Cage cleaning on feeding day

So I'm sure this happens to everyone at one point or another. It's feeding day and you thaw out the mouse/rat but when you go to check on your snake, you find they have a present for you too over in the corner.

Which do you do first? Disturb the snake and clean, or feed and then disturb afterwards? I feel like cleaning before hand is a better way to get tagged/stress out the snake enough to where they wont eat, but afterwards you're supposed to leave them alone too.

Which is best?

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Originally Posted by Jeo123

So I'm sure this happens to everyone at one point or another. It's feeding day and you thaw out the mouse/rat but when you go to check on your snake, you find they have a present for you too over in the corner.

Which do you do first? Disturb the snake and clean, or feed and then disturb afterwards? I feel like cleaning before hand is a better way to get tagged/stress out the snake enough to where they wont eat, but afterwards you're supposed to leave them alone too.

Which is best?

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For me, I would say that it depends on if you have pre-scented the room. If you have scented the room, feed today and clean tomorrow. If you have not scented the room, clean today and then feed today.

Of course, this all really depends on your snake though. Because if you think that it will not eat after you clean up, then you should feed today and clean tomorrow.

Just my thoughts,

John

As was said, it's best to know your snake. If it's the type that will either try to eat you because you pre-scented or the type that won't eat after you've cleaned then just clean later.

Personally I would rather just clean before because I like to do things right away, but I also know that my snakes won't mind it enough to refuse their meal, so...

I have to clean right away. I was going to the store the other day, not long after our boa had shed. As we were heading out the door, I glanced over and saw that she'd left a 'present' in her water bowl. Not pretty. I couldn't clean it right then, and it was bugging me the entire hour, hour and a half I was out doing stuff until I was able to get home and clean it out :).

Happens to me on daily basis when feeding. I just either clean it first then feed or feed first then clean once they eat it.

You CAN handle them after eating as long as your not manhandling them.

Heh,

Anything that gets put into a tub on feeding day over here gets nailed. :rolleyes:

I have enough trouble just getting the tubs open to feed them. :taz:

So I would feed that day and then clean the next when there is no smell of food in the air. Unless it was in their waterbowl in which case I would try and swap it out for a fresh one while they are busy play killing their rat.


dr del

I normally feed first, clean after. I wait until she's coiled and has most of the rat in her mouth, and then I try to clean as much as I can as slowly and non-intrusively as I can. Trying to clean before she's distracted by her food would definitely get me tagged, and if I couldn't do a thorough clean while she's eating, I would wait until the next day.

This actually happened to me tonight. But my method is to check/change water, if needed, and scoop any poop or urates, before I start thawing the rats. That way, I don't have any stray rodent smells on my hands and the snakes have a while to relax before the pre-scenting/feeding.