Backwards + Alive=Feeding For First Time

[nitetygress]

Help! Kiara is my first snake, and she is approximately 13 weeks old. I fed her the tiniest pinkie mouse from the East Bay Vivarium and this is what happened.

She got ready to strike and then BIT! She did not constrict it! then she ate it alive and backwards! It's little head was screaming as she sucked in down alive and it ended as its squirming head and arms disappeared into my snake.

Now the part that bothers me is she didnt constrict it or eat it the right direction!! Will she learn? Has anyone else had this problem? I know I should pre-kill it but it's a pinky so I didnt think it mattered, and and and and...gah! HELP!!!!

 

[waldo]

It normal for a small snake to not constrict a small pinkie, she knew it was not dangerous so didn't waste the energy to kill it. Swallowing butt first isn't a problem either.
She will learn to constrict if you keep feeding live but after having a fuzzy try to bite my guy, I only feed dead, either f/t or fresh killed, even pinkies.
You will need to get used to mice crying if you are going to feed live, they do it often.

 

[nitetygress]

The screaming didnt really bother me, I just like to write with flourish sometimes =)

I know it's better to kill it first, but the people at the vivarium said that if you watch them eat and monitor them that it shouldnt be too much of a problem since she's probably only going to eat mice rather than rats. They told me that all snakes that get injured be live food can be traced back to the owner not being diligent about watching the snake when it is eating to make sure the snake is interested...

Will she learn to eat it head first too?

 

[snakemom1961]

I'd have to say yes she will learn to eat head first. You have to remember pinks are for the most part just barrol shaped. same size front to back. Once your baby moves up in size I don't think it will be a butt muncher. But also if you decide to switch to f/t, it may contiue to be a butt muncher which will not hurt it at all.

I switch my Tiaga from live to f/t( after 2 1/2 years of owning her) with no problems at all. Good luck with your baby!

 

[nitetygress]

]
I switch my Tiaga from live to f/t( after 2 1/2 years of owning her) with no problems at all. Good luck with your baby!

I was told that they dont get the same nutrients from f/t than they do from live of pre-killed. I for some reason can't see myself gutting a frozen mouse and putting in supplements. Can they just eat the thawed ones and be ok? Why doesnt it matter if they eat frozen ones backwards?--I thought it had to do with the fur...

 

[Jrgh17]

I was told that they dont get the same nutrients from f/t than they do from live of pre-killed. I for some reason can't see myself gutting a frozen mouse and putting in supplements. Can they just eat the thawed ones and be ok? Why doesnt it matter if they eat frozen ones backwards?--I thought it had to do with the fur...

Frozen mice, provided they aren't kept longer than a year, show absolutely no evidence of having any less nutrition than live or prekillled. In fact, the freezing process kills parasites and bacteria which may be present in the live animal. I think it's safe to say that the majority of the people on this forum feed their corns on f/t.

It doesn't matter if your snake eats any mouse backwards. Nature's way is usually head first (think childbirth), but not eating head first isn't a problem at all.

I'd strongly recommend that you go to frozen mice, but it's your choice. As far as eating goes, your snake won't get him/herself into anything it can't get out of.

 

[diamondlil]

The screaming didnt really bother me, I just like to write with flourish sometimes =)

I know it's better to kill it first, but the people at the vivarium said that if you watch them eat and monitor them that it shouldnt be too much of a problem since she's probably only going to eat mice rather than rats. They told me that all snakes that get injured be live food can be traced back to the owner not being diligent about watching the snake when it is eating to make sure the snake is interested...

Will she learn to eat it head first too?

And you watching when it's a live adult mouse will help how exactly? Have you watched healthy mice playing or fighting? Have you seen how fast they jump about? Now imagine a healthy adult mouse defending itself from a snake. The mouse could bite at the snake's eyes before you'd even have a chance to react.
That's why most people convert to f/t as soon as possible, to minimise the risk of injuries to their snakes.

 

[Flagg]

Yje pet store probably wants to keep you buying live feeders, and hence gives you this bad information. Live feeders tend to cost more than frozen, and would force you to keep buying from a pet shop rather than finding a cheaper source for frozen feeders.

There is no nutrition loss, and as already mentioned, if a mouse starts biting there is really nothing you can do quick enough to stop the snake from getting injured.

 

[tyflier]

Nutritionally, there is no difference between an f/t and a live prey item. Saftey wise, however, there is a huige difference. Pinks don't have teeth or claws yet, so there isn't a problem. But if you are going to continue to feed live prey items in the larger sizes, you should, at the very least, render it unconscious to prevent any injuries to your snake. No matter how diligent you are, a mouse s quicker than you. By the time you react, the damage is done, and it simply isn't worth the risk, IMO.

As far as butt-munching goes, I have a Florida king that butt-munches even f/k fuzzies. And she constricts anything bigger than a pinky, f/t or otherwise. She's just a butt-muncher and she doesn't care...and neither do I as long as she eats.