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Constricting!

EtherRex

EtherRex

Otter-Like
Whoa, that was interesting!
Ive just seen my corn strike HARD at a fuzzie I was holding in tongs. She did one tentative strike first and then let go as I wouldnt let her have it :p I was just thinking I might have to drop it in the box like normal when she struck, yanked it from the tongs, and constricted it. Ive never seen her move that fast before. It was a bit of a surprise to be honest! Nice to see another aspect of her behaviour.

Rex
 
Was it the first fuzzy you've given her? Mine got his first yesterday and did the same thing! He'd never constricted before that...Not sure why he did that time, but it was adorable!

~Kristine
 
No, she's been on fuzzies for nearly two months, but that was the first one Ive 'succesfully' teased her with using tongs. Ive tried before but she was always too shy. She liked to sidle up to them and just start eating.
This is one of several new things she's started doing recently that suggest that she is really getting more relaxed around me. She has started resting on top of her hide rather than in it for a lot of the time and also now will crawl out of the tank onto my hand when the lid is removed.

Nice to see her out and about more!
 
i have gotten the feeling that the corn snakes ( and maybe others ) can size up their prey as if itis small they just eat it but if it's larger they constrict
 
Thats certainly possible I guess, but this last prey item was considerably smaller than some she has eaten without constricting in the past. I personally think its down to perceived threat and likelyhood of escape. A prey item that is obviously dead is unlikely to run away or defend itself and so constriction is not needed. However a prey item that resists (as I did with the tongs) probably needs squeezing quickly!
 
EtherRex said:
A prey item that is obviously dead is unlikely to run away or defend itself and so constriction is not needed. However a prey item that resists (as I did with the tongs) probably needs squeezing quickly!
Click to expand...
That's certainly true, if I dangle a f/t mouse to my stripe amel. with tongs and wiggle it a bit, he will smell it and then strike going immediately into constriction. (often squeezing blood out of the things nose)

But if I just leave the f/t mouse on the floor, not moving it, he will seem less interested and slowly put his mouth around the nose and start eating.
 
I don't know if this is just my snake or not, but no matter HOW I dangle and wiggle a cold f/t mouse, he strikes and starts swallowing right away. (Sometimes I just lay the mice out for a while to thaw at room temp, other times in a cup of warm water) But with a warm one, he always strikes and constricts for several minutes.
THought I might share that- it seemed sort of related to the topic
 
Yeah, definately related. I think it all adds up to making the prey seem as alive as possible. Also, if the prey is large I think they are more likely to constrict as it is potentially more of a threat to them. Thats just a 'common sense' conclusion though and I could be way off.
 
My corn snake is still a hatchling and is up to 2 pinkies per feeding I have fed thawed and live but she has yet to strike or constrict. With the live ones she bites on the head and starts swollowing until the head is completely in her mouth then she waits for the pinkie to stop wiggling and then swollows. Is striking and constricting a learned feeding behavior or will it develope an instinct to strike and constrict?
 
Well, anecdotal evidence that ive read here seems to suggest to me that most corns start striking and constricting as they get older. Now if that is just because they are getting older or if its because the prey is getting larger and more developed I cant tell. Perhaps one of the experienced peeps can comment?


Personally I would think its unlikely to be a learned beahaviour as my snake has no-one to learn it from and her prey does not need constricting so she couldnt have learnt it as a neccessity. Could she?
 
Yesterday my hatchling did a constricting motion on a pinkie (thawed) it was the first time it did the motion of constricting. It was pretty interesting to watch. It didnt really constrict but it did wrap around it very very quickly.
 
Nope constricting isn't a learned behaviour it is instinct. If it were learned then hatchlings would have to be 'cared' for by parent(s) and shown what to do (like birds teach babies to fly, lions teach cubs to hunt etc).
I think it is just down to individual snakes, out of 4 hatchlings that I've had only my mum's one (the aggressive one) strikes and constricts every time, without being 'teased'. Pretzel will constrict if I tease feed him (as you did Rex with resisting the prey) as will Noodle. Pretzel only started doing this when I moved him off of pinkies and only if I resist the mouse. Noodle will only occasionally do this but she's still on relatively small mice. Sid is crazy. He goes mental even if a bit of tail falls into the feeding tank, LOL!
 
I've posted this before. Play a gentle game of tug-o-war once the snake bites the mouse. (use tongs of course ;) ) This almost always caused the snake to constrict. JMHO but it also provides a little more exercise for the snake.
 
Barney has no problem whatsoever in feeding. (three pinkies every 7 days). My partner (Ice_9) has a ghost corn (Monty), which likes to be fed in peace and quiet in a soft light, but mine will come searching as soon as he so much as sniffs a pinkie. I only have to wiggle it once and Barney strikes for it as though he hasn`t eaten for weeks on end!! Monty is larger than mine (about 19 inches) whereas Barney is around he 13 inch mark. I thought that being the bigger snake, Monty would be the more aggressive and hungry feeder, but it isn`t so.

I do love feeding time though:D You can watch as many snake programs as you want, but to see one eat in `real life` is far more fascinating:D
 
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