Inaccurate striking when feeding

[ozone]

Hello,

I have a two year old corn snake who appears healthy and has otherwise normal behavior. My concern is that it seems that his ability to both locate and strike at his feeder mice has dwindled quite a bit in accuracy. I shall explain...

For the first 18-20 months of his life, If I were to dangle a frozen-thawed mouse (pinkies and then fuzzies) by the tail from tongs, he would be able to detect it from at least two feet away and move quickly to reach the location of the mouse, strike at it with accuracy, and swallow successfully.

Over the past few months however, I basically have to dangle the mouse directly in front of his face (perhaps within 5 inches of his face, straight on). He then moves to strike...but perhaps 30-50% of the time he misses if the mouse is swinging a bit back and forth. If i hold the mouse still, he appears to not even know it's there.

It's almost as if he is partially blind, or losing his hunting senses. Having said that, his eyes look clear, his tongue flickers regularly, and he still moves about the viv for several hours each evening. Also, once he has capture the mouse in his jaw, he is able to swallow it no problem.

Has anyone experienced similar behavior?

NOTE: He is still on fuzzies (i try to pick larger fuzzies), because the adult mice I have received in the past just seem way to big for his head. Perhaps this is my issue...i dunno. The snake has a fairly thick body, but his head and neck seem small in comparison.

Thanks folks!
-Chris

Thanks
-Chris

 

[tyflier]

Have you always fed f/t? If so, I wonder if he simply has learned that the mice are already dead, and aren't going anywhere, so accuracy is not important.

I have noticed with my florida king(my most aggressive feeder), if I feed f/t, she misses alot of strikes, but NEVER misses when I feed live. My corn and MBK...same thing. My royal python NEVER misses...but will only take f/k or stunned...

 

[ozone]

Have you always fed f/t? If so, I wonder if he simply has learned that the mice are already dead, and aren't going anywhere, so accuracy is not important.

Yes, he has always been fed frozen/thawed.

About learning whether or not they are dead, i'm not sure about that...but he still does the coil & strangle routine for a minute or so before he attempts to swallow, which might lead us to believe that he feels a good strangling is still in order

 

[tyflier]

Yes, he has always been fed frozen/thawed.

About learning whether or not they are dead, i'm not sure about that...but he still does the coil & strangle routine for a minute or so before he attempts to swallow, which might lead us to believe that he feels a good strangling is still in order

The constriction may be purely a reaction to the food. It takes MUCH longer to constrict a live prey item than "a minute or so". My floridana(again, my most aggressive, and strongest colubrid), will constrict a live large fuzzy for a full 5-6 minutes before swallowing it down. An f/t fuzzy of the same size will only get constricted for 30 seconds to a minute...purely "going through the motions", because the prey doesn't move, struggle, or attempt to breath like a live one would.

On the subject of restriction, typically, a snake will squeeze tighter as the prey exhales. If the prey is already dead, the first squeeze of constriction *should* empty the lungs of any remaining air, and prevent much further constriction...so the snake lets go.

So even though the snake still constricts(at least superficially) f/t prey, it may still be aware prior to constriction that the prey is no threat and in no danger of escape, so the accuracy of the strike becomes a moot point.

This is all conjecture, because I have nothing other than my own logic...which may be seriously lacking in truth...to go on. If you want to test your snake, feed him a live fuzzy and see how accurate he can be. Fuzzies still don't pose a major threat to your snake when fed live, so it won't be harmful to "give it a shot", and see what he does...

 

[Tracee]

That's a really interesting theory..

My 7-year old misses on the first strike 9 times out of 10, and has done for a few years. I just thought he was a bit dim or had 'something missing'! - it never occurred to me he may instinctively know the prey is no threat to him. Hmm!

 

[DogStar5988]

My hatchling also also seems to miss alot when he strikes at his f/t fuzzy. He only slowly chases around the fuzzy when I dangle it and sometimes even acts as if he doesn't know where it is, looking at where the fuzzy has touched him and the bottom of his feeding container. But I figure he is just need some practice with the whole hunting thing since I just started moving his food around.

---Kenny

 

[v_various]

heh.

well, wish I could help, but I've never seen mine strike or constrict. He is a dainty boy.

The other day he refused for the fist time, I brained the mouse, nothing. I jiggled it a bit, and my boy got scared (and he's a year old).

If you do try feeding a live fuzzie, let us know how he does. This is interesting.

 

[Meeghann]

About the size of mice: Age IMO is not a good indicator of food size. You should be feeding mice that are about 1-1.5 times the larges part of the snake (girth). If what you are feeding now is significantly smaller you may want to work up to the size that is appropriate. Good Luck!

P.s. The mouse might look big for the tiny neck but believe me they can get them down. :grin01:

 

[tyflier]

heh.

well, wish I could help, but I've never seen mine strike or constrict. He is a dainty boy.

The other day he refused for the fist time, I brained the mouse, nothing. I jiggled it a bit, and my boy got scared (and he's a year old).

If you do try feeding a live fuzzie, let us know how he does. This is interesting.

I always "switch it up" between f/t and f/k or stunned. I have never seen any of my snakes miss a strike when the prey is still twitching or breathing, though they ALL occasionally miss an f/k or f/t item when striking...