box or cardboard tube with only a small access
hole. This simulates a refuge or burrow, and the
snake may feel comfortable hunting out its prey in
this setting. It is probably most natural when some
movement of the prey item is involved, however you
must be careful not to scare the young snake.
Tease-feeding.
Some small elapids, notably death adders
(Acanthophis spp.), can often be stimulated to bite
and grab an artificial prey item by gently teasing to
elicit a defensive bite. Once the food item is in the
snake’s mouth, it will often be swallowed. This
technique works particularly well with death adders
because they are ‘sit-and-wait’ predators that
cannot afford to let the opportunity of a feed go by. I
have had less success with other elapids using this
method but it does work from time to time.
this technique useless if the young snake begins to
associate the teasing with distress.
Assist-feeding and force-feeding.
If low intervention methods fail, and they will in
many cases, you may need to resort to ‘Plan B’.
And this is where feeding young elapids differs
somewhat from feeding young colubrids or pythons.
It requires handling the animal and the ever-present
chance of getting bitten. So if you get to this point,
proceed with the utmost of care. Never attempt to
assist- or force-feed neonate elapids if you are over-
First, a food item (usually a small pinky) is picked up
in LONG forceps and brought close to the snake’s
mouth. It is best to start with sideways movement
(to simulate moving prey) whilst bringing the food
ever closer to the mouth. Look for interest in the
form of increased tongue activity. Often this isn’t
enough to stimulate a bite, and you can then try
very gently touching the snake on the mouth – very
light pressure will sometimes make it open its mouth
and grab the food. More often than not more teasing
is necessary, and gently touching the snake on the
side of the body, just back from the head, may
provoke a defensive bite. With death adders, I find a
very effective method to be placing the food item in
front of the head, followed by a gentle touch on the
tip of the tail with a pencil. This will often stimulate
the young snake to strike.
One final warning about tease-feeding. There is a
fine line between stimulating a defensive bite and
seriously stressing a neonate snake. If this method
doesn’t readily start a snake feeding, give the
animal a rest and try again another day. Repeated
stressful attempts to tease-feed a snake can render
2.
1.
& 2.
Michael O’Brien
force-feeding an
Inland Taipan at
Wild World
1985-6.
Images by
Michael Cermak.
1.