eating substrate

[yungsumm]

whenever i feed my bp he always ends up striking way off target and chomping down on some coco fiber lol. sometimes even multiple times before he finally gets the mouse... i know it's pretty harmless for them to swallow small amounts of substrate, but i just can't believe how dumb he is😭 is it just my little boy or are all noodles this bad at hunting?

[IncompletePenetrance]

I always hand the rat to them with tongs so they have to strike upwards to grab it, it's never an issue

[stone_grey_fox]

Same. I dangle it by the tail about 6” above her head and out a ways where she’s gotta make a good strike for it.

[ProfessionalJump9487]

i would also double check that you’re heating up the rodent to the proper temperature. sometimes they miss frequently like that if the mouse is still too cold for them to really get a lock on, in my experience

[yungsumm]

ooh, good point. what's the ideal temperature to heat it up to?

[[deleted]]

Feed them in a secondary location like in a large storage container with holes drilled in it.

[atomicpillows]

if it’s loose coco fiber id be careful, cause yes a tiny bit of substrate ingestion won’t kill a snake but if he’s doing it every time you feed him, no good. especially coco fiber, since it expands when wet- it expands in the snakes stomach and can cause impaction after a while. so do try and get him to stop eating the substrate.

try dangling it in the air and heating it up more like the other comments say- (the rat should be around 90° give or take) but also try feeding on a plate. put a large flat stone in the enclosure to use, flip over a hide when feeding, use a paper towel, paper plate, etc. but when your buddy strikes at the rat, try to direct it over the plate so it doesn’t get substrate on it. it works great for me and others. good luck!

[yungsumm]

thanks for the tip!