In or Out?

[trumetal96]

Should I feed it in or out of its cage. So confusing. Everyone is telling me different lol.

[Bright202]

Should I feed it in or out of its cage. So confusing. Everyone is telling me different lol.

Feed outside of the cage, that way you don't have to worry about your snake eating substrate while feeding in the cage. It's a bit of a hassle, but I would recommend it, especially if your feeding live.

[bearhart]

IMO, depends on the snake and why you have it.

Have you fed out of cage before?

[Nagini88]

Feeding out of the cage will also help lessen cage aggression

[trumetal96]

IMO, depends on the snake and why you have it.

Have you fed out of cage before?

no, i just picked it up today. unless this is another one of their lies, they said i should wait about 3 or 4 days so it can get used to its new home

[bearhart]

no, i just picked it up today. unless this is another one of their lies, they said i should wait about 3 or 4 days so it can get used to its new home

waiting is good. I would wait at least 1 week before trying to feed.

I have fed my BP both ways. I started out-of-cage, tried in-cage, and decided to go back to out-of-cage. Personally, I found that feeding in-cage had a significant effect of his behavior.

My snake is a strong feeder and so he feeds out-of-cage well. I can feed him quickly, under light and under supervision, and put him back immediately with no problems. My theory is that, for the same reason, feeding him in his cage brought out alot of aggression. This was not "hateful" aggression but simply eagerness to eat. some snakes won't eat while being watched or will regurg if disturbed during or after eating.

Ultimately, you'll have to determine for yourself. Feeding in-cage is easiest. I would recommend doing that but if your snake is always coming out for food and going it strike position when you open the cage then I would recommend trying out of cage feeding. I would bet your pet store fed out of cage and you could start with that relatively easily. do that until you get a routine and then try in-cage and see how that affects things.

[Nate]

Feeding out of the cage will also help lessen cage aggression

I disagree

[bearhart]

I disagree

I dont' know how universally true or untrue it is. However, I have found that it is most definately true for my BP.

My *opinion* on this is that the decision most definately affects the snake's behavior. In fact, I think that is easy to determine from reading posts by in-cage feeders here. Do I think it makes some bloodthirsty monster out of your BP? No, definately not. I think that a few precautions are sufficient to make it safe.

My personal experience has been that, when feeding out of cage, my BP *absolutely never* displayed any feeding related behavior while in cage. This, of course, changed when I switched to in-cage feeding. Also, many members here describe eager behavior during feeding time - which includes the snapping up of rodents practically before they hit the substrate. I'm seriously skeptical that you'll find an out-of-cage feeder that does anything like this. However, all of these out-of-cage feeding members seem very happy so that makes it totally OK.

So you see, ultimately its what fits you best. All I can say is be aware of the affects.

[Argentra]

It depends entirely on your preference and your snake. I have my 3 month old BP and my 13 month old corn: the BP eats outside her cage because the decor would get in the way otherwise and I find it easier to do since I clean her cage while she's eating. My corn, however, was raised being fed in his cage and will not eat outside...so I had to modify my techniques to fit what he was used to. Maybe some day, once he's used to handling, I'll get him to eat outside so I can clean his tank easier, but for now I have to do what is best for him to keep him healthy.

Bottom line: If your snake is more relaxed and doesn't care where it goes as long as it gets food, you can feed it outside for peace of mind. If it's really shy, doesn't like handling much, or is one of a large collection then leave it in it's home cage.

[jknudson]

All of my ball pythons feed in their tubs....I've never been bitten, I don't mess with them on feeding day when they are all business.