Another hard lesson learned :(

[Angela&Shalamar]

So sorry for your lose. There are also cage lids you can get that have holes on the end so that the lids actually can have little padlocks put on them. Frankly I doubt the snake would have had any trouble eating a fledgling. A snakes body stretches when it ingest prey quit a bit and their jaws actually unhinges so they can swallow prey quit a bit larger then their own head. Snakes are pretty fascinating. Keep multiple species of animals long enough and sooner or later things happen. None of us are perfect and animals are just animals. Lesson learned for your son. Maybe your son should double check how often and what size mice he is feeding. I believe your first post said he's feeding pinkies. Pinkies to a foot and a half long snake ( do I remember that right from an earlier post) doesn't seem like much of a meal really.

[MiaCarter]

slwatson - I'm so glad you're starting to feel better. It takes time. I didn't realize they were your first babies. That does make it worse, as you have a special bond with the first one(s).

You're right; keeping the snake out of the bird room will definitely help. (And it will help the birds too, as now I'm sure they'll be more stressed by its presence)

Hopefully you can find a good cage clip for the snake. I know it can take some experimentation to find the right one; one that he can't bypass.

[slwatson]

MiaCarter

Thanks Mia...I'm hoping we can find some good ones too. He's a clever snake!

[slwatson]

Angela&Shalamar

My son asked the people at the pet store if his snake was ready for bigger things other than pinkies, and they told him no. A foot and a half is just an estimate...I'm not sure about the exact size. Personally, I wanted him to try the next step up from pinkies, but he's so worried the snake will have problems with it.

[Angela&Shalamar]

I would ask the opinion of a reptile vet, honestly though having had and worked with snakes I really think he needs to be feeding bigger items if the snake is even close to as big as you say. I've found many people that work in pet shops really aren't as knowledgeable as they really should be.

[slwatson]

Angela&Shalamar

You're right...I've noticed that with the people who work with birds at one of our pet stores. I'll see if we can get the snake into a vet for their opinion.