Is it normal for ball pythons to miss 3 or 4 times when they are trying to strike the frozen/thawed mouse?

Question

When i feed my frozen/thawed mouse to my juivenile ball python he will miss like 3 or 4 times when is trying to strike the mouse before he gets it, is this normal or does he have sight problems or whatever one would call it?

Answer 1

I would think so. Mine is fed live mice and has now graduated to small rats. He misses now and then, sometimes even waits for hours before trying again. Is it a game for him??? Seems so, he will even let the rat crawl around on him. I have only had 1 mean rat so far, had to remove it from the cage. Never seen such a thing. Rat 1 snake 0!!

Answer 2

Its normal

Answer 3

it is normal for youngsters to miss...... Are you sure that the organs inside are warm...you can tell this by placing the mouse between your thumb and index finger applying a little pressure and if it feels cool then the organs aren't warm enough as the snake detects the mouse through smell and heat....hope this helps....good luck with your snake!

Answer 4

i would say its normal, especially if they are young they still need practice at that ;)

Answer 5

yes very normal

they have horrible eyesight

Answer 6

maybe frozen mice don't emit the infra-red signature that snakes use.

I heard that snakes have sensors in their face that can sense heat and other things that living animals emit.  Since your mouse is dead and frozen, the snake must use its EYES ONLY.

Maybe snakes don't have very good eyesight, and it only hits the prey on the first try it it's alive and kicking.