Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was told not to feed inside of their enclosures, is this good advice?

I feed my in their containers because I have a few and don't see a benefit by changing them to a different container if you feed live.

If you feed FT and use anything other than paper for substrate you could make the argument that substrate will stick to the rodent if it's wet or damp and your snake will ingest it. As far as people saying that your snake will strike at you when you open their container, if you feed them in it I don't agree with that from my experience.

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Adrian
AFR
http://imageevent.com/afreptiles

I've only owned a ball python for three months, so I don't speak from much experience. However, my limited experience is that feeding in my snake's enclosure is okay.

The most often cited argument against feeding in the enclosure is that the snake will come to see anything descending into the tank as food and will become prone to striking at his owner's hand. Another point is that feeding inside an enclosure with natural bedding could lead to the snake ingesting a piece of bark and the bark becoming impacted in the snake's intestine. When I first bought my python, one of the pet store people suggested that I feed her inside a paper bag, and I tried this technique a few times.

I've begun feeding in the enclosure for a couple of reasons.

1. The first is that I don't like handling my snake just before feeding, and removing her to feed would require handling. They say that handling tends to stress a snake and that stressed snakes won't eat. If these statements are true, then pulling my snake from her usual haunts and putting her into another container seems to be a counterproductive way to start the eating process.

2. They also say that a snake that is handled after eating may regurgitate. If I feed her in another enclosure, then I'll have to move her back to her cage while she's full. Snakes and people aren't the same, but I can't imagine that being moved around while my stomach was full would be very comfortable. If the snake suffers any similar kind of discomfort, then I'd like to avoid moving her.

3. My ball python eats well, but she eats slowly. Sometimes, she doesn't eat for an hour after I introduce the food. If I fed her in another enclosure of some kind, the feeding process could be an hour or so longer because I'd need to introduce the food and then wait for her to eat before I moved her back to her cage. If I feed her in her cage, my job is finished once I thaw the mouse and put it in her cage.

4. The picture below shows my ball python in her favorite hide. Last night was the first time that I ever saw her sticking her head out of the hide this way, but she's doing it again tonight. I began feeding her f/t by placing the f/t mouse on the tile where her head is resting. She likes eating in the dark, so I place the mouse on this tile and then turn off the lights in the room. I've heard that the natural eating behavior for ball pythons is to wait in a hidden space at night and take food items that come within striking distance of that space. By feeding her on the tile in the dark, I take advantage of that instinct. She hides in her favorite spot and eats mice that come along outside her hiding place. The difference is that she's eating f/t mice instead of live ones.

I hope that this procedure will keep her healthy and happy. If more experienced herpers can give me good reasons, I may change what I'm doing. Until then, I've found something that works for me.

Bill

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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.

I feed a majority of my snakes in a seperate container - this is a practice I have had for decades I've never had a regurge and have found that 1. once my snakes hit the feeding tubs they are primed and ready to feed - I feed f/t to most of them and there is not wiggling necessary they hit the food item before it hits the floor. 2. for my live feeders it's easier to monitor and the clean up is easier - take the tub out and hose out the rat poop - not so easy if the feeding tub is the snakes cage. 3. No chance of getting substrate ingested or having a piece cause injury to the snakes mouth.

Either way is fine tho.
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

10.35.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.1.0 Bredls Python
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.1 Lizard rescued from feline
0.0.0 frogs rescued from pool skimmer

I feed my girl in a plastic tub seperate from her cage. She has never refused a meal in the 2 months I have had her. She is on her 11th feed in my care. As long as you are not worried about your python ingesting substrate, either way is acceptable. I use repticarpet, so if I decide to feed her in the cage, it is not an issue.
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0.1 CB 2005 Normal Ball Python @ 24.56"/285g

I feed in their tubs and live. I keep a close eye on them until the prey item is subdued. I do not worry about substrate injestion or agression. Neither has been a factor for me.
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when life hands you lemons, make super lemons, bumblebees, etc...

I have fed in the enclosures for over 25 years now and never have seen any reasons that would make me stop. I also here the whole giant snake logic....."don't feed the really big snakes in the cage so they won't be agressive when you put your hand in!"....Oh, Yeah great advice... Lets see... would I rather have big mean 24' Retic try to bite me in the cage while doing something dumb or should I wave this really big juicy fuzzy wittle wabbit all around the room and let him chase me for it?

I now.. I exagerated that but I always find it comical.

Feed in cage ... makes better feeder.

Mike

We feed in seperate containers. We only have 7 snakes so right now it works for us. The only time we have had a refused meal is when they were in shed.
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2.1.0 ball python (aragorn, frodo, arwen)
2.0.0 columbian boa (wiggles and squiggles)
1.0.0 rat snake (alabastered)
0.1.0 corn snake (baby)
3.3.0 cats (rockie, bs, brownie, lerrado, kole, camie)
1.3.0 kids (dilyen, dakota, chyanne, sierra)
Brian n Chrissy

I switched my BPs over to newsprint so that I could feed them in their enclosures. This is just easier for me. My females are finiky feeders at this point and I don't think they would even think about feeding if I touched them beforehand.

My snakes that are on some sort of wood substrate get taken out an put in a spare tub I have in my rack (newsprint substrate). That way I don't have to worry about any substrate ingestion.

But all of this are just my methods.
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0.0.1 Jayapura GTP
1.1 Pastel 50% het Ghost BPs
1.0 Orange Ghost BP
0.3 Normal BPs
1.0 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa
0.1 Dumerils Boa
0.0.1 Cali King
0.1 Apricot Pueblan Milk
1.0 Crested Gecko

I also have been successfully feeding "in the cage" for over 25 years without any problems. I am also unconcerned about the snakes ingesting substrate, as aspen is typically shredded and easily passed if swallowed. It just seems silly to me to go through the extra trouble when it is really un-necessary. Oh yeah, that stuff about feeding in the cage makes for a more aggressive snake is utter nonsense. A strong feeding response and aggressive behavior are two different things. If you are afraid of getting bitten by a snake that has a good feeding response, then use a hook to break the instinctive behavior and then take your critter out. I personally feel good when I open up a bp's cage and find it cocked and ready for a meal. Just my humble opinion.

Will