'), but i don't know. What caused this dog like behavior? (you know, dog-chasing-tail incidents).

She is calm every handling session, aside from her constant movement. She seems calm and not defensive on that feeding time.
but what is she thinking?...

With a one-time incident there's no need to worry. Retics get crazy when feeding and can strike at anything and everything they think might me food. Their feeding mode is amazing.

This is why you should not feed your retic outside the cage. While it might be easy to do now with a 3-1/2 foot animal, it will be downright dangerous to you when the animal is four times that size. A retic can remain in feeding mode well after eating; even for a couple of days after eating. So feed in the cage always and use hook training for any other time you're going into the cage.

Hook Training -- Whenever you open the cage door for any reason other than feeding, use a snake hook or other object to lightly tap the retic on the head or nose until she backs away from you. And use the same object every time. Always do this. It will condition the retic to associate the hook with non-feeding... your hands, arms, and face will thank you.

FYI, I have an adult Irian Jaya Carpet Python that bit himself once while feeding. He missed the f/t mouse on tongs, nailed himself, and quickly wrapped himself up in a knot like a ball python, still biting down on himself. I couldn't do much about it. If I tried to move him or unwrap him he'd just coil tighter. Finally after a number of minutes he let go and unraveled. No damage was done, and he never bit himself again.

Bill

Thanks...i'll consider the hook training...Some snake keepers however advises that one should feed the python in a separate enclosure so as to not let the serpent interpret you and other motion in her cage as food...anyways, i will surely try the hook training cause it makes real sense and my pythons are really unpredictable during feeding...Thanks again...