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... and then, the rat suddenly exploded...

T

tracy0416

Tracy
I find feeding time fun. Warming the mice and rats up, checking for their doneness, telling my snakes that din-dins is coming, watching them come alive as they catch a whiff of the scent, etc. It's usually all very relaxing and spiritual. Today was a little different...

I feed my ball python a medium sized thawed rat which I warm by soaking in hot water. I poke them a few times in the stomach to see if they are soft enough and when ready, I pick the rat up by the tail (with forceps), drain the water and then bring it to the feeding tub. (I hate the smell of the blood and I want to keep it out of the Viv so I feed in a separate tub). Once at the feeding tub I wiggle the rat around and tap the python with it a few times to make him strike. When he strikes, I wiggle it a few more times to make him think the rat is struggling. Hopefully, that gives him an extra thrill and makes him feel like a big, strong, king of the world.

Well today, I did the "extra wiggle" thing after he struck it, and then, the rat suddenly exploded open and his guts came spewing out all of the place. I could not believe how bad it smelled. Holy #*@!. It hit me square i the face too. Luckily, the lid was in the other hand and I slammed it down on the tub to make sure my livingroom didn't smell like the inside of a corpse.

I had to bathe the snake afterwards cause he was covered in blood and when I came back there was what seemed to be part of a rat colon left on the tub and the snake was sitting on it. Nasty.

Has this ever happened to anyone else? What did I do wrong? Was the rat "cooked" too much making his skin less strong? Or did the python just constict him so hard he squeezed his guts out?

I need some answers here 'cause I sure as hell don't want that happening again. Soooooooo gross!
 
That's happened to mee tooo many times hah, but i guess id have to expect it with big pythons with big teeth.

I dont think the thawing had much to do with it, but it DOES make their skin weaker. When snakes strike and coil, they pull their head backwards and like stretch the rat and constrict. The combo of the teeth pulling and the constriction plus the extra wiggle, is probably what done it. I wouldnt worry about it happening again, its a rare occassion and the smell makes us thankful that its not often hahaha.
 
Sometimes if you use extremely hot water, it will make the belly so soft that the constriction makes them break open. My snakes seem to really think this is yummy though, so although it makes a mess, they certainly eat it :) I don't think I've ever had to tap my pythons to get them to eat....I'm lucky if they don't take the rat and the tongs at the same time~
 
Well I havn't fed my snakes anything that big - but I have had pinky's explode. I'm sure its much less disturbing then a rat!
 
I only have one corn that consistently has a strong feeding response. My butter motley yearling has from day one struck and constricted his prey. However, I have a late 2005 striped snow that just this week managed to fling a little blood up on the side of his viv.

However, all the corns pale compared to my baby female albino lavender retic. She's now 40 inches and 253 grams. When I feed her I dangle a rat pup with tongs near her and she literally jumps halfway out of her enclosure when she hits the rat. She then throws three coils on the rat and constricts for a minimum of ten minutes, usually closer to 15 minutes.

She hasn't burst a rat yet, but I cringe every time she takes her prey. Right now I 'm using standard kitchen tongs to feed her. I think it's time to move up to some longer tongs. lol.
 
I've had fuzzies explode twice when I was assist-feeding Addy. I think the slits in the back makes the skin weak. Yeah, that's the idea, right? It's pretty gross to have mouse guts all over your hand, especially with the extra coating of snake saliva...

Nanci
 
See, this is why I love this forum. It's so nice to know you are not alone!
Thanks for responding everyone.

He did eat it all up and the bathing seemed fun to him so I guess it was a good experience for him. I am not a squeamish gal but that smell made me gag a little.

The blood was on his head and I used a washcloth to get it off but I'd rather dunk his head. He swam around fine but didn't put his head under. Is it okay to dunk a snakes head under water?
 
yeah, it's ok to dunk his head under water. When mine swim, they go in circles around their bowls, under water.

Nanci
 
I had that happen Friday when i feed Metallica. All she did is bit the mid section and the guts flew out the butt. It smelled so bad i had to make a deal with my girlfriend. I would clean the cat boxes for three days if she would clean the mice guts. I can't even say in words how bad it smelled. :puke01:
 
I wonder if that will ever happen to me. I use a hemostat that I had shipped with the rest of my snake stuff when I ordered it to hold the mouse by the tail while I thaw. Then I trail it around the little plastic case I bought for feeding to make a scent trail. Once Cerberus picks up the scent, he wants that mouse and he wants it now. Last night he yanked so hard on the mouse I was left with the tail still held by the hemostat.
 
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