I love to watch my garters eating. 99.9% of the time there's nothing subtle about it. Strike/grab, and swallow as fast as you can., right?
Well, I've also notice something else. These snake are very tactile when eating. Tonight for example, I was feeding a group of adult(large) females(radixes). It was like World War III in there. Fights and bites. I was grabbed and she attempted to drag my hand into the hide, but there was something else.
When I pulled the thawed fuzzies out of the water I also got a number of feet and tails that had broken off. I offered these to my girls. Did they grab my fingers along with the very small mouse part? No. They focused on the item and like a surgeon took it from me. Making sure not to bite me. When they knew it wasn't a large food item they were so delicate with their eating. I've even seen this kind of intricate eating when they were stealing from little ones. Taking very small bites causing the worm to break, making sure not to grab the little one.
These are such interesting creatures and I'm glad to be working with them.