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View Full Version : Oddness is usually okay with me, but...



LadyStefanie
05-11-2005, 02:38 PM
Sunday I purchased a precious little (hatchling) female ball. (Quite lovely - pics coming soon) I talked to to the vendor about her feeding and was told she takes live fuzzy mice (ugh to live, and ugh to mice!) but she eats no problem. Ball that eats. Cool.
Home we go.
She looks a little thin, so Monday, I went and picked up a little fuzzy and took it home to see if she's interested. If not, something around the house will be. Put the snake and mouse into a sterlite for feeding and proceeded to finish cleaning water bowls. She's sitting on the counter next to me and Hooray!! She's eating.
Wait.
Is that thing still alive?
Oh. My. God.

It is.

However, she took it down with no issues and constant monitoring on my part have shown no evident ill effects.
In many years and many snakes, I have NEVER seen this.
Does anyone else have experience with this?
Words of wisdom? Anything I should worry about?
I'm kind of wondering if maybe she's previously taken f/t or p/k and thats why there was no strike/constriction.

FishTool69
05-11-2005, 02:57 PM
Many snakes eat frogs, lizards, and other things alive. I have seen a kingsnake eat an anole that was still kicking and flicking its tail the whole time.

LdyDrgn
05-11-2005, 02:59 PM
We had a single hatchling Tiger ratsnake that absolutely refused f/t of p/k... He swallow live down exactly so: Live. The prey usually suffocates before hitting the stomach, though. ;)

LadyStefanie
05-11-2005, 04:27 PM
The prey usually suffocates before hitting the stomach, though. ;)

Which is what eventually happened in this case. However, the squealing was a bit much in the meantime. :sad1:

I did talk to a friend of mine with a horror story about a burm swallowing a rat the same way... much noisier, though. Ugh!

lowelldan
05-11-2005, 05:36 PM
yeah rats can be real noisy... Personally, I've found that medium rats make the most noise for some reason, larges and jumbo struggle the most, but mediums have such a horrific shriek. It's good I dont have to feed live prey......