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Real Life Ouroboros!

Nanci

Nanci

Alien Lover
First- I don't want this to turn into the %$#* storm it did on Facebook.
The issue is resolved, the snake is well-fed, I just quickly took this photo
before disengaging him, because let's face it, we're very unlikely to ever see this again.

I was feeding all my adult males Saturday, and my procedure is to set out the feeding bins,
thaw the mice, put a mouse in each bin, weigh each snake and put the snake
in the bin with the mouse. Remove the water bowl, scrub and refill, check the viv
for poop. Repeat. The adults get fed a medium adult mouse every two weeks.
They slowly gain weight. I don't want obese porker snakes. It's not healthy for them.

So I went to check on Raven, and there he was, happily eating his own tail. I quickly picked him up,
exclaiming WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I set him down on floor and held the two ends, to slow him down, while Rich took a photo.

Then I gently squeezed him around the head, and he easily stopped swallowing and reversed his tail back out.

I guess he was just REALLY hungry (he always is) and his tail was close, so it got into
his mouth, and snakes not being the sharpest tool in the shed, he just felt food in his mouth and kept swallowing!

I took him to the sink to rinse all the saliva off of him, and then put him back with his mouse,
which he promptly ate.






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Wow! I used to worry about my snakes smelling food, seeing their tail move, and going for it, but told myself I was being silly. I guess maybe not! Glad it was easy to get his tail back out.
Any damage to his tail?
Thanks for sharing. I would have had no idea what to do if this had happened to me!
 
If I may suggest bumping him up to 2 snakes a week and maybe a mini Hannibal Lecter mask LOL
That FB group is always entertaining.
Raven is a phenomenal looking snake !!!!!!
 
No damage to his tail. I think he just went for the mouse, and his tail was by it, so away he went.

You know how non-feeder hatchlings, if you can get the pink in their mouth, and stimulate them to move forward, they will just keep swallowing? Like a reflex? Could have been something like that.

I don't think anyone has to worry about this. I've never seen it IRL, and haven't read of it. I've seen the cali kingsnake photo on Google. Someone from here, Izzy, said it happened to her with a ball python, and the snake died. I can see how that could happen; once they start, they just keep swallowing. It's not like they _can't_ reverse the process, they just don't realize anything is wrong or that they could fix it.

One of the criticisms on Facebook was some keyboard expert, who "knew" I didn't know how to care for snakes properly because I only feed my adults every two weeks, and because I move them to feeding containers. (I do that so I physically have hands on the snakes at least every two weeks, and so I can monitor their feeding, get a weight, and clean the viv without the snake "helping." Yes, it's more time, but I enjoy the time spent with them.

So, had I fed Raven in his bin, I'd not have checked on him again for two weeks, and he'd be dead by then. Well, I'd smell the rotting mouse in a day or two, but even if he was still alive, his tail would have been digested. So, sorry Facebook expert, it actually is safer to move them to feed them and this freak occurrence demonstrates that.

Daddio- I don't think the Hannibal Lecter mask would help, because I would have to remove it to feed him!
 
Facebook never ceases to amaze me. Well, people's lack of respect in general never ceases to amaze me. Amongst other things. LoL. But enough about that...

I think I saw something somewhere about Kathy Love having seen this once (happy to be corrected if I'm wrong, Kathy), but literally that is the only time I ever recall seeing this about a corn snake OR a ball python for that matter!
 
Though rare, this could happen to anyone! Thanks for sharing this cautionary tale.

I was too ashamed to mention it before, but I had the much less rare event of one of mine missing the mouse and accidentally biting self on the mid section. I just gently lifted the head and the snake released, but it was a few very scary moments. If I could read snake minds my poor baby was confused and completely shocked to say the least. A little research showed me not to panic and keep an eye on the bite, but that with a corn snake no real treatment was needed. I could see no wound and just wiped the area with water on a fresh paper towel. So stuff happens.

People on FB can be great, but they can also be idiots. I'm just glad Raven is okay. If they only knew over on FB that you are an expert and how many with feeding and other problems you have solved, they might be a little less idiotic. I saw this on FB, but evidently before it veered into total stupidity. Thanks for having the courage to share this.
 
My snakes bite themselves all the time! Well, the ones with the strongest feeding responses, which would be Raven, his one year older sibling Starling, Buzztail, and others upon occasion. Buzztail comes flying out of her viv with her mouth open, and it _always_ startles me. Those three snap around biting anything. That's one reason I prefer to place the snake in a bin that already has a mouse in it- there isn't the big excitement of dropping the mouse in.

Janine the Florida king will bite everything, the windows, the door, her water bowl, herself...
 
Wow. I had no idea! I can assure you that subsequent feedings, the mouse has been placed more carefully with the snake side out of the line of fire!
 
LOL yup, Rufus will go airborn for a mouse. He's amazingly calm and well behaved and loves to be handled, but when he goes into that "Feeding Bin" he becomes a totally different animal.
 
Ah, these poor dumb things. One of mine latched on to his midsection once. When I tried get him to let go, he bit down harder and jerked away from me, like I was going to take his body away.

Glad you caught it in time!
 
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