In the animal kingdom, there is a natural order to things. Most animals are prey to others, while apex predators stay on top of the food pyramid. For some reason, every once in a while, two seemingly opposite species can learn to adapt to one another.
We’ve heard stories about cats and dogs becoming friends, chickens befriending rabbits, but today we’re going to talk about two very unlikely pals: a ball python and a mouse. Like many other snakes, ball pythons consume prey of various sizes according to their stature.
Large crickets may be eaten by smaller, younger snakes, but until they get bigger, they should preferably be consuming pinkies and fuzzies. When they get big enough, adult ball pythons will consume mice and rats.
One snake owner is filming a feeding session with her pet snake as she places a rather large mouse in his enclosure. The precious rodent’s fight, flight, and freeze response kick in as it becomes frozen in place.
When they get the smell of a predator, mice and rats become anxious. Researchers have discovered that the odor of a snake causes mice to emit the stress hormone cortisol. I don’t know about you, but if I was placed in front of an animal that’s supposed to eat me, I’d be pretty stressed too.
The serpent in the video looks as if he’s about to swallow this mouse whole. Snakes swallow all of their food whole, no matter how big or small. As he unhinges his jaw and places it around the neck of the mouse, something peculiar happens.
Defying Nature
The snake backs off and begins giving the rodent snuggles. He brushes his head all around the body of the mouse. It’s such a strange thing to see that not even the mouse knows how to react! Still frozen in fear, the mouse knows that he could be inside the belly of a snake at any moment.
According to the title of the video, this duo is seemingly best buds. We have no way of knowing if the two are still around, as the snake is extremely likely to eventually consume the mouse. The most logical reason for the snake cuddling up to his supposed dinner is simply because he wasn’t hungry.
This isn’t the first time a snake and rodent have become friendly. There are several videos online where the two species can get along for extended periods of time, even when hunger strikes. While we wish all wild animals could coexist in harmony, we understand the animal kingdom has a hierarchy for survival.
To put a positive twist on it, some would say it’s sort of cute that the ball python cuddled the scared mouse. Now, let’s hope they’re still friends to this day! Check out the adorable video below!
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