95Cm Snake Eating habit

[Greatcocojoe]

Hi everyone i have come across a akward situation. I have just fed Tango( 95cm 2 year old ). The only different thing is that i fed it 3 large "pinkies"? The breeder said that should be fine. I didnt feed it anything larger due to this weeks stock of "Small Whites" being gone. Im sorry im not sure which terminology i should be using for the food due to me being in China and only knowing the chinese terminology. A breeder told me that instead i can feed Tango 3 large " red skins". Now i have just fed them all to Tango and Tango ate them up pretty easy and fast. The only question i have is that is it normal for corn snakes to NOT constrict their prey and eat them whole alive? The 2nd large "red skin" i gave to Tango was first bit by Tango many times to the point where it bled a bit and then eaten alive. It even was still "shrieking" while going down the snakes body. Lets just say i was pretty freaked out the whole time. I read this is normal on small prey for larger snakes. I just want you guy's opinion on this as im not finding anything convincing online. I am also a little afraid if Tango's mouth might get scratched due to the prey's claws and such since it is still alive. The "red skins" are ones that have not fur grown yet and eyes have not opened. Also those 3 are much much larger then the ones i feed my hatchling. Maybe they are rat "pinkies"? If you read this far thank you for your time:cheers:

 

[mishima25]

If your snake is 2 years old you should be feeding much larger prey than what you describe. 3 pinkies (mouse or rat) barely have nutrients for an adult. Whether they are rat or mouse pinkies, you should know or you can post a picture maybe for us to see.
I think the easiest way for you to decide prey size is weigh your snake and weigh your prey from now on every time your feed. It should be eating adult mice at that age.

My snake didn't constrict when he was very young, and sometimes has eaten the whole mouse alive (pinkies), but it learned to constrict. Your prey is probably too small so that it can do so.
Also, you should change to frozen food for the safety of your snake. The bigger prey you should be feeding may injury your snake.

 

[Greatcocojoe]

Thank you for your reply, i already know the prey size is too small and i should be feeding larger, but like i said there are no more small whites (adult mice) in stock around me. I cannot post a picture due to the prey already being inside the snakes. Small bulges. Weighing is a good idea and im already waiting for a scale to arrive at my house. I also understand the risks of feeding prey alive, particuly large ones to the snakes. But the frozen mice stocks around here are incredibly unreliable. I also keep a tight supervision on my snakes during feeding. Metal tongs at the ready. If your snake and others eat prey alive sometimes then i feel more relaxed now as i thought snakes only ate prey after they are killed. It appears there are exceptions.

 

[mishima25]

Well, I guess the prey was too small for him to kill it. Pinkies were so small they wrapped when he constricted, and then when he started eating they were still alive. It was very cruel, so I haven't done it anymore.

I also have problems getting frozen, so I buy alive and euthanase them humanely. Then I freeze them and I know they have not been on a freezer for months. You can consider this and it can save you a lot of money in travel expenses every week if the shop is far (as is my case).

To give you more ideas, you may want to look for a mouse suplier online. Maybe you hit the target and find someone who has more availability.