Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is the first time i ever seen him eat starting with the tail end. Is it common?

This is not common, but happens every once in a while, usually on smaller prey items such as the one pictured.

Michael

I've got a baby Anery Columbian (3 mos) and he's eaten one of his fuzzy mice backwards a time or two. I think it's just a lack of experience because all of my juvi/adults eat their rats head first. Nothing to worry about, as babies/juvies they'l learn.
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1.0 Anery Columbian Redtail Boa
1.0 Striped Coastal Carpet/Irian Jaya Carpet Python
0.1 Gray Banded Kingsnake
1.1 Ball Pythons
1.0 Sunglow Striped Corn
1.2 Leopard Geckos (Albino, Severe Reduced Patter, Carrot tail)
1.1 Pugs (Male-Fawn, Female-Black)
Various Fish

My female suri is 6 feet long and NEVER eats her rabits head first. and the funny thing is she starts with one back leg. I was at a loss to explain this because I usualy have too much to do to watch her the whole time she eats, but I made a point if it with the last couple of rabbits. she grabs one back leg, throws a coil around the other legand the body and squeezes the leg tight into the body then pulls the rabbit through. You can hear bones and joints crack and she ends up with the foot pinned against the body and the other foot straight out behind. because of this tendency, I usually keep her rabbits smaller, around 1-1 1/4 pounds, but all I had left last time was a 2 pounder, she ate it with no problem and did it backwards. I have seen other snakes eat food backward but usually small stuff, pinks and fuzzies where the legs are not really an issue, I have never seen another snake eat rabbits backwards.

still live and trying to crawl back out. It was a pinkie and a baby gopher snake I kept for a while. I see my young BRB's even eat them sideways on rare occasion. Like the other posts, usually only hatchlings, they learn.
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Thanks,

Dave "Rainbows-R-Us"

0.1 Wife
0.2 kids
4.12.136 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (OK, I'm only keeping a few of the 136, just tickled pink with my production this year)
1.1 Ball python
0.1 BCI "Elvira" normal from 1989
1.0 BCI albino / het-anery
0.1 BCI Hypo / het-albino
0.1 BCI Anery / het-albino
0.1 BCI Hypo (possible super)
1.0 BCI albino het stripe
1.0 BCI salmon hypo
0.1 BCI ghost

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

For me it's common. I have one that almost always does that.

One of my BRB's almost always eats backwards. She's almost 2 1/2 yrs old. It takes her a really long time. These are medium sized rats....she constricts then smells and attempts then constricts it again...wish she would "learn". She always eats, but I start the routine with her so that she is done by the time all the rest have eaten.