[Feeding Issue] Striking at me and not the rat??

[sinnedttam]

Hi everyone I am new here.
I have moved from Australia and now living in California. I have had two Red Tail Boas for 4 months now, girl and a boy. They are great. always loved snakes and now can own them with own them without having a license to keep them.
Any way just recently when i feed the female she seems to strike at me more than she does the mouse and when she misses she will just sit and stare at me. if i drop the mouse and i go to pick it up with the tongs she keeps on striking at me. she doesnt get close to my hand but it is now worrying me a bit.
please help.

Cheers

[Noelle7206]

Re: Striking at me and not the rat??

Some snakes are so attracted by the motion that they see us better than the actual prey in front of them...it helps to use long tongs to offer (& jiggle) the prey, then stand completely still until your snakes have their
dinner well into their mouth/throat. Always remember what inspires a snake to strike at their prey: motion, scent, warmth... we have 2 of those characteristics (hopefully not the smell, lol) so some confusion is normal.
Most snakes don't really identify things by vision...but the motion gets their attention, especially when they smell food. (and Welcome both to the USA and here @ RTB!)

[zamora]

Re: Striking at me and not the rat??

Are you feeding frozen/thawed? If so, you may not have the prey item to the right temperature and the snake prefers YOUR temperature to that of the rat. Just a thought.

[Wes3118]

Re: Striking at me and not the rat??

Are you feeding frozen/thawed? If so, you may not have the prey item to the right temperature and the snake prefers YOUR temperature to that of the rat. Just a thought.

This, or maybe the size of the prey item is to small or big and intimidating.

[bcr_229]

Re: Striking at me and not the rat??

Try longer tongs as well and see if that helps. Also, if you end up dropping the feeder just close up the enclosure and walk away. As long as your can see you, it will focus on your movement and not on finding the feeder it can smell.

[sinnedttam]

Re: Striking at me and not the rat??

Thanks for the quick response and thanks for the welcome.
i mix it up a little, i will do live sometimes and some times thawed. the boy he whether it is thawed or live goes straight for the rat. with the girl she has even let a rat run all over her while she stared at me. she eventually realized that there was a rat and she got it. but i can hold her any other time, its just feeding time she strikes.

[Noelle7206]

Re: Striking at me and not the rat??

That's dangerous for your snakes, that you "mix it up" with live & dead prey...sooner or later your beautiful boas will get injured...and since infections in snakes can be a challenge to treat, they could lose anything
from their "good looks" to their lives. I hope you'll consider feeding nothing but dead prey from now on...either f/t or fresh-killed by you. When a snake isn't ready to eat* they will not kill the rodent, but the rodent
may kill them if left alone. It's truly best avoided. (*for whatever reason: seasonal, or a shed coming, etc.) Even if you plan to stand by & make sure it goes ok, what if something distracts you?

[Pandorasdad]

Re: Striking at me and not the rat??

You should probably stick to frozen/thawed. The difference in smell could be somewhat confusing.

What part of Cali did you move to?

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[sinnedttam]

Re: Striking at me and not the rat??

i moved to southern california. to ventura county.