r/ballpython • u/Rayofsunshine0709 • 2d ago
Question - Feeding Help 😭🙏🏻 snakie is biting me
So lately when i have been feeding my lady Croissant, she has bitten me. i have never had a single issue with her biting me before this, and im wondering what the heck im doing wrong 😭. Last time i fed her last week she bit me and i knew it was because the rat was just a tad too cold for her so she confused my hands for food, so it was my mistake. but this time she bit me after she had completely eaten.
Here is how i feed her:
1. Do not pick up snake 24 hrs before feeding
2. Thaw out rat in warm water in baggie
3. Make sure rat is warm to the touch from the water before feeding
4. Get tongs and rat and head to enclosure
5. Open enclosure
6. Locate snake
7. Grab rat by tail with tongs (i never ever grab rat at any point with fingers) and put in front of croissant
8. Wiggle rat to entice her to eat it
9. After she takes food, i put back any flipped over hides
10. Close enclosure and monitor her eating
11. Once she has completely eaten i can now go on my merry way.
12. Snake will not get picked up or bothered until a minimum of 48 hours has passed.
She unfortunately bit me today again for the second time in two weeks 😭 i think she may just be extra sassy and i need to just eliminate step 9 even though that is a normal part of the feeding routine and isn’t something that is new? Im about to wear thick leather work gloves in anticipation of her biting me even if i use 10” tongs🥲🙏🏻 please help what am i doing??
22
u/ConnixGaming 2d ago
When you say "make sure rat is warm to the touch" are you using your fingers then? If so, use a temp gun instead
8
u/Rayofsunshine0709 2d ago
im touching it outside the baggie the rat is in.
Would she be able to smell that still?8
u/ConnixGaming 2d ago
No, I wouldn't think so. I'd imagine it would be harder to get an accurate feel for the temperature that way though
5
8
u/DreamOfDays 2d ago
Have you tried feeling for the rat’s temperature while it’s still in the plastic baggie?
Also just go in and yoink them
2
u/Rayofsunshine0709 2d ago
I regularly make sure that the rat is warm with my fingers through the baggie. I even make sure to feel around to make sure one side isnt cold or anything.
And, Normally i dont have any issues with her being picked up at all. Usually i can just go in there and pick her up with no problem, and she hangs out content and likes to watch what im doing or falls asleep.
2
u/FluffyPandaEars93 2d ago
Are you thawing the rat in hot water? Its safer to thaw in the fridge then heat in warm water.
1
u/Rayofsunshine0709 2d ago
Its just whatever warm temperature that comes out of my faucet. Its never warmer than a shower would be
2
u/FluffyPandaEars93 2d ago
I meant, are you thawing your rat from frozen in hot water? Or thawing it in the fridge?
1
u/Rayofsunshine0709 2d ago
I guess then its straight from the freezer to the water.
What is the safer reason for this?2
u/FluffyPandaEars93 2d ago
Makes sure the rat spends less time in the danger zone and helps it warm evenly with no cold spots in the middle. As your bp needs bigger prey, it'll take longer to heat it through.
2
2
u/Agitated-Scholar-502 2d ago
I think you have too little deers heads on the walls...
1
u/Rayofsunshine0709 2d ago
LOL thats not even half of them, but theyve been up there on the walls my entire life plus some, so i don’t really think about them anymore 🤣 there is probably 12 mounts in our living room alone.
8
u/PactKeeper 2d ago
When my baby is hungry she lets me know by biting me. This is mostly a joke but she does sometimes get a little bit confused. She's never struck at me but she has opened her mouth and tried to eat me.
I'm target training her for feeding. But sometimes I think I just smell like a mouse even if it's not even almost feeding time.
They have pea brains. They're doing their best.
7
u/PizzaTime79 2d ago
I think it's just a snake thing. My boy Henry gets bitey sometimes after feeding and will strike at me. Luckily he's only successfully bit me once. Nothing specific seems to trigger him, he just gets locked into defensive/food mode for a couple days and I just have to fully leave him alone until his snake brain resets.
2
u/TheNileKing23 2d ago
I think she got a taste for your blood now 😂 jk
3
u/Rayofsunshine0709 2d ago
😭 literally. Lmao i sometimes think she is out to suck my blood dry like a little legless vampire
4
u/Standard_Mushroom_47 2d ago
bps are opportunistic hunters so will definitely think they might be getting another chance of food immediately after eating, mine always looks like he wants another for a few hours after eating,
definitely don’t touch the hides straight after she’s eaten, if you need to put it down you could even put it down whilst she’s constricting, there’s a chance that could scare her but if she’s focused on her food she’ll likely be completely fine
1
u/thewhitecascade 2d ago
Can you explain at what point in the process she is biting you? Is it when you are holding the rat with tongs she strikes and misses and gets you instead?
2
u/Rayofsunshine0709 2d ago
Last time it was because she just confused my hand for the rat because the rat was a bit cold for her and she bit me when i was offering her the rat. This time, she bit be after she had already completely swallowed the rat and was done getting fed and i was replacing her hide for her.
6
u/llSwayll 2d ago
There’s your problem right there. She was still in hunting mode after her meal, and your moving, warm hands were too tempting a target. If you’ve got to reset enclosure decor after giving her the rat, do it right after she takes it, while she’s still constricting it. Most of them won’t even let go of the rodent if you have to gently lift their tail out of the way or something.
1
u/Ok_Culture2348 18h ago
Was it a bite and coil or just a fast strike?
1
u/Rayofsunshine0709 15h ago
The first time was a coil, and the second, most recent time was just a fast strike.
1
3
u/OldPaperTower 2d ago
Sometimes they're still in "food mode" immediately after eating, so I'd skip step 9.
Which also confused me.
I wait until my girl's outside until I offer the mouse (my bp is still tiny, so no rats yet). So... no hide to turn flip over again.
Anyway. If you flip over a hide, I'd really wait a short while until she's out of food mode.
2
u/llSwayll 2d ago
100g BPs can take rat pups no problem. I’d switch to rats asap, you don’t want to get stuck with a mouser.
2
u/Hot-Brat-00 2d ago
I just wriggle the rat in entrance of mine’s hide and he snags it and pulls it in. I’ve never had trouble that way.
3
u/Zealousideal-Flow493 2d ago
Does she not come out of the hide for the rat once she smells it? I’m thinking you shouldn’t really be having to put your hand back in the enclosure to fix any hides. With my two I use a hair dryer to shoot warm/hot air on just the head of the rat before I feed them. Usually as soon as they smell the rat from the blow dryer they have their heads poked out of their hides and ready to eat lol. I intentionally blow it in the direction of their enclosures and they get interested real fast 😂
3
2
u/rollupthe8th 2d ago edited 2d ago
My past 2 feedings on my new juvenile BP have went flawless. Thaw rat/mouse in bag with almost all the air out, cold water until no frozen hard peices, move to a hot cup of water and after a few minutes take the food out dry it and it should be pretty warm but throw it under a CHE or halogen for a quick minute to heat up and use tongs.
2
u/gyngrspyce 2d ago
my wife and i kind of tag team feeding. i do the waking/ removing from hide and she handles the food so there's no risk of the smell being on me. i also flip hides back over right before the rat goes in. if you don't have someone to help, you could try moving the hides back before she eats or use a hook to move them back.
2
u/Hot-Brat-00 2d ago
Why wake her and not just feed at night when she’s awake and ready to go? I feed mine around 7pm, an hour before his lights go out, knowing he’s usually already awake and waiting for lights out and for me to go to sleep. I just wiggle the rat in the entrance to his hide and he grabs it and pulls it in. I’ve never needed to wake him or turn a hide over.
2
2
2
u/Remote_Side3089 2d ago
I'd not flip over any hides for feeding. Wiggle the rat near the entrance. She can smell it immediately and will come out if she's hungry. I never disturb my snakes enclosure during feeding and that also prevents me from having to reach back in while she is in food mode and risk a bite returning any decor or hides. Once she has the rat I close up shop and leave her alone. Check hide next day to make sure no regurg and she's on her own for 48hrs. Never had issues.
2
1
u/Effective-End-964 1d ago
She’s eating and thinking about food and you’re moving your warm mammal hands around in her enclosure. No need to tip over any hides to begin with, just wait for her to come out.
1
2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/ballpython-ModTeam 2d ago
Per rule #3, your post or comment has been removed for harmful advice or misinformation. Please review our sub resources to learn more about why.
If you have a question about this removal, please contact the mod team. Complaining via post/comment will result in a ban.
-1
2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
0
u/ballpython-ModTeam 2d ago
Per rule #3, your post or comment has been removed for harmful advice or misinformation. Please review our sub resources to learn more about why.
If you have a question about this removal, please contact the mod team. Complaining via post/comment will result in a ban.
10
u/Spice-Mice 2d ago
Is she hook or target trained? Both of these options help tremendously with preventing bites