Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys, I have always been told that you should always feed your snake in a container different from its home to prevent agression, and territorialism. In posts on here I never hear anyone mention this. Is this a true practice? Do those of you keeping hundreds of snakes take each one from its home to a different enclosure to feed it, and should I be doing it for my one snake? Thanks.
-Dustin
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1.0 Bearded Dragons
0.3 Fat tailed geckos
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa

Where I work snakes are fed in their enclosures though I heard talk about switching over. I do know some people who strictly feed their snakes in "feeder tanks". The idea is that if you put the food in the feeder tank and then add the snake in second then your animals will never learn to associate your hand or their enclosure with food. While it may or may not be an issue depending on the snake, this should (in theory) reduce your odds of being bitten by a snake expecting food when you reach your arm in to change the water, remove feces, etc... With one snake in particular (a very large common garter) I have noticed on several occasions that when I reach my hand into its enclosure it has gone into "feeding mode" and tried to down my finger. It was clear that it was not striking out of defense -- it thought it was getting lunch. If the snake were never fed in its enclosure and the food never came from tongs in my hand then I assume it would not do this at all.

I use separate feeding containers to minimize agression, give me the time and freedom to clean tanks and wash out water dishes, and also to keep the snakes from ingesting their substrate. It is by no means a bad habit.
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Diego

Diego & Tiffany's Zoo:
SNAKES
4.3.0 Corn Snakes (Different morphs)
1.1.0 Everglades Rat Snakes
1.0.0 Baird's Rat Snake
1.2.0 Trans-Pecos Rat Snake
0.1.0 Amel Pacific Gopher Snake
1.0.0 Het Amel San Diego Gopher Snake
2.1.0 Sonoran Gopher Snake
0.1.0 Amel Sonoran Gopher Snake
1.0.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
2.1.0 Gray Banded Kingsnakes (1.1 River Road, 1.0 Non-Locale Specific)
0.2.0 California Kingsnakes
0.1.0 Thayeri Kingsnake
0.1.0 Florida Kingsnake
1.0.0 Boa Constrictor
0.1.0 Dumeril's Boa
1.1.0 Rosy Boas (Mexican & Mid Baja)
1.1.0 Kenyan Sand Boas
0.1.0 Indonesian Dwarf Pacific Boa
0.1.0 Tangerine Honduran Milksnake
1.0.0 Honduran Milksnake
1.2.0 Ball Pythons
1.0.0 Woma Python
1.1.0 Cape York Spotted Pythons
1.1.0 Macklot's Pythons
1.0.0 Western Hognose
0.1.0 Blacktail Cribo

LIZARDS
1.0.0 Frilled Dragon
3.1.0 Bearded Dragons (2 Normal, 1 RedXGold, 1 Citrus)
0.1.0 Eastern Collared Lizard
0.1.0 Merauke Blue Tongue Skink
1.3.0 Leopard Geckos
1.0.1 Yellow Niger Uromastyx
1.1.0 Chuckwalla
0.1.0 Banded Gecko

FROGS
2.2.0 Southern Bell Frogs
1.0.0 Green Tree Frogs
1.0.0 Bubbling Kassina
1.1.1 White's Tree Frogs

This is used usually with aggresive, giant, or communally kept snakes. Aggresive snakes sometimes learn to expect food when the lid is opened, and strike. When taken out first, then fed in a seperate container, the usually calm somewhat. This is for giant snakes, like condas, burms, or retics, to teach the that cage openigng doesnt mean food, so they dont eat you. Communally kept snakes might fight over food, or smell mouse or rat on their cagemates, and attempt cannibalism. Especially kingsnakes. I did it with my ball python. While not aggresive or anything, it works to keep subsrtate from getting ingested. My baby albino corn choked on bark when he ate a pinky, because it got stuck on its leg. I highly recommend it for any snake. Especially ones mentoined above. By the way, its not a stupid question! Cheers

RYAN

ps: PLEASE REPLY TO MY JEFF CORWIN POST IN THE GENERAL DISCUSSION FORUM! I WANNA TALK ABOUT IT! thanks

First off, let me say that feeding in a seperate container isn't a bad idea as long as the snake isn't a nervous snake that's handled too soon afterwards to where it regurgitates. Some snakes don't have any problems being handled right after feeding but some do. Its best to use a hook to put it back in it's cage.

Now, with that said, I'll say this; there are many ways to condition a snake not to expect food from a hand in its cage. The only reason I've ever feed one in a different container was due to the substrate, to avoid the snake swallowing it while eating. This was in a display setup.

I feed my 10ft & 8ft burmese pythons in their cages. I've had them since they were babies and have always done so, without a single bite or strike.

At feeding time, I open their cage, stroke them a few times with a snake hook, get them out and handle them for a while. Place them back into the cage & feed them. I use 3ft long tongs to feed them so they never see my hands.

I've got a 4ft corn snake that I sometimes put a rat in it's cage by hand, holding the rat by its tail and dangling it to get the corn's attention. He associates the dangling rat with food, not my hand. And this is a wild-caught corn. Never a bite or strike from it, either, and I always reach in with my hand to get the corn snake out.

If you use long tongs, stroke your snake with a hook and use the hook to remove your snake from it's cage, you'll rarely, if ever, have any feeding response strikes.

If a snake is seldom handled, other than removing it to put it in another container for feeding, wouldn't you think it would still associate the opening of the cage or being removed, with feeding, and possibly still strike?

Bottom line, I feel, is that as long as you handle your snake fairly often between feedings it will learn that a hand or the opening of the cage does not constitue food. Use a hook for the territorial ones, they usually calm down once out of the cage.

This subject has been discussed a few times recently in the Corn Snake forum. Read through some of those threads for more input, pros & cons.

Take care!
Mike
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

Sorry, loconorc!
My last reply was meant for the original poster, not you. I replied to the wrong message. My bad.

Have a good one!
Mike
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

I posted a reply but I goofed and posted it as a reply to loconorc's reply. My bad. Check it out.

By the way, the only stupid question is the one that doesn't get asked. This is not a stupid question. You'll get plenty of different opinions but you'll ultimately have to make your own decision based on other's opinions and possible your own experience.

Have a good one!
Mike
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

I feed everything within my personal, academic and research collections in tubs, as to prevent any of the animals from ingesting substrate. My personal collection is primarily made up of Dryarchon spp., which are large and highly intelligent animals and I prefer to feed them in seperate containers, as to prevent such from associating the opening of their enclosure with feeding. However, I know of several keepers who use operant conditioning, as a few other's have described, with a great deal of success as well. in short, it's basically a personal decision based upon teh individual specimens you are keeping and your own judgement and objectives.
One great thing about keeping herpetofauna, there's no single correct way to do things!

Best regards,

Jeff
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Jeff Snodgres
University of Arkansas
snodgresjeffreys@uams.edu
501.603.1947

Should have been Drymarchon spp., as I have no clue what Dryarchon spp. are! ;0)

Jeff
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Jeff Snodgres
University of Arkansas
snodgresjeffreys@uams.edu
501.603.1947

Jeff,
See ya Saturday! Good luck!

Ought to be a good game if Leak does better than he has been.

Take care!
Mike
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

I don't know if anyone can positively say that feeding in cage results in aggression when you open the cage door. It may vary from species to species and definitely individual to individual.

In my opinion, aggressive feeders are aggressive feeders no matter what you do or don't do. Then again, I've never done any kind of study on it, so my words are opinions.

There are some great reasons to feed in a separate container. One reason is that it allows you to clean the cage while it is vacant. The other is that the snake won't ingest the cage substrate (if it particulate). I think this whole aggression reason should be your last reason to do it, because it just may be completely bogus.

Hey guys, thanks for all the replys. I have never seen any real aggression in my Brazillian, and when I feed her in her cage, I put the mouse in a container to keep her from Ingesting the substrate. I think I will continue to feed her in her cage, simply because she will ONLY EAT if I put the mouse in her cage and leave it over night, and I would rather leave her in her cage over night versus leaving her in a separate feeding container. Thanks again for all the help.
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1.0 Bearded Dragons
0.3 Fat tailed geckos
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa

...and I've yet to be bit by just pulling out the bin. I have a corn that struck at me once when I just opened the bin but I think she was more startled than anything else. She's never done it since.