First Feeding Attempt

Hello everyone! I have had Crawly now for almost a week. The petstore said that he was being fed every Friday, so I figured since he's been in his new home for more than 48 hours (will actually be 6 days come Friday) that tomorrow would be a good time to attempt our first feed. That being said, I would really like some recommendations as to the best way to attempt this for a first time feed. He was on F/t fuzzies, so I have thouse. I wasn't entirely sure to begin with one the first feed attempt or if I should try two. I was planning on putting him into a seperate container to attempt the feed instead of in his terr, since I don't want him to swallow any substrate or get the idea that my hand always equals feeding time. Anyother tips or suggestions would really be appreciated, I wanna do right by this snake and make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible.

Personally I would only feed one, and I would feed in the enclosure. You will get a mix of people saying to feed in the enclosure or out of it, but I prefer leaving them where they are at.

Snake byes tv actually posted a video on Wednesday and it turns out that the snake that was being feed inside it's enclosure was tamer then the snake being feed outside.

I suggest feeding in the enclosure. The whole associating hand to feeding is bs. I have 9 snakes, including a boa, who have never mistaken me as food when reaching in, and they all eat in their own enclosures. The substrate getting in the mouth is possible, but I've never had any complications from it. I use aspen and I've had to remove aspen with tweezers a couple times, but other than being a P.I.T.A. I don't think it causes any harm, even if swallowed, depending on what you use. I also think moving to a separate tub can be more stressful to some snakes than having to remove substrate occasionally if they can't get it out themselves IMO. I also suggest only feeding one hopper. Do you have tongs? I find my tongs are very helpful with feeding time. I also suggest feeding at night, their "hunting mode" is usually triggered better at night. Good luck :)

I've been feeding inside my tank and have yet to have any problem.
The best purchase I have made to help with feeding was a blow dryer.
I would never keep the rat in hot water long enough so 2 minutes under the blow dryer and she will instantly take it.

Some people suggest not handling the snake before feeding but it really depends on the snake. If she is hungry she will eat as soon as I put her down and lower a rat in the tank.

As far as getting substrate stuck in the mouth, you can always pull it out with tweezers. Once my bp was swallowing a rat and I saw a big piece of cypress going down with the rat so I just pulled it out with tweezers.

I feed all of mine in their enclosures and I don't have any problems reaching in to pick them up. As long as you don't smell like rat/mouse you will be fine. Feeding in or out of the enclosure is personal preference though. With younger snakes they might feel more secure feeding in their home than in a difference place, but this might not be the case with yours.

How are you planning on warming up the hopper? It's really important that you get it warm enough. With mine I let them sit out until they reach room temp and then I put them in hot water for a minute or two before I feed. There are other ways to prepare f/t though.

Feeding tongs are extremely important because you might have to do the zombie mouse dance to get them to eat. I have to do this with one or two of mine.

Lastly, don't be to disappointed if he doesn't eat for you tomorrow. I have one that took me 3 tries before she would eat for me and I have 2 more that I'm going to try to feed f/t to once more before I crack and try to get them to eat live.

Feed in the enclosure, less stress for the tyke. Warm it up with a hair dryer and us tongs to hold it. Good luck.

Okay so far I need to invest in some tongs and it seems like everyone is for feeding him in the enclosure instead of taking him out. Now if I feed him inside, should I take everything out or leave his hideys there?

I intended on thawing the fuzzy for a couple hours, then using warm water for a couple minutes to get the temp up. If it needs to be blow dried, I can do that too, I have at least four in my house that could be put to use to warm up the fuzzy.

I would only add one thing I do seems to help with my fussy eater. I wear latex Gloves and scnet them with rat bedding before I feed. Once the little guys smells my gloves and the rat he goes nuts:). I feed outside the enclosure mainly beacuse the wife is so against the snake being agressive. This is what the pet store guy told us and well my second snake is feeding in her enclosure so hopefully this will sway the wife for my sons snake.:D

i thought i might add my thoughts as well, i always feed mine in his cage. I asked the same question a couple months back when i first got 8ball and have done it like others here say and have not had a single problem with it. Good luck and congrats on the snake. :)