Yesterday, I fed Coral for the first time. Right after getting her, she started to shed (sp ?), so I had to wait before feeding her.

So, I put the f/t mouse in a flat stone in the terrarium and waited for a while. She came partially out from the burrow and "freezed" in front of it in the "S" position...
After a few moments, I touched the mouse with the tweezer and, with the (slight) movement, she immediately went for it, grabbed it be the head, pulled it in and started to eat it.

She didn´t try to "kill" the prey, just ate it - I guess the instinct isn´t there anymore...

It was quite a show - naturally exciting for a "newbie" -, so I decided to share it with you, keeping this post/diary active

Regards
João

Awesome, glad to hear it ate willingly for you. You might think about feeding outside the enclosure so it doesnt associate your hand entering the tank with feeding time. Just a suggestion, lol.

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

I totally agree.Feed outside the tank and your cage looks great but I can't help but miss your first picture that looked like your snake lived in the clouds somewhat like a dragon.But I know that isn't natural.YAY FOR DRAGONS

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Without pray we coludn't have predators Kill your rats with love!

Hi Venus,

I thought about that, but I´m using a long tweezer, so my hand does not enter the enclosure. Only the tweezer with the mouse.

The problem is the snake associating the opening of doors with food being inserted. This can still set off a feeding reaction. And there is the possibility of the snake swallowing some of the substrate.
Most snakes don't bother killing pinkies. They will just swallow them alive. I guess they instinctively know that they are harmless. When you switch to larger prey the constricting may start.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I see your point. I was told not to handle her in the feeding days, in order not to stress her (nor in the 2 days following, due to digestion). So, that´s why I fed inside the enclosure.
But perhaps that´s exagerated, so I may review that in future, following your advise.

As regards the way they eat, I used killing between " ", because I´m feeding frozen.

But its curious that, even with frozen mice, some snakes attack them as if they had to kill them, while others just eat them.

Two other Portuguese friends of mine that have snakes (milks, kings and a corn) and also feed frozen have registered different behaviors: some snakes just eat them (like mine), others constrict, and others - specially the corn - smash them against the rocks or glass of the enclosure.

That´s curious, but I don´t know if it has to do with their wild instinct or of being more or less confident about themselves and therefore the harm (if any) the prey may do to them.

Even snakes that are captive bred and born still retain, and act on, their wild instincts. They are basically very simple creatures. A pinkie is no threat so they don't waste time and energy killing them. ( I have also observed snakes in the wild swallowing living frogs ) As they get used to feeding on prekilled prey some of them will continue to constrict first and some will just amble over and start swallowing. I have snakes that do both and it seems that the hungrier they are the more apt they are to strike and constrict. The same snake that calmly swallowed his prey, a couple of weeks later after missing a feeding week will strike and constrict.
As for handling on feeding days, that is not a probelm except after the snake has fed and for two days following that. After the snake has fed you can immediately pick it up gently and return it to the cage.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Thanks for that useful info, Merlin

Hi,

Update.
Yesterday was feeding day.

I bought a new dinning room for coral,


And set the table


Now, alll I had to do was find her....probably, under the rock in the far left corner (one of her favorite spots)


Here you are ! !


Going to the dinning room and finding the dinner




Gotcha !


"It´s mine, it´s all mine"


And ending up with a nice bump (in a bad picture...)


Well, that´s all for now.

João

Great feeding pics, glad to see you feeding in the dining room instead .

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!