Misc. ramblings...

It never ceases to amaze and/or amuse me that snakes have different personalities and preferences!

I bought two pairs of lavender hatchlings from Rich about a month ago. They are beautiful, doing very well and all 4 have taken all 3 meals that have been offered!

The interesting thing is (and main purpose of this post) all have different eating preferences. As far as I can tell from the stock number that Rich provided me with, they came from two different clutches.

Generally speaking on feeding day (saturday) each box is brought down to the table. Upon opening I grab the snake out and do a quick exam (admire) and while holding in one hand I spot clean the cage. Meanwhile my fiance takes the water bowl, washes and refills it.

The larger female will not eat when we are present. I leave a 1/4 sheet of paper towel in her cage with the pink on top. After the lights go out and several hours later, the pink disappears!

The smaller female (the smallest of all 4) is a real trip. When the lid comes off her box, she greets us everytime, trying to escape and it seems that she almost adores being held. She expresses immediate interest when a pink is offered at the end of the hemistat, but more or less plays with it. She nudges it around, climbs on top of the hemistat and loops back around to the pink. After about 5 minutes, suddenly she strikes at the pink and devours it like no tomorrow!

The largest male wastes no time at all! As soon as he sees (or smells as the case may be) the pink coming at him, he's on it! He strikes and contricts already at this very young age! From my expierence, most of my corns do not constrict until they get a bit older. That's what I have noticed at least. Not this little guy...he's got his routine down pat!

Finally the smaller of the 2 males (currently my very favorite, although I just love all of them) is very mellow and tame. He's a great eater and also doesn't waste much time devouring his weekly meal either. But for the second week in a row this little guy has eaten in my hand while I was holding him. He has no quams, doesn't seems scared a bit and may actually prefer his meal this way?! I sort of cup my hand and hold my arm and hand against my chest, I didn't do this on purpose but he seems extremely content in this! Also for the second week in a row, after he finishes, he makes his way up my arm and proceeds to climb into my t-shirt pocket and curl up! Kind of as if it is a "thanks for the meal, I'm gonna take a nap now" gesture! It's very cute and as far as feeling the muscles work as the pink goes down the hatch, it is just absolutely awesome and somewhat mind blowing! I'll see if I can't get a couple pics next week to share.

Anyhow, I just thought I would post this. I find it extremely facsinating and wanted too share. Four snakes all from the same breeder, more than likely from two different clutches and parents and all are completely different not only in color and pattern but temperment, personality and feeding preferences!

Sorry for the long post, I tend to get carried away sometimes!

Quigs

They are pretty amazing. My amel is like your male. She eats anywhere, anytime. I feed her in a box, and she knows what that sucker is for. The minute she goes in, she's looking for the mouse. She constricts everytime, and never hesitates. As soon as the mouse is in there, it's getting constricted and swallowed. I've never had her refuse a meal, even before shed, and she doesn't care if you watch, or take pictures. She'd probably eat on the freeway in rush hour! She's also the most laid back snake in the world. She has always been that way, even the first day I had her.
My new Aztec on the other hand, was pretty shy the first time I fed her. She tried to escape the box, and then happened to notice that perfectly good fuzzy lying in her path. She ate it right down. I had to keep the lid on the box mostly closed, and she was very nervous when I went to go put her back in her viv. This last feeding, she took the fuzzy right away, and ate with the box open. She was still nervous when I went to put her back, but she's definitely calming down. She has done a little tail rattling, but has not struck at me, and she's definitely getting calmer as time goes by. I don't think she'll ever be as mellow as C.S., but she should be pretty good. Here's a photo of C.S. munching on a mouse.

My female motley is like that too. She'll eat whenever given the chance. Even if you pick her up while she's eating, she wont let go. As soon as sher smells mouse, she gets into her attack mode. I event tried putting the mouse near her hide and she just snatched it out of the tongs. But other than at feeding time, she's really calm.