Striking while feeding

[R3trO]

How come when i feed my snake and there's no food in there he strikes?

Here's the scenario, i fed my snake a live rat and then i hit into the cage by accident and she struck into the air.
Another is on the second mouse after the first live one it took a while for her to eat. Why is that? Also, i swung the mouse around a little and she struck and totally missed. Is this common? She still ate it but it took a good 5-10 minutes.

Andrew

[sclark]

Re:Striking while feeding

Hello R3tro,

OK first I see two problems I would suggest you correct.. One, feeding live is a very bad thing for your boa. They remain more agressive when they have to kill their food. Also a live rat could kill your boa in one bite. Everyone thinks that watching closly will be safe enough, but take it from me, I run a rescue and have had many, many snakes that just had a bad day, and took bites in the eye's, mouth, neck, etc.. Its not worth the risk.. Feed Frpzen thawed or fresh killed. Much safe and you will notice your snake will calm down alot..

Second, by what you wrote I assume you are feeding in the snakes cage.. Another thing you should correct. Get a 5 dollar plastic container from Wal-Mart and use that. It will break the snakes habit of thinking about food every time you open the tank. They tend to remain on gaurd, just in case you drop a live rat in.. So that adds to their stress..

I think that if you correct the two habits I mentioned you should see a change for the better in its behaviour in a short bit..

Good luck.. Keep us posted..
Steve

[R3trO]

Re:Striking while feeding

[quote author=sclark link=board=1;threadid=2917;start=msg20140#msg20140 date=1059616694]
Hello R3tro,

OK first I see two problems I would suggest you correct.. One, feeding live is a very bad thing for your boa. They remain more agressive when they have to kill their food. Also a live rat could kill your boa in one bite. Everyone thinks that watching closly will be safe enough, but take it from me, I run a rescue and have had many, many snakes that just had a bad day, and took bites in the eye's, mouth, neck, etc.. Its not worth the risk.. Feed Frpzen thawed or fresh killed. Much safe and you will notice your snake will calm down alot..

Second, by what you wrote I assume you are feeding in the snakes cage.. Another thing you should correct. Get a 5 dollar plastic container from Wal-Mart and use that. It will break the snakes habit of thinking about food every time you open the tank. They tend to remain on gaurd, just in case you drop a live rat in.. So that adds to their stress..

I think that if you correct the two habits I mentioned you should see a change for the better in its behaviour in a short bit..

Good luck.. Keep us posted..
Steve
[/quote]

My boa seems fine even thought i feed live. She never tries to bite anyone. Also, when i feed in her enclosure i take everything out. She never struck at anyone when putting there hands in the tank. Also when i pick her up i usually pick her up with a snake stick. I'm too scared to put my hands in. My friend uses his bare hands. I'm going to feed in a different enclosure when i get a 55 gallon.

[bigmitch]

Re:Striking while feeding

;D I agree with Steve 100% Also after feeding your Boa give him some time to wind down...What you experienced was a reaction due to the fact that your baby is or was still in attack mode.

[sclark]

Re:Striking while feeding

Hey R3tro,

I understand what you are saying. I have seen people feed live in their tank till the one day WHAM the snake takes a bite. May or maynot be a fatal bite, but even nips have caused boas to stop feeding. Its not worth it. Boas are one of the easiest snakes to convert to fresh killed or Frozen thawed.. I also understand your boa never bit, but the bigger prey he has to kill, the more likley he will get agressive at some point.. You really are better off switching, if not to reduce you getting a bit, then to protect your boa from getting a nasty bite.. Not worth the risk..
Steve

[R3trO]

Re:Striking while feeding

[quote author=sclark link=board=1;threadid=2917;start=msg20156#msg20156 date=1059619231]
Hey R3tro,

I understand what you are saying. I have seen people feed live in their tank till the one day WHAM the snake takes a bite. May or maynot be a fatal bite, but even nips have caused boas to stop feeding. Its not worth it. Boas are one of the easiest snakes to convert to fresh killed or Frozen thawed.. I also understand your boa never bit, but the bigger prey he has to kill, the more likley he will get agressive at some point.. You really are better off switching, if not to reduce you getting a bit, then to protect your boa from getting a nasty bite.. Not worth the risk..
Steve
[/quote]

I usually feed one live and one frozen. I actually fed live adult mice not rats sorry for the confusion.

Is it better off to feed one big item or 2? I'm thinking of going to small rats now.

Andrew

[WeLsH]

Re:Striking while feeding

Yep I totally agree, your snake strikes cause she is still in feed mode, mine does that all the time if i walk by her. And you should really feed F/T like stevo said.

[XzyluM]

Re:Striking while feeding

I will second switching to frozen/thawed prey. Feeding live prey items carries many risks. Besides transmitting parasites, it only takes one bite to kill your snake. While you may have gotten this far without any problems, your luck will eventually run out. I have seen many people with the same thoughts as yourself until their snake became the prey. It's something to should think long and hard about and consider making changes. You should also consider switching to rats. Mice are nothing more than bones and boas will not benefit from them. To be honest, it is actually better to feed two smaller prey items than one, but most of us feed one approximate size prey item. It is not uncommon for boas to take their time when eating, they all vary and depending on the size of the prey item, they will get done when they get done.

[BMoore]

Re:Striking while feeding

If you can't or won't used frozen/ thawed, then at least pre-kill the prey for your Boa. We have seen some terrible results of scratches and bites from live prey. Besides, if you are already feeding one thawed mouse, then why not just feed them all like that?

I was feeding live before I knew better and you wouldn't belive how much friendlier and tame my snakes are since I have been feeding pre-killed. They think their puppy's or something. Good luck with your snake..........

**Beth**

[___LEE___]

Re:Striking while feeding

here is a site clay had put up on why not to feed live check it out may change ur mind and understand why we don't ever ever ever feed live to our snakes here.

http://www.koalaskritters.net/livefeeding.html

LEE

[R3trO]

Re:Striking while feeding

Even though it's dangerous i don't see how my snake would get bit because once i drop the mouse in she attacks it right away, giving the mouse no time at all to know what happened.

Yesterday i fed 3 live mice and there was no problem. I usually try to get ones smaller to make it easier on the snake. My snake has never bitten anyone and is really tame.

Also does anyone know where i can buy a cheap 55 gallon tank or if anyone has one that is selling it i would love to buy it? I'm think of moving my 3 1/2' boa into a 55 gallon from a 20 gallon long. Do you think that a 55 gallon will last it's whole life? Also where can i buy repti-bark for cheap? I'm thinking of using the 20 gallon long to feed her or buy a male so that they can mate in the future.

Another question is if i buy a male that's only 75% sure that it's male, how will i find out it's 100% male with a probing kit?

P.S. Thankyou everyone for all the help.

-Andrew

[Guest]

Re:Striking while feeding

As has already been said by many others, you really need to get your boa on Rats as they are far more nutritious.

And secondly you need to switch to Pre-killed or Frozen/thawed.... It is a simple matter of doing what is safest & Best for the boa or any snake for that matter.

It makes no sense to take the risk on your snake getting injured or far worse KILLED no matter how accurately or quickly any snake gets the prey.

[bigmitch]

Re:Striking while feeding

;D Your really should switch to rats theres not enough nutriytional value in a mouse. Secondly your snake may be doing fine right now but it only takes one bad grab and the mouse/rat could spin around and bite your snake in the eye or on the head. Its real eazy if you dont want to deal with frozen just pre kill. Hold the mouse by the tail and dangle him upside down then smak him on the back of the head with a pie, stick or semi heavy object lights out..safe for your snake..Trust us when we say one day your luck will run out..

[R3trO]

Re:Striking while feeding

The thing is i don't wanna deal with holding the rat to make it seem alive for my snake. Do you think my snake will still eat it if i just drop a F/t in there?

[Guest]

Re:Striking while feeding

I think your boa would take it if you just dropped in.