Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've researched this site and many others for the past month, and Santa brought a California King Snake for my son. Today he was fed a F/T pinkie and appeared to eat it without problem. I believe I have read almost every care sheet available on the internet, but just have a general question. Many care sheets suggest using a different setting with which to feed the snake, and there are many suggestions to not handle the snake for two days after feeding. If we move him to a different aquarium to feed, is he supposed to stay there for two days, because obviously we would need to handle him to move him back to his home?

Today, we just fed him in his home aquarium. Thanks for any clarification.

Great choice of the kingsnake for your son. I have multiple snakes, including on Cal King. I've done both feeding inside the habitat and outside in a separate space. I think the advantages of using the separate space outweigh the disadvantages- no risk of impaction if he eats some of the substrate, and he seems less aggressive when I open the habitat. So, I take them out and put them in a large cardboard box I line with newspaper, then introduce the f/t prey (which i also recommend over live food, as i suspect most people here will), let him reconstrict the prey, swallow, and pass to his mid body. Then, very gently put him back in his habitat. At that point, I let them each take a day off from handling them. I've never had any problems with this method. Sometimes they are still in a "feeding mode" when I go to put them back, and can be a *little* bit tougher to deal with, but it's never been a real problem as long as I move deliberately and gently. Some keepers, especially those running bigger operations, keep all their animals on a substrate they cannot ingest (paper towels, newspaper, reptile carpet, etc), but because I have relatively few snakes (4), I prefer to keep up naturalistic habitats for them.
So, my short answer is- yes, feed outside the regular habitat in a box or something similar, then, when they are done, gently move them back into the habitat, and leave them alone for about a day. This has worked successfully for me. Hope it helps!
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-Chris
cdohna.googlepages.com
1.0.0 WC SD Gopher Snake, Max
1.0.0 CB Albino Banded Cal King, Manny
0.1.0 CB BRB, Mucalinda
0.1.0 CB BP, Maya

I agree with what was just said above.
With stubborn or very shy feeders this does not always work so well -- I have one snake that seems chronically terrified of being handled and by picking it up and moving it into a feeding container I pretty much ruin all odds of getting it to eat that day...

Anyway, since your snake ate without a problem on the first attempt I'd say this will not be a problem. As mentioned above, with separate feeding enclosures that do not have a loose substrate like soil or cypress bedding there is no risk that the snake will accidentally ingest something it is not supposed to. Additionally, by taking the snake out of its regular enclosure prior to feeding, it is much less likely to learn to associate your hand with incoming food. I've seen a couple snakes that go into feeding mode the moment a hand enters their tank and this is not something you want to have happen if you are just taking the snake out for handling.

They say not to handle the snake for a couple days but moving it back into its regular tank should not be a problem. If the snake is handled for a prolonged period of time and becomes uneasy or startled there is a chance it will regurgitate its food. Also, because the snake may still be in feeding mode right after its removed, the moment it gets comfortable in your hand it may start looking for more food -- if any part of your hand smells like it could be food, then it will be perceived as such.

One final side note -- it's probably a good idea with hatchling snakes not to over-handle them even when they have not eaten in a few days just because young snakes can stress out easily. My rule of thumb for kingsnakes under a year old is to handle them no more than every other day. It's really a rule of thumb though. If your son's snake is comfortable being handled and is calm enough so that your not constantly struggling to keep it in your hands then it's probably not stressing too much. Better safe than sorry though.

Good luck! I wish my parents were as supportive of my love for snakes when I was a kid...

You bring up a good point. Some care sheets will tell you to feed in a separate enclosure and then tell you not to handle the snake for a few days. Are we supposed to keep two complete setups - one for feeding & one for keeping? No.

If a snake is kept on it's natural type of substrate, or newspaper, paper towels, etc..., I say to feed in the snake's normal cage. I mean, after all, they eat rodents in the dirt their entire lifetime in the wild.

I have kept & fed various snakes & lizards on sand, dirt, aspen bedding, pine shavings, cypress mulch and maybe a few others for many years and have never had the first problem with impaction or any ingestion issues.

The only exception to that would be the crushed walnut shells & calcium sand (bad news). I don't know of a single reptile that naturally lives on either one of those two substrates. They should not be used.

Contrary to popular belief, feeding a snake in it's normal cage does not lead to feeding response strikes every time the cage is opened as long as you open the cage more often than just to feed them. I've got snakes that I feed by hand, although I don't necessarily encourage it - I generally suggest feeding with tongs, and I don't get feeding responses when I reach in to get them out or when I open their cage.

Here's a routine that works well - Come feeding time, make sure you don't have any prey scent on your hands. Take you snake out & handle it for several minutes and lay its prey on the cage floor before you put the snake back in. Put the snake back in the cage and it should find the prey & eat. Wait a day or two before routine handling.

I started using this technique with a hatchling pair of Burmese pythons over 4yrs ago and I've never had a single issue. One is 12ft long & the other is 10ft long now, still using the same routine.

By feeding in a separate enclosure you run the risk of upsetting a nervous snake, causing it to regurgitate it's meal, by having to handle it, no matter how gently, to put it back in it's normal cage. This is actually few & far between, but t happens.

Another downside to feeding in a separate enclosure has already been mentioned - the snake can still be in feeding mode and can be quite feisty when you try to put it back in its cage.

A healthy reptile can digest wood shavings/chips, dirt, sand, that it consumes while eating. Seen it done many times.

If a person feels their substrate could be dangerous to their snake if ingested, then they shouldn't be using that substrate. Period.

Some people confuse a snake's defensic=ve behavior while in its cage as being a feeding repsonse. They are two different things. A snake's cage is its territory and sometimes it can feel threatened & stike. Doesn't mean that it's thinking, "Food!"

I'm not bashing anyone else's views, I just respectfully disagree with some view.

Best wishes!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

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