To feed in home or seperate container?

I am first time snake owner and have heard debates on both sides about feeding in reg vivarium or moving to separate feeding container, the pet store did tell me to use separate container as that is what the do and also so he won;'t get aggressive when reaching in his regular housing. Thing is when I got him he had not ate for them and they had force fed, then I had a hard time getting him to eat and in the feed container he only wanted to explore for a way out so then I decided to just try his reg housing since he might feel more comfortable and sure enough he took the f/t fuzzy and ate in 10 minutes, so I was glad about that because I was really concerned about the force feeding they had done, I think now they just did not take the time. Anyhow my question is should I try to get him into the feed container to eat or is it ok to keep him in his housing?

Hi,

I would definately keep him in his own enclosure for feeding if that is what has worked best. :)

The cage aggression thing really isn't all that common a problem with ball pythons - they tend to be more nervous than agressive. In the case of the really nervous ones moving them to a container can positively ensure they won't eat.

I am kind of dissapointed in the shop for selling you a snake they hadn't got to eat and were forcefeeding - it speaks volumes about them in fact. :mad:

How big is your snake - it may be he could handle slightly larger prey.

But remember the most important thing is to let him settle in and avoid handling for a week if possible - and definately none for the next 48 hours to give him a chance to digest his dinner. :gj:

Have a read of the caresheet on the site to see if it gives you any questions you'd like to ask.


dr del

Try the search button , theres already a few threads covering this.

I agree! Feeding in seperate container causes added stress and this is why they probaly had to force feed! Balls won't eat if stressed! Cover all the sides and top and leave him alone for at least a week before feeding! He should eat for you then! They also need temps right and nice tight fitting hides with one small opening to feel secure! Good luck!

Dr Del the BP is a normal and he is about 18 inches and weighs 120G. Petsmart here in Georgia is whom we bought it from and they did not mention the force feed until we already checked out and payed and they brought us his feed schedule. They had him 19 days and he did not eat so they had force fed him. I did leave him alone after trying what they said in the separate tub with no success, he did then eat. It is time again tomorrow to feed again and I did not want to cause him to fast or undo stress by moving if not needed, he also shed since last feed, started the day after he ate, but he did eat the day before so that was good I guess since reading looks like a lot of them don't.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...d.php?t=114801

I feed mine in a seperate container, but i may have been misinformed when i began keeping balls, but it has worked with mine. However i would trust Dr Dels judgement as i am also, a beginner. Especially if yours is shy. Good luck!

I’ve been told to feed in a separate container which is what I do with my 7 month old ball. My snake is not aggressive at all and I’ve never been bitten, however, he has learned that what goes in his feed bin is ‘food’ so he’ll get a striking position when I take him out of it after feeding thinking that I am food. This is why I avoid feeding him in his home tank. His feed bin is just big enough for eating so he can’t explore much and I keep my room dark when I feed him so he is more comfortable. I feed him pre-killed mice and I’ve noticed that he will ignore the mouse if I just drop it in the bin. So, I hold the tail with a clothes pin and dangle it in front of his face, at which point he gladly strikes. If you feel comfortable trying a separate container for feeding again, then I would try what has always worked with my ball. It might just take some time for yours to de-stress or it could be that mine is just a fatty who will eat no matter what. But if you feel better leaving him in his home tank, then by all means do so. You know your snake better than anyone else.

Balls do not get cage aggression and think peoples hands are food unless they smell like rats/mice (well most of the time)

Hi,

As an aside to the above post.

I would probably recommend longer tongs for offering the rodent from. I used to tail dangle them by hand and moved over to 18" tongs after seeing the feeding response from a female after egg laying and a few SFE's. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Trust me things are a lot less fraught when there is a good gap between the rodent and your hand. :cool:

They do learn the routine for feeding and, generally speaking, I don't see much point in fixing what isn't broken.

But just one thought on your external tub feeding. At the moment 50% of things going into his feeding tub are food so you cannot blame him for getting in strike mode - now when he needs multiple mice you are only going to be 33% of the things that go in there. :rofl:

In the normal tank you will be going in more often for water changes, spot cleaning etc.

Just pointing out there is a downside to the "when he goes in the tub he knows it is feeding time" idea. :D


dr del