Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi...
I have a question about "after-feeding time"
I'm feeding my Red Tail outside his enclosure to minimize the risk of getting bitten. I put Darwin (My Boa) in a cardboard box and offer him thawed rats using tongs.
No problem there. All good - the world keeps on spinning.
My problem is getting him back to his home enclosure.
After he eats he gets aggressive and there is no way of picking him up wihtout risking a bite...
So now i have minimized the chances of getting bitten when i take him out of his enclosure - but not when i try to put him back in there !!
Any suggestions ??
Thx in advance...
Adijaa

Simple answer - Feed him in his enclosure, but don't condition him to think every time you open the cage door that he is going to be fed. There are many ways to do this. When I go to feed, I tap the enclosure with a snake hook. They know what it means, and it doesn't take them long to associate the couple taps with food. Or, you could simply wait overnight and take him out in the morning. Usually they aren't as excited as when you first feed them.

Taking him out of his enclosure to not risk getting bitten is almost like saying, to avoid getting into a car accident I will never go over 40 mph, or never drive on the highway.

It's an easy way to avoid it but it is not helping you or him.

When in fact, I should just learn to drive better, take more precautions, be aware of other drivers, make sure my vehicle is cared for and functioning properly, make sure the roads aren't too treacherous... I think you get the point.

If you insist in feeding him outside, then maybe if you placed that box in the bathroom or similar with the lights on while he feeds, then when he's done, turn of the lights in there and close the door for a while.

Once he knows feeding time is over, he will calm down.
They almost always look for more immediately after eating.

One of my first snakes ever was a big burm in a glass tank, and I had similar issues.
I had a heavy chain I would use to hold the screen down, and only at feeding time, I would shake the heck out of that chain over the cage. He knew quite well when was feeding time and when wasn't.

Hope that helps. -Joe

*PS* - In your efforts to NOT condition him to be food responsive when he's in his tank, you are kind of conditioning him to be food responsive when you put him in that box!

I once had a 16 foot burmese climb out of his feed box and chase me out of the house!!!
THAT WAS NOT FUN!

8)
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Thanks and take care - Joe Rollo
'Tis not the stongest of the species that will eventually survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change' Charles Darwin

I feed in the cage as well, and have for years. They know it's feeding time when they smell rat in the air. Otherwise, I reach in all the time for water changes, cleaning, etc. with no problems.

Except my mean little Honduran girl, but that's ALL the time. LOL
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Richard Carew
Sunset BCI
You laugh at me cuz I'm different! I laugh at you cuz you're all the same.
Stop Inhumane and Illegal Practices

still constricting his prey. Take him out and give it to him and then put him back while he is wrapped around it.
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Ty
Rat Race Solutions
www.ratracesolutions.com

That's a great method 8)

I'd say it has worked 99.9% of the time with my animals.

There has been the once or twice, out of thousands of times, that the snake release his grip (mouth), still hung on to the rat, and tried to reach around and bite as well, but for the most part, it is safe and easy.

Thanks Ty!
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Thanks and take care - Joe Rollo
'Tis not the stongest of the species that will eventually survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change' Charles Darwin

most of my experience they just constrict harder which is also a bonus I suppose.

My suggestion, would be to feed him in his enclosure. I always use a snake hook to take all of my snakes out, to minimize getting bitten. Hope this helps.

I used to believe it was better to feed outside the tank. But I was wrong. Now I do was suggested to me by several professionals, I feed each snake in the cage. I use a hook to take each snake out of the cage for play, and when it's feeding time only a rat on hemostats goes into the cage. The smell and see either a cold hook, or a rat. They are very good at telling whether it is a rat or not. Just to be sure I touch them with the hook a couple times before picking them up with it. It's amazing how fast they calm down when they feel that hook. Having done both I can say this is much better.
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Caden Chapman
slithering.serpents@gmail.com
http://slitheringserpents.com

In every care sheet it's strongly advised to feed the bastard in a different enclosure.
His normal enclosure has a front opening and not a screen top,
so i can't offer food from above.
Maybe i should tap on the glass like some of you suggested to let him know that it's feeding time...
But how about picking him up while he swallows? I can do it gently and fast !

Anyway - thank you all !
Appreciate your replies.
Adijaa

I feed almost all of my boas outside their containers... (except for a biiiiig mama...)

I have almost all of them conditioned using a spray bottle of warm water. They feed, and when they're done they get a few sprays of water telling them "that's it." after they get used to it, i can feed them, spray them, and reach right in without a hook to put them away...

takes some time to get them to learn, but it's worth it in my opinion.

good luck!

bc

Nice method with the spraying !
Very original i have to say !

By the way - i use a towel and put it on his head and only then i can take him out, but i had some accidents, so i'm looking for different tricks...

Thank you !

As you've figured from the responses you've received, it's all about conditioning. My boa cage has a top door for feeding and a front door that opens wide. However, he's getting a new AP cage, so that will all change. When I first got my Burm at 11ft, I fed him outside because we were soaking him for mites, cleaning his cage, he hadn't been fed in a month, and we didn't have a plan for feeding him anyway. Funny story, but not a good experience. It's not fun to get an 11ft snake back into his enclosure after eating. My husband and I ended up wrapping him in a comforter. (slapping forehead) I use the same hook method on him that I use on my boa...hooks are for handling not feeding. My little gator is clicker trained and he knows what feeding time is...saves fingers. We condition our tegus as well. The only snake I feed in a separate box are my corn snakes because they are small and easy to handle.