Very weird! How can a mouse that's was suppose to be food for the snake is still alive?

Question

My husband has this ball python (young, but not a baby). We bought him a mouse last Monday, mouse is still alive. I came home today and found the mouse crawled up with the snake. I mean in the middle of the snake and the mouse was still alive. My husband keeps telling me that the snake will eat the mouse when he is ready. I'm like I don't think so. I think that they are somewhat buddies now.

Answer 1

DO NOT KEEP THAT MOUSE IN THE SAME CAGE!!

    IT will further stress the snake, and your snake could be gnawed on and seriously injured!

    The #1 reason ball pythons refuse food...

    POOR HUSBANDRY. Please review the care of your snake and make sure everything is right. I have included a couple resources that will help you set everything up right so your snake will be happy and healthy.

    http://repticzone.com/forums/ballpython/...

    http://newenglandreptile.com

    If you are still having troubles, please join www.repticzone.com, we will help you out!

Answer 2

snakes dont ahve to eat for 2 weeks. he just isnt hungry.

Answer 3

no when the snake is hungry mouse will be eaten

Answer 4

The snake will eat when it is hungry and no sooner. It's hard to tell when that is, given they don't 'tell you'. My tarantula is the same way.

Answer 5

If a snake does not eat a mouse within five minutes of putting the mouse in the snake's cage, the snake is not hungry. Leaving the mouse in the snake's cage will only guarantee that the mouse will begin to chew on the snake when the mouse gets hungry. Since the snake can not get away from the mouse inside a closed cage, the mouse has a very good chance of killing the snake.

This is an absolute fact. I've seen it happen with my own eyes, I've seen photographs of the horrendous damage a mouse or rat can do to a caged snake, and I have spoken with other people who have lost snakes this way.

This is the main reason you should always feed pre-killed items to your snake. I get frozen rodents for my snakes, thaw them in warm water, and offer them to the snake in a clean container. While the snake is eating, I clean the cage.

Answer 6

Ball pythons never get large enough to require rabbits. As a hatchling ball python, offer hopper mice or rat pups. Use the thickest part of the snakes body to determine what size prey to use. (with hatchlings, stick to prey items that are the same thickness as the snakes body, and no more than 1 1/2 times as thick as the snakes body).

If possible, get your ball python onto rats as early as possible. Ball pythons are known to become "attatched" to certain food items and can be difficult to switch over. (i.e. if you feed your ball python gerbils, it may decide that it does not want to eat anything else, and you will be stuck buying more expensive gerbils for your growing snake).

You can raise a ball python entirly on mice, but you will have to feed multiple prey items per feeding (up to 10 mice at a single feeding). For this reason, it is best to get them onto rats as soon as you can.

Feed your hatchling every 5 - 7 days. You can not over feed a baby python. As it gets older and prey items increase in size, you can feed once per week. Do not try to limit your snakes size by under feeding it. That is cruel and will shorten it's life.

If you feed live, never leave a prey item with your snake unattended. If it does not take it with in 5 minutes, remove the prey item and try again on the NEXT scheduled feeding day. Offering food every day to a snake that is not eating will only stress the snake out more and result in continued feeding issues.

If you are feeding rat pups (live) or f/t mice or rats, these items can be left overnight. A live rat pup cannot harm your snake. Any larger rat or mouse can actually kill your snake if left unattended (if the snake is not interested in feeding, the mouse or rat may actually start chewing on your snake....the snake will not do anything to defend itself).

Hope this helps.

Ball pythons are constrictors, which means that they subdue their prey by coiling around them in order to suffocate it.

Before you first try to feed your snake, allow it to acclimate to its new home for at least one week.

You can start snakes that are about 15" in length with one pre-killed fuzzy mouse. Smaller sized snakes may require smaller mice. Older snakes may be fed larger, pre-killed mice or rats.

It is always recommended to feed frozen rodents because they can cause serious damage to you snake.

Ball pythons can be very picky eaters, and they can go without food for several months. But, if you notice that you ball python is loosing significant weight, you need to consult a reptile veterinarian who can assist you with force feeding your snake (something you shouldn't try alone, especially if you do not have any experience doing it).

Make sure to provide a water bowl in the snake's enclosure. Ball pythons will both drink and soak, possibly even defecate in the water bowl, which is why it needs to be checked daily.

Soaking is good just before a shed. When they eyes clear from their milky or "blue" state, soak the snake in a tub of warm water for ten minutes or so, then lightly dry it off, and return it immediately to its tank; it should shed within twenty-four hours.

Answer 7

DON"T LEAVE THE MOUSE IN THE CAGE!!!!! It can harm the snake and befriend it! My neighbor's  snake died from becoming "friends" with a mouse and being bitten and died from infection.

Answer 8

aww haha

that sounds sweet. i feel bad for the mouse ..

Answer 9

Take the mouse out of the cage before it attacks the snake, since your snake is still young

and try feeding it smaller dead baby mice like "pinkies" and"fuzzies"

Answer 10

your husband is right. he is just not hungry yet. but keep the mouse out. just a suggestion, maybe you should start feeding your ball python out of its cage. i use the bath tub. that way you can separate the two when your snake doesn't eat. try again another night.

Answer 11

for starters, its EXTREMELY unwise to leave a live feeder in with your snake. an uninterested animal is probably still as terrifying to a mouse as if it was striking. mice and rats can very unpredictably maul snakes, and i can direct you to photos containing proof. its much safer for your animal to feed frozen then thawed mice. ball pythons are kind of notorious for going off feed. take away the mouse, and try again later. it may be your temps are lower than usual, or simply not hungry. above all, don't leave it in with the snake.

http://bellsouthpwp.net/j/b/jbuncc/dont%...

http://www.proexotics.com/graphics/ball_...

hope i have been of help

Answer 12

Aww, he's going to eat it?  What a mean trader friend the mouse has made:(  Maybe buy a kitten and puppy, they shouldn't eat each other.

Answer 13

It is not hungry right now so leave it alone for awhile then see if it is still there if it is dont worry it will disapear.

Answer 14

he will eat it sooner or later

Answer 15

Nope, snake just not hungry yet.

Answer 16

I dont know why but Dr. Seuss comes to mind... The snake is signing a song before it's meal, coaxing his prey.

Is it his first mouse? Is the snake a new pet?

Something might be up with the snake, he's not eating for some reason.

Answer 17

one of them is going to get hungry and you better hope its your snake! many snakes have been killed by there prey when its left over night. get a good ball python book and read up! basic newbie mistakes like that could possibly cost your snake its life!

Answer 18

Snakes only eat every 2 to four weeks by putting the mouse in now the mouse will think theirs nothing to worry about and for the next few days the mouse will be "Buddies" with you snake but sooner or later the mouse will be eaten and the snake will have its instincts come alive

Answer 19

I guess that's how you both get your jollies, seeing some defensless creature get snapped up by a snake.

Answer 20

The mouse is too ugly to be eaten? jk nahhh just i doubt the snake is hungry. it'll eat it soon.

Answer 21

You are BOTH correct.  As long as that snake isn't hungry, it will 'take good care' of that mouse ... but when that snake gets hungry, instinct will come in, and that mouse will be the next meal.  That happens with ALL snakes that eat mice, especially live mice ...

Answer 22

hungry

Answer 23

actually it is comonly found that a snake has weird activities and from what im hearing i think they could be buddies

  Or.......fatally

the snake will probably eat it in the next couple of days

dont worry... i have four snakes so i know bout it

Answer 24

Really bad idea to leave the mouse in with the snake. If all goes well you'll come in to a mouse that has been eaten. If not you'll come in to a snake that has been eaten, literally, by the mouse. Separate them as soon as possible.

As to why it isn't eating. It's either not comfortable (sick, poor husbandry, etc), not hungry (too soon since last feeding), or not feeling secure (lack of hiding places, etc).

Get the mouse out, and check that everything else is right. Then give it about 5 to 7 days to recuperate from the stress of the mouse and offer it food again. If it doesn't take it within 15 to 20 minutes of the prey being put in take it out and wait another 5 to 7 days.

Answer 25

the snake isn't hungry enough. Your husband is right !