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not killing the mouse first?

D

dara

New member
Hi there.
I have a new little guy, about 2 months old.
I feed him pinkies in a paper bag, he used to be a problem feeder but a live pinkie in the paper bag does it and he now eats like a champ.
Today when I fed him, I peeked in the bag while he did it (I had never seen him eat because I always just closed the bag and left him alone). He didn't kill the pinkie first, just went straight for the head and started swallowing. Didn't even attempt to constrict it or even really shake it while it struggled in his jaws as he was getting it down. Is this normal?
I know that as the mice that I feed him get bigger, I need to be more careful because the mice can hurt him. The trouble is that he refuses to eat dead food, even with a tease.
Is it normal not to kill the prey first? Thanks,

Dara
 
Mine (13" or so) does the same thing. It appears as though the pinkie suffocates part way through the operation.
However, our last feeding was of a pinkie that was larger than I though when we picked it up at the store. It actually had a fair amount of motility and looked like it was a day or so away from being a fuzzy. Scooter attempted a constriction which was unsuccessful. His first one I assume; perhaps he's not strong enough.
At any rate, it appears that prey size is the key and that your little one will loop de loop when the time comes. After all, there's no mommy around to teach them how out in the wild.
 
With pinkies, they usually don't bother. Pinkies have no teeth or sharp claws, so that's fine.
It should be alright for now. When he gets big enough to eat 2 pinkies each time, try giving him one live one, and then a frozen/thawed one after. Usually they are in their "feeding mode" and eat the 2nd one with no problem. After a while, you can try switching to all dead mice.
 
It's pretty normal to not kill pinkies and sometimes even fuzzies first. Believe me, once the mice start getting bigger, he'll start constricting them.
 
mine used to do this...on dead food tho. so i embarked on a mission (que national anthem) to get my snake to kill its food. 2 months later she kills like a pro. the way i did this was tease feeding. i made her "chase" the mouse by moving it away with tweesers. as she got near, i pulled it away. when she went to strike i wud move it a lil. then when she had it in her mouth i wud carry on moving it. then instincs took over :D
hope it helps....
 
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