Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello

My snake is a bit less than a year now. I feed in the enclosure (I use aspen) .
When he ate pinkies it was easy as I would put the pinkie in deli cup he would go in there than eat it. Now he eats hoppers 1 or 2 per week. He will take it from deli cup but drag it around enclosure than eat it .
I am concerned he will eat aspen and thinking of feeding out of enclosure but worried he will associate my hand with food and he is incredibly tame now.
Any input would be great .

I would think that feeeding inside the enclosure would make him associate your hand more with food. I have always feed outside the enclosure myself except for the more shy snakes that wont eat that way. I too use aspen and since I have expanded my collection to 11 snakes it is a real time consumming to do it this way. I have started feeding mine in the enclosure by placing the rat/mouse on a large piece of cardboard that I keep beside the sterilite bins. I have a seperate piecec for each snake. Hope this helps.
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1.0 het albino ball
1.0 norm ball
0.3 norm ball
0.1 snow corn
1.0 butter corn
1.0 norm corn
1.0 southern plains rat
1.0 striped Cali king
1.0 western hog

Thanks yes it did help as it gave me an idea. He is in a 30 gallon long as he is active likes to climb .
I use lots driftwood branches but going to remove all from half side of cage just when I feed and try flat piece of cardboard in that area with the hopper when I feed him.

Thanks

I would recommend AGAINST feeding it in its enclosure.

My son's '05 King Snake was squirrely about eating. At first I hand-fed her by teasing, and it worked until she started biting me instead of the (F/T) mouse. And in a separate container, all she wanted to do was get out, ignoring the mouse. So I started feeding in her enclosure and it worked great. She struck right at it and dragged it in a hide or behind some rocks and ate it. Except for the other day...

I go to feed her and start teasing her and she didn't eat. Later on I go to reach in and she starts striking at me! She'd never done that before. I was able to use a thin stick like a hook and lift her up. Once I got her out, she was tame in my hand. Later, she repeated the striking in her enclosure. From now on, she's getting fed outside her enclosure or she doesn't eat. I'm already having a hard time getting her on Fuzzies. I accidentally fed her a hopper and she ate it, but since then won't eat a Fuzzy! Figure that out. She's due to shed soon, so I'll wait and try again after.

Good luck,

Walt

well, i've heard kings have an incredible feeding response. they can sense our body heat much more then a f/t meal.
i always feed in my encloures. ever since my jungle python tried to bite me moving him back to his enclosure he gets fed in his tank. i have never had a problem with him mistaking me for food ever since.
even my corns and milk i feed in their tanks. all is well. now if the only time you tend to snakes is when you feed them of course they will assume food is coming everytime you open the lid. i tend to mine all the time. checking water, cleaning,handling, etc. dont' have any problems.
well, just wanted to post my 2 cents and experience.

If feeding in the enclosure, what type of substrate do you use janome? I've heard the horror stories of Aspen causing an impaction in snakes if swallowed? I would love to feed my corns in their enclosure however am scared that I may lose one to my stupidness. I feed live, or "stunned" mice if their bigger than fuzzies and putting them on a piece of cardboard won't work for me. Sometimes the stunned mice come back around. Any other suggestions other than using newspaper or such as a bedding?

I use carpet. I like it a lot better than repti-bark.
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1.0 Ball Python "Wilson" (Castaway)
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"
0.0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake "Onyx"
0.0.1 Black Ratsnake "Shadow"