| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| n/a |
Posted - 14/07/2010 : 11:21:37
i just saw a video of a cornsnake feed, the way the guy fed the snake is the same way as i do... put the mouse on a feeding dish and then dinner time...HOWEVER! this guys snake did the whole stealthy thing (even tho its dead) and then the strike and constrict. My snake looks around the tank for a few minutes even tho its in the same place everytime, once he finds the mouse she slowly opens her mouth and eats. Do i have a special snake? lol |
| 8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Kellog |
Posted - 15/07/2010 : 04:58:25
quote:
Originally posted by Sta~ple
Loving the topic title XD
Feeding time is a time in the wild that the snake can put itself in danger and it will be his natural behaviour to be cautious and make him look round.
If a snake knows it's food is dead and not moving, it's not going to waste any energy trying to kill something that is dead although some snakes will still strike and constrict dead still food. Warming and wiggling may make him strike but you might want to do it with tongs.
What a fantastic way of explaining it Sta~ple  !
I know your corn doesnt behave like the guy's corn in the video Shaun, but no corn is a 'text book' snake - they all behave differently....and one thing I would point out is at least your corn is eating (says she whose 2 males have just gone 3 months without feeding cos they were horny  !!).
There are ways to encourage your corn to strike, but some never do and it may be something you have to come to accept. You obviously feed your corn in its tank which does make encouraging it to feed a bit more difficult (and can cause problems with her injesting substrate even if you put the mouse on a feeding dish as she can easily pull it off it).
The best way is the Mouse Macarena....wriggling the mouse very slightly in front of her so that she doesnt just see this dead thing lying lifeless waiting for her to take when she wants to. Sometimes just wriggling it will do the trick or also moving it slightly away from her as she moves towards it. I have found warming the mouse makes a difference as it increases the smell and also increases its body heat, making it seem more 'alive'....it may encourage her 'killer instinct'. I just pop mine in a plastic bag and then dunk the bag in hot water for a few seconds....no longer as you dont want it too hot.
I must admit that I dont use tongs with either of mine and they are adults, but then I do stand the risk of being mistaken for food - although they have shown no sign of doing that....yet. The decision is yours as to whether you use them or not, if you are worried about being bitten then tongs are definitely the way to go.
I do know that this advice is not the easiest to follow when your snake is feeding in her tank as it means you cant be sure that she will not injest some substrate....so maybe you need to think about feeding her in a RUB lined with kitchen roll instead? Or you could put down a layer of paper or a big enough feeding dish/tile that you would be happy that she wouldnt move off....I am just not sure whether the feel of that might put her off? At the end of the day it is a case of personal choice....
I do hope you get a 'proper' feeding reaction from her....but, as I said, just be glad she is feeding  !
xxx
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| n/a |
Posted - 14/07/2010 : 19:35:11
yeah hes just started on them. |
| Scarlett |
Posted - 14/07/2010 : 19:09:15
Perhaps there's more of a strike response for the pinkies if it's only just gone on to fuzzies? I'm not sure how long you've had yours on fuzzies lol. |
| n/a |
Posted - 14/07/2010 : 16:55:12
My snake strikes at pinkies but just lazily bites fuzzies? any ideas why? |
| mrsT |
Posted - 14/07/2010 : 12:37:47
I never know what Jakes going to do.sometimes he strikes and constricts,sometimes he just strikes or if he really cant be bothered he just takes his time, slithers over and opens wide!! |
| Sta~ple |
Posted - 14/07/2010 : 12:36:02
Loving the topic title XD
Feeding time is a time in that wild tha the snake can put itself in danger and it will be his natural behaviour to be cautious and make him look round.
If a snake knows it's food is dead and not moving, it's not going to waste any energy trying to kill something that is dead although some snakes will still strike and constrict dead still food. Warming and wiggling may make him strike but you might want to do it with tongs. |
| HannahB |
Posted - 14/07/2010 : 11:36:27
some will take a little encouragement to show some natural behaviour.. maybe move the mouse around a bit for her - do the pinkie polka or something with it
i used to dangle the fuzzie/pinkie infront of my guys and then would slowly move it away from them..once they realised it wasnt staying still they would strike at it |
| Tatsie-j |
Posted - 14/07/2010 : 11:28:28
no lol mine used to just eat it if i put it in front of them get some tongs or tweezers n wiggle the mouse in front of him see if he strikes then some snakes wont strike tho just lazy lol but try it!! |
