Feeding Frenzy

I have read that most of the bites owners receive from their pet snakes are feeding related. Things like forgetting to wash your hands after touching a prey item or a surface that contains the prey items scent. Also using your hands to feed the snake instead of using tongs. Being cautious of those errors, I wash my hands often when feeding Alice and handling her as well as using tongs to present the prey to her.

Although I was not bitten during her last feeding, my hand was mistaken for a mouse and chased out of the feeding bin. I fed her two large frozen mice last Wednesday. She stayed in feed mode way longer than usual this time. Every time I would open the bin, she would rapidly come out of the hide I put in there for her.  She struck at the side of the bin twice because she saw movement. I cover the entrance of her hide with a piece of cardboard to keep her calm when transporting her back to her habitat. I had tried this several times already and each time she had come charging out of the hide looking for the prey item. I thought I had it under control and was going to be successful when she stayed in her hide as I approached it with the cardboard piece. It was then I noticed her attention switched to the hand holding the cardboard. As I started to withdraw my hand, she opened her mouth and rapidly chased my hand across the bin.

This was all rather amusing and finally ended with her allowing me to cover the entrance to her hide and transporting her back to her habitat. I will feed her again on Tuesday. I wonder if she will repeat the last feeding behavior :-\

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