Snake Question

[Mina]

I would like to know how everyone feeds their snake. We just brought ours home on Sunday (4/9). We are happy to have him home at last. For those of you who don't tknow, normal colored, male, ball python, about 6 months old. We aren't going to feed him this week and hope he gets a chance to settle in.
My question is this, do you feed in the snakes housing, or in a seperate tub? What are the advantages and disagvantages of each way? We are trying to decide what to do for our baby.

 

[Gigas]

i have a Heterdon Nasicus and i feed him whith 28 cm froceps, a bit excessives i know. i feed him in a seperate tub because if you feed the snake in the tank they assume that every time the lid comes off food comes in, its a knee jerk response brought on by habit, by feeding them in a seperate tub can also trigger this but it is hundreds of times less likely, especially if you handle your snake regular basis, seeing as it a ball python i assume you will. No matter which way you feed your snake something will trigger him to get into a striking mood for mine its whenever he sees those forceps.

 

[mindlessvw]

It kinda depends...I had a carpet python that if i moved him out of his cage he would not eat...since this is a young snake i would really try to get him used to feeding in a platic tub or something similiar...the last thing you want is a four foot snake that thinks every time that lid opens he is getting fed. Also with something like a ball python you may want to try rat pups because eventually he will be eating rats(or several mice which gets pricy) it may take you a bit to get in the grrove of what he likes...they are all different

 

[siucfi]

I feed both my ball and my boa live in there enclosure. People will argue this but I have never had a problem.

 

[ErikH]

I feed in a separate tub, but that is because he was being fed that way when I got him, and I haven't yet tried to break him of this habit. Most ball python owners recommend feeding in its enclosure, as it is less stressful to the snake. Provided your snake is used to being handled, it shouldn't mistake your hand for food. Just make sure you do not handle the mice/rats when when you feed or handle. Use tongs or hemostats to handle the feeders. Ball pythons have poor vision, but a very keen sense of smell, and they have heat sensing pits in front of their eyes. If you have the scent on your hands, it is possible to get tagged if the snake is hungry. Believe it or not, snakes get to know when feeding day is, once you get them in a routine, so avoid handling on those days as well.

 

[Gigas]

I feed both my ball and my boa live in there enclosure.

What kind of boa , hog island?

mindlessvw have u tried using pheremones or Mouse maker to entice him?

 

[Snipes]

I put mine in a rubbermain in its cage. I put the container in the cage, then the snake, and then use tongs to give them its mouse. Then it grabs it, eats it, and when its done, it can crawl out of the container and around its cage. That way i dont have to stress it by taking it out of its cage and putting it back in later.

 

[Beardo]

I feed both my ball and my boa live in there enclosure. People will argue this but I have never had a problem.

Posts like these are going to cause me to have an ulcer by the time I'm 30. :wall:

 

[MindUtopia]

I feed mine outside. It's easy enough to do and it gives me a chance to handle him regularly so he's comfortable with handling. I've never had him once try to nip at me nor has he ever regurgitated, so it seems to work well enough for us.

 

[Icey]

I feed both my ball and my boa live in there enclosure. People will argue this but I have never had a problem.

Yes some people do have a problem with live feeding, and lets show you why
http://proexotics.com/graphics/ball_python_live_prey_1.jpg Caution very graphic picture of what a MOUSE can do a snake, and that was a ball python btw. I could always show you some pictures of what rats could do to snakes, you just ask now yahear, it'll be my pleasure.

But back to the original question, I feed my rainbows out of their enclosures, prekilled mice. They're all under 4ft and are accustomed to eating out, its especially useful when I have to tease feed any new snake I get.

The boas I feed in their enclosures, they are on paper so that ensures that they don't swallow substrate that may cause impaction and the fact that boas are more timid eaters and do not like to be looked at or they either refuse to eat or stop mid swallow when you come into the room.

Balls from what I've read are very timid and tend to go off their food often for a variety of reasons, I think it would be best if you feed it in its enclosure. Congrats and good luck with your new pet.

 

[Beardo]

When I kept snakes I always fed them in their enclosures. I simply did not have time nor the resources to take all 50+ of my snakes out of their enclosures and into seperate containers on feeding night. This was utterly unfeasible. I also never used loose substrate so I never had to worry about any of my snakes ingesting anything while eating their prey (which was always frozen/thawed by the way).

People who propogate the idea that feeding a snake in its enclosure makes it "more aggressive" or that feeding them outside of their enclosures makes them "less likely to bite" really have absolutely no knowledge of serpentine physiology/behavior. I believe that feeding a snake outside of its enclosure has far more negative connotations than positive ones. Its an unecessary stress on the animal which in many cases will result in a non-feeding snake. This is just my opinion based on the experiences of keeping snakes for the last 10 years....nothing more, nothing less.

 

[MicahHall]

I have a baby boa and she is fed inside her enclosure. No need to take her out and add stress to what should be an easy situation. At the recommendation of one of the board's mods, we use a hook to remove her from her enclosure for normal handling so there is no possibility for her misjudging ther reason for her enclosure being opened. This has worked perfectly. I use plain unprinted newspaper for bedding, so there is no issue with the chance of her ingesting anything and getting impacted.. not to mention is wonderfully easy to clean!! Good luck with your new baby!

 

[mindlessvw]

Gigus, He is eating fine now...he was just a tiny little thing when i got him and he absalutely would not eat if i moved him...rather than force feeding i opted to feed him his fuzzy in the cage.

The stress on the snake is minimal if it is used to being moved around. And as far as live feeding NEVER leave any snake alone with a mouse. I prefer frozen especially since everything i have now eats adults but it was difficult to get some switched over.

 

[Gigas]

Its actually illegal to feed live mice to anything in the united Kingdom

 

[BedroomEyzOfBlu]

We used to have 3 corns we housed communally as we bought them fairly young and the tank had plenty of room. When we fed them, we separated them into their own tanks just to ensure that they didn't fight over one mouse lol. We now have a Ball Python and we just put the mouse into it's tank and let him take it at his leisure.

Good luck either way you decide to go on it.

Rosana - BedroomEyzOfBlu

 

[Beardo]

We used to have 3 corns we housed communally as we bought them fairly young and the tank had plenty of room. When we fed them, we separated them into their own tanks just to ensure that they didn't fight over one mouse lol. We now have a Ball Python and we just put the mouse into it's tank and let him take it at his leisure.

Congratulations on being an irresponsible snake owner. Not only are you housing multiple known-to-be-cannabalistic snakes in one enclosure, you are leaving a rodent (I assume live) in with your Ball Python. Sheesh....some of you people really have no business owning animals honestly.

 

[Gigas]

We used to have 3 corns we housed communally as we bought them fairly young and the tank had plenty of room. When we fed them, we separated them into their own tanks just to ensure that they didn't fight over one mouse lol. We now have a Ball Python and we just put the mouse into it's tank and let him take it at his leisure.

Good luck either way you decide to go on it.

Rosana - BedroomEyzOfBlu

you do realize at least one of thems gonna get eaten?

 

[atavuss]

I feed my ball python in its enclosure. most likely mine is a WC import as it will not feed during the winter months so I feed it heavily during spring/summer/fall to get enough weight on it to last through its fast. temps are pretty much constant in my animal room year round so it must sense the ambient humidity is higher during winter months to fast. I have had it probably 10 years or so now. my BP will not eat prekilled, frozen/thawed, nor will it touch white or white/tan rats, they have to be white/dark multi-colored rats fed live. I do stay next to the enclosure with a long set of tweezers in case of any problems and so far in the ten years I have never had a problem with the snake being attacked by a feeder. I have tried stunning the rats before feeding and the BP will not show any interest. it seems as if it has to actually see the rat move so it can hunt it or something.
hopefully yours is a CB BP as they seem to be easier to feed from what I have read.

 

[BedroomEyzOfBlu]

Congratulations on being an irresponsible snake owner. Not only are you housing multiple known-to-be-cannabalistic snakes in one enclosure, you are leaving a rodent (I assume live) in with your Ball Python. Sheesh....some of you people really have no business owning animals honestly.

David you need to get a grip on urself and give it a good shake - we had our corns for 5 yrs from the time they were babies and never had ONE problem with them. They were communal from day 1 in a 5' x 3' x 3' tank. They had their own hides and on most days, spent the entire day/night entertwined with each other. Just because u've had problems with ur snakes - don't insult me. Your snakes may have been cannibals, but ours were not! Because you assume you know EVERYTHING about corn snakes, you opened ur mouth and put both feet into it - nice job! Ur nothing but rude and obnoxious. I don't care if ur a breeder or not - I've had many years of experience with snakes and don't appreciate ur comments. If you have nothing nice to say to me in the future - keep it zipped! And just for good measure - read my signature!

For the record, our WC BP takes both live and dead prey - without probs or hesitations, and when it receives live prey - we are never far away to ensure it's safety. So before you go attempting to insult a total stranger - get all the facts first - it will reflect better on you.

For you Gigus, in the 5 years that we owned them - there was never even a hint of one snake trying to eat any of the others. We've since sold them and only have the BP right now.

Rosana

 

[Mina]

Thank you all for the input. Matthias wants to feed him in a seperate enclosure and is very adamant about it. He is used to this and this is what has been done for him in the store we got him from. To answer the other question, he is a captive hatched baby, is 6 to 8 months old, and is a normal colored, sexed by a breeder, male.
As far as the other stuff goes, be nice guys. Rosana is allowed to do with her animals as she sees fit. You can disagree, but please don't be nasty and insulting about it. I know nothing about snakes, but I would not house any snakes of any kind together. This is personal choice, and it is mine, and Rosana's, to make.