Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've heard two different approaches to feeding:

1) Take the snake out of the cage, then put the dead mouse in the cage and then put the snake back in.

2) Put the dead mouse in the cage while the snake is in the cage.

Which of these is best? We currently use #1 because that's what we were told and we haven't had any feeding response problems yet. Feeding time is definately not the only time our snake is handled, but in spite of this I recently read this may trigger a feeding response when the snake is handled. Suggestions? Comments?

The most common reccomendation is to take the snake out feed itin a different container. That way, when you go to pick him up if he is hungry he knows that you might be taking him to the "restaurant" but will not be expecting food any time your hand enters his enclosure .

Dawn

Dawn,
If I feed him at the "restaurant," he would have to stay at the restaurant for 24 hrs., right? Becuase handling after eating could cause stress & regurgitation. So would you suggest getting another escape-proof enclosure that the snakes could spend 24hrs. in after they eat? Do you have any escape-proof economical suggestions? Thanks so much for your response!

Its okay to pick him up and put him back in his enclosure, or if you dont want to touch him you can gently "dump" him back in there. That little bit of handling will not be an issue for him. I put mine back in their enclosure within an hour so they can get comfortably back at the temp range they want to be at and also so they can hide which many like to do while digesting food.

Thanks! I love the picture by the way.

Agreed. I feed mine in a cardboard box and then either gently dump them back into the cage or set it down inside near the middle hide and let her leave when she wants.

By the time she has moved the food item to her stomach she is usually looking for a way out of the box and is ready to go.

Worst that ever happened was that she slipped out of the box a little too quickly once and just froze in this rigid position for about a minute (until I decided to turn the light off) and then casually made her way to a hide.

You can't go wrong with #1 in my opinion, and I did that with my Cal King for the first couple of years until he got rather large and maybe I got a little lazy. I preferred to feed him in his enclosure, always putting the thawed-out mouse on a few paper towels over the aspen bedding. I never witnessed any aspen going into his mouth or had any problems in that area. Being extra careful about handling on non-feeding and shedding days, I never reached in and took him out, rather always let him notice the screen top was pushed back and he usually came right up and out into my waiting hands. That was our routine and he never bit me once in the 8 wonderful years I had him. It all seems to fall into place in time. Good luck and enjoy.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I feed all of my Kings, corns, rats, and whatevers in their respective enclosures and have never had any problems. With my huge Mexican Black king, and other large getula kings, I usually place the rodents in their cages when they're under a hide, so as not to see me placing the rodent in.
Also, don't forget you could try the Jetzen hand feeding method, LOL.

Steve

and how did you train it to do that? YOU could get BITTEN!!!!!
LOL,LOL,LOL,LOL,LOL, great pic!

Thanks Jetzen. This is my 05 Mexican Milksnake. He's super laid back. It was feeding time tonight, and I thought I'd see how he liked taking a rodent in the hand. He gets an A . If you like a calmer milksnake, L.T.Annulata are hard to beat.

Steve

>>and how did you train it to do that? YOU could get BITTEN!!!!!
LOL,LOL,LOL,LOL,LOL, great pic!

I feed all of my snakes in their own cages and haven't had any problems. Most of them get excited when they smell mice in the air, but that doesn't mean they come striking at my hand as soon as I open the cage on non-feeding days. On cleaning days, I hold each snake in one hand while I switch out the substrate with my other hand. That seems to be enough to get the snakes accustomed to handling. I do have a few babies and a couple of subadults that want to eat anything that moves regardless of whether or not it's feeding day, but that's just how they are, and I know how to handle them without getting tagged.
-----
www.BugChick.com

chickabowwow