Feeding in the cage

[deadlyicon]

I am a new owner of two ball pythons and I was told to take them out of there cage and feed them in a cardboard box separately. This doesn’t seem very sporting or fun for these magnificent hunters. I would like to feed them in a more natural environment so they can take there time and stalk there pray.

I was told the reason you don’t want to feed them in there cage is because you don’t want the snakes associating your hand entering the cage with being fed. I was thinking of making a mouse injection system that would inject a mouse in the bottom of the cage without me being there to avoid this association. I was also thinking of having a second cage with some plants and rocks and suck so they have room to slither around and play with there victim.

Has anyone else come up with inventive ways to feed there pythons? Anyone have any pictures or stories?

thanks

[Marla]

Why bother "injecting" a dead mouse? If you have a loose substrate, you don't want to feed in the enclosure because of danger of impaction, but if you use astroturf, newspaper, or similar, it's just a matter of individual choice.

[deadlyicon]

Well i feed them live mice so he would run around for a while and they could stock them and have a little fun rather then just sitting in a box shooting fish in a barel.

I foresee a possible probelm with them fighint over food if they are both wanting to eat the mouse.
and I didnt forsee the possabuility that they could injest cage material that could make them ill.

thanks for the insight.

[Marla]

You should never feed a snake in an enclosure with another animal, especially one that may compete with it for prey. You could easily end up with two injured ball pythons, neither of which is interested in eating again anytime soon. And that doesn't even include the reasons to avoid feeding live prey, such as injury to the snake and the risk of parasites.

[Smulkin]

Yep - multiple bite wounds to your snakes head is no fun at all - someone may repost the horror story pics which may give you a change of heart on that if nothing else. With Marla on the in/out, if there is potentially ingestible substrate do it out (as Smynx does for her liasis) - otherwise our other dozen + dine in rather than eat out. Afraid I have to tow the party line on the multi-snakes too - just not a very sound keeping practice to keep them like fish for all the reasons stated above - as they are not inherently social animals they don't need nor will thay miss the company of their bretheren serpents. Don't be crushed by the advice to seperate them, or take it personally as is wont to happen (I know I took it as a personal affront) - and remember all advice offered is in the interest of healthy keeping of your fellas.

[RU_snake_guy]

if i want to feed my snake, what should i do then because i have shavings as a substrate. i dont want it to harm my ball. info maybe?

[Marla]

Hopefully you do want to feed your snake. If you use a loose substrate, just feed your snake in a carboard box or Rubbermaid container of appropriate size, or put down a good protective layer of newspaper on top of the substrate before feeding inside the container.

[maniac]

I feed my snake in a cardboard box and layer it with paper towels.. Just incase it gets a little messy =O)

I feed all of my snakes in their cages...but I don't use loose substrates so its much easier/safer this way.

This doesn’t seem very sporting or fun for these magnificent hunters. I would like to feed them in a more natural environment so they can take there time and stalk there pray.

IMO you are wanting to feed live for all the wrong reasons. IMO the only time live should be fed is if everything else has been tried and the snake must eat SOMEthing. What may seem "fun" to you is NOT fun to either the snake or the live rodent.....its a matter of life & death. A rodent can seriously injure your snake in defense.

I was told the reason you don’t want to feed them in there cage is because you don’t want the snakes associating your hand entering the cage with being fed. I was thinking of making a mouse injection system that would inject a mouse in the bottom of the cage without me being there to avoid this association. I was also thinking of having a second cage with some plants and rocks and suck so they have room to slither around and play with there victim.

Huh? I found this paragraph fairly confusing.....just get a pair of hemostats and offer your snake food that way, you won't have to worry about being bit or mistaken for food. Also...snakes do not "play with their 'victims'"....I just don't see your rationale behind this comment.

[maniac]

I was also thinking of having a second cage with some plants and rocks and suck so they have room to slither around and play with there victim.

I never knew my snake to play with there food or "victim".. The only animal I would ever consider playing with a mouse is my cat ;|