Warning :Dont Feed Snakes In Their Tanks..

[Sequin]

Yes really. You don't want a snake that is conditioned to think anything coming into it's cage is food.

Most keepers just "hook train" the snake if this becomes a problem...

It's a great way to increase your risk of getting tagged when you go to pick it up or try to do maintenance.

Yes, and moving a vulnerable snake that's in feeding mode, definitely reduces your chance of being tagged.

Removing the snake to a seperate feeding container is a standard and widely accepted husbandry practice among private keepers. Even those with large boids will feed in plastic trash bins....

HAHA. I'm not denying that. I just thought it was humerous he named it as a "rule" to proper snake keeping. Give me a break. An equal amount of herp enthusiasts feed their snakes inside the enclosure without any problems.

 

[PhilK]

Hang on. Your python choked to death on a twig no bigger than this ---> I

That doesn't make any sense at all. Unless it went down his trachea (which is highly unlikely..)

 

[scottyk]

Yes, and moving a vulnerable snake that's in feeding mode, definitely reduces your chance of being tagged.

As I said in my earlier post, there are many available methods, but in this case I can tell you from experience that you are making an incorrect assumption.

I started using the seperate container method for an especially beautiful and ornery male Okeetee breeder. He was bitey at the best of times, and if hungry would be focused right on my hand and even more difficult to manage. I have and am familiar with using hooks, but I wanted to try something different.

After a few months using the tub, he would focus on that instead of me when I put it on the table next to his tank. I had him to the point where I would put a F/T mouse in the tub, open the top and he would slither right out of his tank and into the tub by himself.

I switched them all over to this method because, despite the opinions of some who have never tried it, it can actually be done quite efficiently and quickly. I'd put five mice in five tubs, then add five snakes. By the time I finished spot cleaning, changing water etc they'd be finished and I'd move onto the next five.

My Rosy Boas and Westen Hognose snakes got fed more along the lines of what Peter does because that worked for me. I'm sure others do it differently.

I think this thread would be more interesting and informative if everyone maybe asked questions and shared actual experiences instead of trashing things they have no firsthand knowledge of. Accusing those with a different opinion of being "add water experts" and "keyboard warriors" is immature and serves no purpose.....

 

[rollinkansas]

I think this thread would be more interesting and informative if everyone maybe asked questions and shared actual experiences instead of trashing things they have no firsthand knowledge of. Accusing those with a different opinion of being "add water experts" and "keyboard warriors" is immature and serves no purpose.....

If you took the time to actually read all the posts, such as the ones from Mushroom Spore(not to single them out but), where in every thread I go into he/she preaches how dangerous feeding on substrate is and how deadly and horrible it is for the poor little animals, youd see that he/she has no actual experience feeding on substrate. Yet they continue to press in every thread how important it is not to feed on substrate.

Thats why they are called "keyboard warriors" and other terms because they preach something of which they only have 50% of the experience in. If they choose to feed off substrate, that is a method that works for them, but they bash feeding on substrate(something with which they have no experience in).

 

[ReptileMan27]

I have 11 snakes, I feed some in and some outside the cage. If your using bark,mulch,or something that contains large peices, its best to feed outside the cage or put some newspaper down over the substrate to be safe.

 

[scottyk]

Rollinkansas- I very clearly read and comprehended all of the posts, which is why I used the term "everyone" and which you were kind enough to boldface for me in your reply. Thanks!

I also very clearly understood the intent of the two posts I did single out, but rather than quote them and continue this, I'm hoping that this thread can get back on topic now.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

youd see that he/she has no actual experience feeding on substrate. Yet they continue to press in every thread how important it is not to feed on substrate.

I know that riding in the back of a pickup truck on the highway is dangerous too; do I have to actually do it myself before I can tell other people it's dangerous? :?

I don't see why people get so defensive over their right to engage in risky animal care practices. It's not asking any great sacrifice of anybody that they get a spare shoebox and feed the snake in it. Heck, put the snake and the dead rodent in the shoebox, put it back in the tank and lock the tank back up, and you can come back in an hour or two and your work is done.

 

[rollinkansas]

I know that riding in the back of a pickup truck on the highway is dangerous too; do I have to actually do it myself before I can tell other people it's dangerous? :?

I don't see why people get so defensive over their right to engage in risky animal care practices. It's not asking any great sacrifice of anybody that they get a spare shoebox and feed the snake in it. Heck, put the snake and the dead rodent in the shoebox, put it back in the tank and lock the tank back up, and you can come back in an hour or two and your work is done.

First off, that is a dumb and unrelated example you bring up. Snakes bodies are designed over millions of years to be able to digest small parts of substrate in the wild while consuming a meal. Do you think snakes survived in the wild by putting their food on a clean plate before consuming?

Its not risky, and its the fact that you dont accept people keep snakes differently than you. To be honest, if a snake cant digest a small piece of substrate with its meal, then its one more snake out of the weak genepool.

Just accept the fact that certain people will keep their pets/breeders different than you. I dont have a problem when people say their opinion about how they keep their own animals, but thats just what it is; an opinion. Thats your view, that you believe in, and others might believe differently, but that doesnt make them wrong. Its a problem when people keep saying the person in question is wrong, just because they keep them differently than how you personally feel they should be kept. So keep your opinions as opinions and not as the only way to do things.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

Do you think snakes survived in the wild by putting their food on a clean plate before consuming?

No. At the same time, however, snakes die in the wild from all sorts of stupid things; the species as a whole survives because not ALL of them do. A few snakes, yes, may get unlucky and choke to death or get something impacted in their guts. In fact, a few do, because there ARE people it has happened to. Therefore it can happen and is not some kind of imaginary accident comparable to a spaceship falling out of orbit and killing your pet. I don't see why this is hard. :?

your view, that you believe in, and others might believe differently, but that doesnt make them wrong.

"There are people who have had pets die from substrate impaction" is not a matter of opinion. If you refuse to believe this has ever happened to anyone...well, yes, it rather does make you wrong. :?

 

[rollinkansas]

No. At the same time, however, snakes die in the wild from all sorts of stupid things; the species as a whole survives because not ALL of them do. A few snakes, yes, may get unlucky and choke to death or get something impacted in their guts. In fact, a few do, because there ARE people it has happened to. Therefore it can happen and is not some kind of imaginary accident comparable to a spaceship falling out of orbit and killing your pet. I don't see why this is hard. :?



"There are people who have had pets die from substrate impaction" is not a matter of opinion. If you refuse to believe this has ever happened to anyone...well, yes, it rather does make you wrong. :?

Then maybe we will agree to disagree. You dont know the circumstances of every sand impaction case, nor are you a vet. You sound like one of the people who has a ball python, a corn snake, and a crested gecko all with names and think they know everything there is because they read it on the internet.

People have had their reptiles get severe burns because of heat rocks and heat lamps. So we shouldnt use those for our reptiles. They are very dangerous, obviously. And we shouldnt have anything for them to climb on because they can possibly fall of and get hurt. So we should maybe start keeping the tank flat with nothing to climb on. Etc, etc

Point being its an inconvenience that isnt necessary. Of course freak accidents will happen. And of course the only times they do happen, youll read about it on the internet because people want immediate answers. But these accidents arent the norm, and dont happen often enough to warrant all these precautions.

Preach your own experiences, not someone elses.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

You sound like one of the people who has a ball python, a corn snake, and a crested gecko all with names and think they know everything there is because they read it on the internet.

Besides the fact that attacking one's opponent instead of the opponent's argument is a pretty meaningless tactic, your stereotyping is wrong in this case. But uh, good luck with that?

Preach your own experiences, not someone elses.

I'm not going to purposely risk the health and well-being of my animals just so some guy on the internet will consider me to have enough "street cred" to be worth listening to.

 

[OldHag]

Has anyone noticed that the person who started this thread hasnt even been back? Probably a troll trying to cause problems.

P.S. dont feed in substrait

 

[Reedie]

one of the down-sides about feeding them in their tanks is that then associate your hand coming into their tank as feeding, and are more likely to mistake your hand for food, and may bite you. That is the biggest reason I have seen for not feeding them in their tanks.

This isn't necessarily true, I feed my Ball Python in her enclosure all the time. I have never had her bite me or mistake my hand for food. These are smart animals, smarter than a lot of people give them credit for. If she smell a rodent, and sees feeding tongs in my hand, she goes into feeding mode. If she sees my hand going into her enclosure with no rodent scent or feeding tongs, she doens't react at all. But then again, all snakes differ, maybe mine is just abnormal.

Just my $0.02.

-Reed

 

[Beardo]

As I've said numerous times in the past...my own personal opinion is that using loose substrates or at least feeding on them is a very bad idea. I use paper towels/newspaper for substrate....always have, always will. Better safe than sorry is my motto. Everyone else is free to do what they want with their animals but remember for every action there is a consequence. I like my consequences to be healthy animals, but thats just me.

 

[mbreptiles]

Feeding on substrates is not a bad idea. Nor is feeding in containers a bad idea either. I believe that is certain situations both should be done. I know for one, ball pythons can be very finicky eaters. Being that they are finicky eaters I tend to feed them in there racks on cypress bedding. I have found that with some of our breeding stock they will not eat if they are moved into another container. Also, I do not have time to move back and fourth a couple hundred ball pythons every 5 days. I also know that with alot of our retics we do not feed them in there rack systems or cages because they will start to associate your hand with food. Being that they have such a huge feeding response. We do feed most of our animals pre-killed or f/t rodents with the exception of ball pythons, which does help with the agressive feeding response as well. The animals that do feed in there cages or racks on f/t we use tongs to offer the food. I don't believe that if proper substrate is used that an animal will get impacted, especially a snake from the bedding. I do believe that alot of impactions from bedding is caused from improper bedding especially sand ( even more so play sand ). I don't know how many people we get a day in our store that are keeping there ball pythons on sand because a pet store recommended it. My point is I house and feed ball pythons on cypress bedding including pieds and other high end morphs. However, we normally do not move them onto cypress until they are 350 grams or so.

 

[Jackie]

This thread turned into the war of substrate! First of all, what DID happen to the person who started the thread? He might have gotten offended when people told him he KILLED his snake by giving it water, but hopefully he didn't take it to heart and beat himself up thinking he's a murderer. We want people to be part of the hobby, not discourage them, right?
As for the "discussion" at hand, there will always be different views on what people believe they should do when feeding their snakes. How about we let them do what works for them? I mean, it's nice to share our opinions and our experiences with n00bs to the hobby, but trying to convince one another to change their methods is a little bit ridiculous.
Here's an idea... why can't we be friends? haha

Alright I'm done.
Peace!

 

[ArachnoDude]

Um..thanks for all the support i guesssss. lol..i dont really feel bad since it happened a while ago. and i have some friends buy other things from that pet shopp that ended up dying some way or another. i used a syringe to try to feed it drinking water since i saw it stinking its mouth in the water bowl, now i fed it about 4 times and it hadnt chocked. it kinda baffled me as to how something about .5 in length and not even a pinhead cricket wide could chocke a snake.. guess i wasnt cut out for snakes..T's Ftw. thanks for replying guys

 

[OlsonsOldLady]

My husband and I also feed our BP in her enclosure. I do understand why people do remove their snake for feeding but our BP is apart of our family so she is taken out everyday. We also pre-scent before feeding so she knows when it is dinner time!

 

[Rhino1]

Your information seems dubious and it may need further revision.
Ive kept pythons for over 20 years, they get fed in their enclosure (as normal) and I lift them out with a snake hook when I want to handle them (as normal). Never had a hint of a problem.
They one thing I haven't done is pour water down their throats while they are eating

 

[The Snark]

So what would be the best technique to feed these snorkers?