Feed Inside da cage vs Outside the cage

I recently fed my snake, my first feeding. I fed it inside the cage
But many ppl says feeding outside would be better but I'm too scared
to grab the snake while it's digesting. Is feeding outside the cage worth
it?

There's no point in feeding outside the enclosure. The theory that the animal will be more aggressive in his enclosure is a myth. Also why go through the trouble of bothering the animal after a nice meal picking them up and putting them back. Do you and your snake a favor and just feed in the cage.


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Bunker down for this one pal!!!! you are going to get sooo many different opinions and reasoning. My advice, do what works best for you. I was in the same situation trying to decide. I went with outside the tank just because I wanted to lessen the (risk) of tank aggression. My daughters handle our snake often and I wanted to remove any chance of them getting bit. I feed in a separate tank, let her settle down after eating for at least 25 minutes, then gentle remove her and put her right back into her tank. She has eaten at least 8 times since I have had her and haven't had a problem yet. (knock on wood). Do what works for you!!! Thats my advice

I say if he will eat in the cage....let him. One of mine does and the other refuses unless he is in a tub with a lid....all are different but if I could get my new guy to eat in the cage I would....have tried a few time now and the last time I almost got bit......I will just go with what he prefers...

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The....the answer is The.

If your animal eats inside his/her home then go with what works best for you and the animal

As stated feeding in the cage could generate an aggressive cage response because they associate you opening the cage with food?¿? However, the same could be associated with taking out to feed. Snake says hey I'm coming out must be food time lol. So really i think the only truth is if its the right size, temp, and most importantly smell. Then thats what triggers the food response. But i am not an expert in this area just a guy who has seen no benefit in feeding in separate tub

I will add though that if i open a tub and the animal seems to be ready to eat as soon as she/he realizes that its not food its not interested in eating it :). Also you could just have an aggressive snake which is a different story lol

Feed inside the cage, all of the reasons for feeding outside the cage have been throroughly rebutted in many threads here. The outside the cage feeding myth is just one of these petstore manager fairytales that has been echoed through the years. Like Monkey said, even if it is true, why would you want your snake associating being moved with being fed. As far as I can tell it isnt true with BPs but with reticulated pythons it is true that feeding in the cage makes them associate you opening the door with food. However I would much rather deal with a large hungry predator inside his cage then outside his cage where he has completely free movement and nothing between us to keep me safe.

I have 3 BP's. All have different personalities. I understand the thought that by conditioning the snake to eat in a separate container you can limit aggression in its own cage. However, after having BP's for over a year now, I can honestly say that if you simply slow down and see what "state of mind" your python is in, you really would have to try hard to get bitten. As a new person you don't know how to "read" python body language yet, so it is hard to understand all that, but I promise you after a month or two, if you are an observant person, you will quickly know what "mode" your snake is in.

One of my BP's was an aggressive baby. Every time I tried to handle her she would strike. I was as calm as I could be about it, and took my time and after about 2 or 3 months, she settled down and would let me hold her without showing any aggression. Now, she was and is still an aggressive feeder. Soon as I dangle the rat in her cage she is all over it, one strike and lights out! There are times in the evening if I want to hold her I can tell by looking at her that she is thinking I am going to feed her. So I know if I stuck my hand in the cage while she is in this "feeding mode" she may try and strike my warm hand. However, when I notice she is like this, I simply take a stick or some object and touch her lightly with it. This makes her "snap out of" feeding mode and she usually quickly retreats to her hide. I then remove the hide and pick her up from her back end. I've done this a lot and again, have never been tagged. Once she is out of feeding mode, she won't strike, cause I've held her enough that she is used to it.

I feed all my snakes in their cages because it is less work for me and I think less stress for them. Sure, you can feed outside of the enclosure if you want, but to me, it is just more work. At least in her cage I know the temps are right and I don't have to worry about heating a temporary enclosure for her to eat her meal in.

But all of this comes down to reading your snakes body language. And ultimately don't you need to do that anyway if you move the snake from the cage to the temporary feeding container?

Ball Pythons are really chill compared to other snakes. For a new person they may seem a bit intimidating at first, but after a while you will just view them as puppy dogs.

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Originally Posted by Rob

There's no point in feeding outside the enclosure. The theory that the animal will be more aggressive in his enclosure is a myth. Also why go through the trouble of bothering the animal after a nice meal picking them up and putting them back. Do you and your snake a favor and just feed in the cage.


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Oh thanks for telling me it's a myth phew~ I think my snake is fine at the moment about feeding inside
but I'll be open minded thx