T O P I C R E V I E W |
scubadude |
Posted - 05/01/2011 : 18:22:16 Just wanted to pass on my thanks to all the contributing members of this forum, Palins just had her 3rd feed and although both previous times she's struck and hit the head this time the mouse went down backside first, now as I'm sure many of you old hands can understand for a new keeper this could have been quite worrying, but thanks to reading this forum I knew to just let her try and get it down, even though it looked a little less graceful than normal. And just as everyone advised all was well and she's now back in her warm side hide sleeping of her big dinner. Thanks again, and don't stop contributing it all helps. |
4 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
anatess |
Posted - 06/01/2011 : 18:23:30 quote: Originally posted by BurnedAtTheStake
Glad you like this forum - so do I - I'd like to add my thanks because it has helped me so much too.
Didn't realise Palin was eating her mice backwards - Shahi used to do just the same thing when he was a baby. In truth I wonder if the conventional 'head first' method is because of the fact that, in the wild, the snake would have coiled round live prey and asphyxiated it before taking it down - hence the long wait for defrost prey to 'die'. It would make sense to take poor mousey down headfirst, just in case it wasn't quite killed?
Me, I always find it amusing when they get the prey wrong end round ... you know, wide-eyed, legless and rat-posteriored ...
I feed live (yea, dang Americans. LOL!) and the snake detects the heartbeat on the rat. It doesn't stop constricting until that heartbeat is stopped. So yeah, the rat is definitely dead.
I don't quite know for sure what makes them detect the head. I know my royals will sniff around the entire rat until it finds the nose then it starts to swallow. Sometimes, it takes them a long time to find the head so they end up munching from other parts of the body - I've had it once before where my spider bp (he's the only one who has eaten rats the wrong side first) ate from the thigh side of the rat and had to fold the rat really wierd to get it to fit in. That was major wierd... |
Benji54 |
Posted - 06/01/2011 : 16:18:20 quote: Originally posted by Royalbob
Thanks as well. This forum's also taught me loads. They just know it's easier head first because of the direction of the prey's fur and limbs. Backward folding limbs less chance of scratching etc. There was a study done somewhere to see if it was fur direction or scent or shape that made them recognize the head.
what was the outcome?
im really enjoying this and all its sister forums! really informative and loadsa friendly people! what more could we want!? |
Royalbob |
Posted - 05/01/2011 : 19:42:43 Thanks as well. This forum's also taught me loads. They just know it's easier head first because of the direction of the prey's fur and limbs. Backward folding limbs less chance of scratching etc. There was a study done somewhere to see if it was fur direction or scent or shape that made them recognize the head. |
n/a |
Posted - 05/01/2011 : 18:32:50 Glad you like this forum - so do I - I'd like to add my thanks because it has helped me so much too.
Didn't realise Palin was eating her mice backwards - Shahi used to do just the same thing when he was a baby. In truth I wonder if the conventional 'head first' method is because of the fact that, in the wild, the snake would have coiled round live prey and asphyxiated it before taking it down - hence the long wait for defrost prey to 'die'. It would make sense to take poor mousey down headfirst, just in case it wasn't quite killed?
Me, I always find it amusing when they get the prey wrong end round ... you know, wide-eyed, legless and rat-posteriored ... |
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