A Treatise onTease Feeding

A Tease Feeding Treatise

By Ian Long

Tease feeding is commonly known to be a valuable aid in getting finicky snakes, particularly juveniles, to eat frozen/thawed rodents. It is often referred to in conversations and magazine articles about snake husbandry. Tips and brief advice about tease feeding are posted on internet forums from time to time. But I have yet to see a thorough discussion of the subject published. As an avid student of the game (can't claim to be an expert), I offer this article to fill the gap in published knowledge, although it is not intended to be entirely comprehensive.

Tease feeding may be the most fascinating type of problem solving involved in keeping snakes, since it is so interactive, involves sublety and finesse, and is thrilling when it succeeds. The focus here will be on applications related to keeping venomous snakes, but some to the techiniques can be useful with boids and colubrids as well.

Tease feeding is usually employed after basic offerings of live or thawed food fail. Basic offerings may include tricks such as scenting, split-braining, and confining the snake with the prey item for a period of time. Tease feeding can be divided into two categories: attempts to provoke a defensive response that results in a sort of accidental feeding, and attempts to stimulate an actual feeding response. It is worth knowing the difference and knowing which you are trying to accomplish. Both types can succeed with some adult snakes but are more commonly effective with babies that refuse to feed voluntarily. Both types may require patience, long sessions, and repeated attempts after suitable waiting periods and under different conditions.

First, lets talk about stimulating an actual feeding response.This is basically a gentle approach. It is worth trying first, as the more aggressive, provoking technique may not be necessary. However, it is not as standardized as the provoking technique. It may require more creativity and more reading of the snake's body language.

Most beginners have an inkling of what this is about without realizing it. If they present a thawed pinky to a snake with forceps and it does not strike, they naturally wiggle the pinky a bit. But when that does not work they tend to either give up or start poking the snake's nose with it. Of course, poking the snake this way usually results in it cowering or running.

Instead, it is worth trying slow movement of the pinky in front of the snake. Up and down, side to side, a little faster, then slower again, drawing it away from the snake, dragging it across the bedding, maybe giving it little hops, touching the snake's snout ever so lightly, touching the tail and other parts of the snake very lightly, trying different combinations of all these.

At some point during these variations of presentation the snake will surely react somehow. It is your job to notice the reaction and interpret it. If you assess that a reaction is positive, continue what you were doing to achieve that reaction or try close variations. If the reaction seems negative it would make sense to change what you were doing. Running away is the most negative reaction, but even then the game is worth continuing if it will settle back down, and you probably learned something by noticing what caused it to run. Getting a single tongue flick can be positive if the snake was not tongue flicking until you did something. The slightest turn of the head toward the pinky is very positive.

When you get a positive reaction, look for ways to build on it, for example trying to get multiple tongue flicks or a stronger head turn. Do not expect a strike. In fact I would say that it comes as a happy surprise for many keepers when this approach finally works. You can continue to work with the snake in this manner for as long as you want if it does not appear to be stressed. What could seem to some as time wasted might more romantically be seen as bonding with your snake or building good karma or something like that.

This approach involves so much exploration and discovery with a given snake that few more generalizations about technique can be offered. Even if it does not succeed, though, it is worth trying again a few days to a week later, and it is worth trying during different times of day or night and under different lighting conditions. A final generalization: get settled and comfortable before you start this or the other teasing approach or you will surely give up before you have really given it your best shot.

Here are a couple examples of teasing to get a feeding rather than a defensive response. First, I'll discuss teasing Gaboon Vipers, as these are snakes I know better than many others. When teasing any kind of snake, it helps to be familiar its behavioral and feeding styles. Gaboons are the ultimate ambush feeders. When food is offered they may strike quickly, but until they strike they tend to show to signs of recognition at all. No head turns, nor often any eye movements or tongue flicking. Their feeding response is all or nothing. Gaboons do not "follow the rules" in that they do not react in a manner that allows you to build on a response. You are trying instead to simply get them to pull the trigger. You should not interpret their lack of reaction as negative.

Using very long tongs, hold the rodent perfectly still an inch from the Gaboon's snout. You can't be sure that this simple offering will not be accepted until you have held it there for a good 2 minutes or so. Gaboons have a way of waiting until your mind begins to wander before exploding with the fastest, most powerful strike in the business. If no strike, move the rodent slowly across the snake's line of sight, then to one side of the snake's head back by the neck, then back up front and around to the other side of the head. Do not touch the snake. Repeat all this a few times at different speeds.

Next, try lifting and lowering the rodent in front of the Gaboon, drawing it away a bit, then moving it along different diagonals to the snake's head. Try dragging the rodent across the substrate back and forth across the snake's line of fire, then at different angles. Dragging can be a very effective trigger. Try sort of slapping the rodent against the substrate right in front of the snake, then try dropping it from 12" to 18" so it lands with a good thump, first right in front of the snake then off to the side. Finally, try touching the snake's rear jaw area very lightly with the rodent.

Gaboons are generally eager feeders, so the chances are good that you will get the desired result at some point during these manipulations. As mentioned earlier, neonate Gaboons behave differently from older animals. They are quite jumpy and easily spooked. The first trick in feeding them is to get them to sit still, which can be made easier by providing some overhead cover. The key to teasing babies is to get them to tongue flick the prey. Some will tongue flick if you wiggle, move, or drag a pinky or fuzzy in front of them. If you get a flick, hold the food right in front of the snake or wiggle it very gently. Typically the tongue flicks will accelerate, then the snake will grab the food. But many babies will not tongue flick until they are stimulated by touching them ever so lightly somewhere on their body. You can touch them with the food item, but by the time you bring the rodent back up front you may have missed the flick. It works a little better to hold or lay the rodent in front of them while touching the body with something else, like the tip of a small hook. Some babies will not take thawed food, despite this type of gentle teasing, until they have eaten live food a few times.

Teasing in this manner is somewhat species-specific for Gaboons, which are as atypical as a snake can be. However, the tactics described will also work for Rhino Vipers. Some elements of this approach can also be used with other snakes.

The next example of teasing to stimulate a feeding response is more typical, as it involves discovery and trial & error rather than application of a known formula. I recently got an unstarted baby Malayan Pit Viper (Calloselasma Rhodostoma). Offering live and thawed tiny pinks, both just left in the cage and confined in a deli cup, did not work. Brief gentle teasing got some tongue flicks but that's all. These are caudal luring snakes, so I tried provoking it, especially with tail taps. No strikes nor even close. All these efforts were repeated a few times without success.

After I'd had the snake for 45 days I decided I had to try harder. After dark I sat on the floor with a red light on and went to work offering just a pinky head. The snake would tongue flick a bit then move off. I would offer again, holding the food steady or wiggling it slightly when it was tongue flicking. When it stopped flicking I touched the tail and mid body very lightly. After a bit the snake would tongue flick again, and I would bring the food back in front of it as soon as it did so, now holding the the food as still as possible. After about 15 minutes of this the flicking became more frequent and somehow seemed more intent. I lowered the food so it was just under his snout, resting on the piece of bark that he happened to be on, and gave it the tiniest wiggles that I possibly could. After about 30 seconds of this he pressed his snout against the food and chewed down on it. Jubilation!

The point here is that some of these crazy little snakes, even if they are hungry for what you're offering them, need mysterious persuasion.

Next, we'll discuss teasing that is designed to provoke a defensive response that will result in a sort of accidental feeding. This is a specialized technique, restricted almost entirely to getting juvenile arboreal vipers to eat pinkies. It is usually called tap teasing or slap teasing.

Actually, the distinction between this form of teasing and the gentler approach already described is not quite as cut and dried as I have suggested. There are gray areas surrounding the distinction. For example, some snakes seem to combine both defense and hunger in their reactions. It also is the case that some terrestrial snakes will strike a food item defensively, then later decide to eat it. Is this provocation? The snake certainly sees it as such. But it probably doesn't count as teasing if you didn't have to do anything to get the defensive strike.

These behaviors that fall into "gray areas" are interesting and sometimes useful to ponder. But I think that the distinction between generating a defensive vs. a feeding response is still valuable for those who are inexperienced at teasing. A middle-of-the-road approach is likely to be too strong to get a feeding response, yet not aggressive enough to provoke the multiple strikes necessary to trick a little tree viper into eating.

Some preparation. First, it should go without saying that all other aspects of husbandry must be correct. If the snake is dehydrated, stressed by too much heat, etc., tease feeding will be more difficult and might ultimately be rendered pointless. This applies when teasing any snake but is mentioned here since arboreal vipers have more exacting environmental needs than many other snakes.

The cage should be sparsely furnished. You don't want the snake to be able to hide from you, and you don't want to fight through leaves and branches when approaching the snake from different directions.

Have some equipment ready. I use 10" hemostats. Slightly shorter ones should work, but the 18" ones are too unwieldy. You might want a small hook in case the snake gets out. Have a cup of water at hand. It is useful to drop the pinky part (PP) into water and re-grip it from time to time so that is does not "bond" with the tongs. I like to think that a wet PP is more palatable to the snake because it feels more like a frog. If the substrate is something dirty, like mulch or fir bark, you will need to swish a dropped PP in water to clean it off. It's good to have a razor and spare pinky for when the PP you were using gets bashed into near pulp.

About food. Some baby tree vipers can handle whole pinks, especially if they have eaten a few times already. But pinky parts are still generally going to work best. A snake that might be tempted to hold onto a PP is likely to find a whole pink too heavy and drop it. A snake that has no intention of holding onto anything needs something small enough that it can fit well back into its mouth, making it difficult to spit. I like pinky heads because you can point the nose end at the snake and more easily get it deep into the mouth. Some snakes have been known to drop a head more quickly than a ham (rear quarter) because it is heavier. Try both. Your grip on the PP has to be just right. It can't be so loose that the PP dangles, or you will not be able to manipulate the PP well enough. But you can't grip too much of the PP or it will be difficult to release, plus the risk of the snake biting the tongs (can be very bad news for these fragile little guys) will be greater.

Lighting. I don't have a definitive recommendation here. Nighttime and low light conditions would seem to be the best choice, since these are nocturnal snakes. The problem is, you need to be able to see what's going on VERY well. A baby Eyelash Viper is about 5" long. The strikes you will be dealing with travel only a half inch or so. The snake will mix 1/8" to 1/4" feints with real strikes. If you are new at this, it will be hard to tell what's happening even under bright light. I would say that if you can rig a strong red light, go with that. Otherwise, experiment. Some babies can be teased just as effectively during daytime and normal ambient light.

If I expect a protracted session I'll make a big production out of it. I'll set the cage on the coffee table in front of the couch, turn the TV off or block the snake's view of it with cardboard, lay something over the heat vent by my feet (these snakes rarely pop out and run, but it can happen), have a drink and smokes next to me, make sure the answering machine is on, and so forth. A teasing session may last an hour. If you are uncomfortable or otherwise distracted, your concentration and willingness to persevere will suffer. When the snake finally gets in a good chomp, you will have to remain virtually frozen while it decides what to do, then (hopefully) takes up to another 20 minutes to swallow. No need to suffer from thirst or whatever during that time.

Finally we can begin. It couldn't hurt to just offer the PP to see if the snake will eat it or pop it without provoking. When this doesn't work, tap the PP against the snake's tail, back where it is a different color. These are caudal luring snakes, and their tails are particularly sensitive. If no reaction, tap harder. Tap a couple mid-body spots, then do multiple harder taps. Go back to the tail. Tap the neck, especially if it has formed a pre-strike "S". Do not tap the snake's head. I have heard of this working but have never seen it. It seems that when starting out everyone wants to bonk em on the head (I probably did it too). The snake will most likely cower or run, which sets you back further than square one. If you must bonk, wait until other locations have proven ineffective.

Hot-to-trot snakes will strike fairly quickly in response to these indignities. One tricky part of technique is the need to turn the tip of the PP toward the snake's head when you sense that a strike is about to occur. You don't want the snake biting the rear, fatter, part of the PP and especially not the tongs. Yet, if you pause to turn the PP toward the snake's head after every tap or two, you will not generate many strikes.

A typical baby will not strike so readily. You will have to increase its irritation level, while allowing it to maintain confidence that it can defend itself. Watch closely for small reactions. If it moves its tail out of the way when you tap it, it doesn't like that, which is good. If it gathers its body a bit, that's a positive as it might be getting into a better position for striking. Head turns are good. Even if it turns its head sharply away from the PP you should be encouraged, as it is expressing annoyance and vigor. When you get a head turn, try tapping the far side of the neck to try to get a stronger head turn in the other direction, or try a variation of what got you the first turn. These are just suggestions.

No single tap is likely to get a strike. You are trying to build a momentum of reactions by working with tap locations, intensity, and rhythm. Depending on the snake's position, you may want to turn the cage and approach from another direction. If the snake hides its tail, make it move until the tail is exposed. When you get a strike, that's great! Release the PP immediately. Maybe the snake will hold and swallow. More likely, you are about to discover a whole new set of problems. Here are some things that will happen. The snake bluffs a strike, and you drop the PP. It pops the PP lightly without grabbing it, and you drop the PP. It grabs nice and strong, but you are caught off guard and don't let go before the snake does. It grabs, and you try to release, but the PP sticks to the tongs, and you wind up pulling the PP out of it's mouth (this kind of involuntary tug of war is particularly maddening when you "win"). The snake grabs the PP clean but spits it immediately. It grabs the PP and freezes. You freeze, and internally you are screaming, "Pleeease!!!", but the snake starts flailing its head all over and racing around the cage and finally shakes or rubs the PP free. Are we having fun yet?

Often the snake will swallow only after trying desparately to spit the PP. It's as if the snake has no choice, thus the earlier use of the phrase "accidental feeding".

I must comment on retrieving a dropped PP from the cage floor. You should not overlook the potential danger here. You are frustrated, distracted, in a hurry to resume teasing, and you are reaching down past an elevated venomous snake that is all worked up. You might want longer tongs ready just for this.

Tap teasing is quite difficult at first. You may have to quit some of your early sessions without success, although the only reason to quit is if you can't get any more strikes. It that happens, try again after several days. Even pros do not expect immediate success with all newborns. If you have no success over time, you can offer frogs, lizards, or fish. Some keepers will frown at all these shenanigans and suggest finding the snake something that it really wants to eat in the first place. That is a related, debated issue that is beyond the scope here. Assist feeding can be a last resort.

But your teasing probably will succeed, at least if the snake has eaten via this method before you got it. Once you get the hang of it you can approach later sessions with more confidence. Your next few sessions with a given snake may be just as arduous as the first. But sooner or later the snake will become more cooperative. It probably will reach an "in between" stage where it apparently reacts with both hunger and defensiveness, needing only the slightest stimulation as an "excuse" to eat.

At some point you will begin to enjoy this fascinating little game. It reminds me of play fighting with a dog or other animal, where the goals are to figure out how the animal wants it and to keep the fight completely even. If you overpower or under-stimulate the animal it won't want to play.

This is not a game to the snake, of course. It's survival hangs in the balance. Tap teasing is stressful to the snake and makes it use energy. I would think that a snake that is unsuccessfully teased in this manner several times is likely to die sooner than a snake left in peace and quiet. I would recommend that a newcomer to arboreal vipers start with one that is feeding voluntarily, or at least nearly so. Save the greater challenges for after you gain some experience.

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