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 Posted - 22/04/2012 : 17:32:41
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Those of you who've heard of my corn snake Cy will know that she hatched with only one eye, and had feeding problems from the start. The shop reckoned that this was because she couldn't see the mouse properly and although I thought that her sense of smell ought to compensate, it was true that she seemed to feed better in a good light, often after cruising round the mouse as if to get a good look at it first. She will only eat a mouse that has had the back of its neck snipped open - whether the smell of spinal fluid attracts her I don't know. But not brained - she won't touch brained. As long as I provided her with what she liked, and left her alone to decide whether to eat (this could take hours) she would take her mouse - sometimes. Sometimes she would consider the mouse with a weird head tremor, nodding over it before eating. If she ate it.
Not surprisingly, she's grown very slowly. At the beginning of this year, aged almost 2, she had only just graduated from pinks to fuzzies and jumpers, but in February she took her first small mouse. I thought the smell of a 'proper' furred mouse might attract her, and she was straight on to it.
She's never been a snake I've considered assist-feeding; she's never looked emaciated. But she's definitely miniature. Shiloh, at a year younger, is the same size as Cy, if not bigger. But then Shiloh, after a slow start and assist-feeding, is now a ravenous gannet.
I don't think setup has affected Cy's eating; she's been in the same viv for a year now. In late winter she fasted for weeks, but since that first small mouse, has eaten one mouse per month.
Until I received my latest consignment of frozen rodents.
In among the usual small white mice were some black ones. Now I've heard of snakes getting hooked on white mice and refusing any other colour of rodent, but for some reason I thought, wonder if Cy would eat a black mouse.
So last Sunday I offered a black mouse, on tongs, and wiggled it for her. She has, apart from one strike feed as a hatchling, never responded to the wiggled mouse. She did this time. Wham! Strike, coil and straight down! I've never ever seen her coil! I couldn't believe my eyes!
So again today, I defrosted her another black mouse. With her track record, I didn't expect her to take it. She looked at it with her one good eye, for a nano-second. Grab! Hard coil and mousey went down at a speed that wouldn't have disgraced my gopher snake!
So, I'm left wondering. Can this just be coincidence? Better appetite with the spring weather? Or is it that the dark shape of the mouse is more clearly seen by her? Perhaps the sight in her good eye isn't that marvellous - who can tell what genetic or birth damage was caused in that small skull?
Whatever it is, I'm very pleased. And perhaps once I've used up the quota of black mice, Cy might have become accustomed to her weekly mouse and take any mouse with the same gusto.
Otherwise I'm going to have to research into harmless snake-friendly vegetable dyes and produce some jolly sky blue pink mice, with yellow dots on! 
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Edited by - n/a on 22/04/2012 17:35:26 |
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Lotabob
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
5008 Posts |
Posted - 22/04/2012 : 18:23:37
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| Its weird how colour can and does affect the response, I've noticed that Spot will strike so much harder when its a black prey item though its very unusual to get one. |
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7384 Posts |
Posted - 22/04/2012 : 20:47:07
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Ha - that's interesting - another corn favouring the visual effect.
It'll be interesting to see what happens when I've only got white mice left. Perhaps I should have invested in some pinky and fluff rats as these are usually shades of grey (except seems impossible to get hold of these atm - sold out in breeding season.)
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Lotabob
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
5008 Posts |
Posted - 22/04/2012 : 20:52:13
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| You'll have to offer one of each at the same time see which way she goes. |
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7384 Posts |
Posted - 22/04/2012 : 22:39:27
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Lol - don't want to confuse her!
In any case she can't see on her left side so not much point. Hoping she just gets used to a full belly every week and starts expecting her Sunday lunch on the dot. You know corns - once they go into feeding mode they never stop, so hoping this is it, even if it has taken 2 years. |
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Lotabob
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
5008 Posts |
Posted - 22/04/2012 : 22:49:26
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| Yeah my corn only decides not to eat when shedding. |
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7384 Posts |
Posted - 22/04/2012 : 23:08:22
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Most of my corns will feed even then - and as for the pits ...I reckoned Shadrach was going into shed and today used his mouse to nudge a pile of dusty coils in his warm hide. A weird head with powder blue eyes shot out at the speed of light and snatched the mouse, no messing!
Talk about bottomless pits! |
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reptilemadd
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
969 Posts |
Posted - 23/04/2012 : 19:41:31
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| It's funny but good on her since I've had Cerb he definitely does prefer black/brown, mice/rats and the only conclusion I can come to is that it must be a genetic memory thing since most if not all wild rodents are of a dark colour, just a thought lol |
1.0.0 beardie "magic"
1.1.0 100% Het Clown "Cerberus" and "Artemis"
0.1.0 Poss Calico "Ariadne"
1.0.0 Lesser " Kronos"
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7384 Posts |
Posted - 23/04/2012 : 19:56:49
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Maybe ...who knows what goes through their minds. They are wild animals after all.
Lol - since her next door made a big fuss about my cats (ferals who she started to feed and then passed on to me) nibbling her plants (funny they don't nibble mine) I wired my garden in to confine the cats. So now she's plagued with mice and rats. If she makes any more bother I'll offer her Cy or the odd python to mop 'em up. Would love to see her face!
ps only kidding - wouldn't feed my snakes wild rodents - although I can imagine Cy preferring them! |
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7384 Posts |
Posted - 24/04/2012 : 17:13:56
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Well, just as a postscript, today I went in to change her water, and she came zooming across and curled round my hand, sniffing it all over to see what I'd brought her.
I'd just been feeding the cats. Ocean fish flavour. And Cy was obviously very attracted by the scent - just shows what an incredible sense of smell snakes have.
Now maybe that's a new feeding tip ...you've heard of tuna scenting, perhaps an idea to scent the rodent with a bit of catfood jelly??? |
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Mysterious black mouse
