Feeding inside the enclosure VS Feeding outside the enclosure

Which do you do?

Both. When I feed my Children's python outside his enclosure, it's as a reward for target training. Afterward, I just put whatever I targeted him onto into his enclosure. Because I don't handle him afterward, I don't have to worry about causing him to regurgitate.

By burm has his food laid in a rock inside his enclosure to hunt, after being tapped with his hook. My carpet only eats sticking about 4ft of his body outside the enclosure then taking his food back in. Which do you do, person asking question?

I feed inside the enclosure, But I can see why some people would feed outside the enclosure to prevent impaction.

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Originally Posted by Ruby

I feed inside the enclosure, But I can see why some people would feed outside the enclosure to prevent impaction.

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I feed all my snakes inside their enclosures and have never had an impacted critter and I don’t know anyone that has. I guess it’s possible, anything is, but it’s not very likely. I can’t imagine the effort and stress of moving my snakes just to feed them and then returning them to their enclosures.

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Originally Posted by Ruby

I feed inside the enclosure, But I can see why some people would feed outside the enclosure to prevent impaction.

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Far more (& better) reasons to feed "inside" than out. ;) Prevent your snake from ingesting substrate by feeding from tongs, or on a "plate" of some kind (if drop fed).

Feeding "outside" is asking to get bit (before, when hungry, or after, when snakes are still in "feed mode"), especially for those with very little snake experience. You'll notice those here that make exceptions are NOT newbies to snakes. ;) It's essential to read your snake's body language correctly, because feeding bites can be dangerous with larger snakes.

And handling a nervous snake right after they've eaten is also risking a regurgitation, which is nasty, inconvenient & wasteful at BEST, or a deadly health risk to the snake, at the worst.

BTW, all my snakes are fed in their homes.

If I removed my rosy boas or hognoses from their enclosures to feed I would get bitten every single time. T minus 2 days or so is not the time to mess with them, even with a hook and gloves. This is a BP question, though, and though I only have one but I know better than to reach in there when he's in ambush mode (he's a puppy dog the rest of the time, but hungry animals are best not messed with).

I agree with the 'feeding on a tray' idea, which I do some form of for all my drop-feeders. An easy way is to keep something flat inside the enclosure and make that the feeding zone -- a cork bark flat, piece of slate, or use the top of a plastic hide box as a feeding zone. Just wash it regularly.

Some hatchlings of many species need to be in a very small area to feel secure enough to feed, so I put them into a vented deli cup with the FT or otherwise defenseless prey item and put that back into their regular enclosure, but I try to wean snakes off this nonsense as soon as they're ready.

One great way to keep substrate off the dead prey being fed (that's IF your snake will feed this openly) is to use a good-sized hide turned upside down. Many snakes like the sides around them for a sense of privacy, & with only the doorway for the snake to slide in through, it works extremely well to keep prey separated from substrate. Feeding in dim light & in evening hours will also promote success. If your snake is happy with drop feeding, or even with a slight tease, you could (gently & quietly*) put the upside-down hide with "dinner" near the doorway of the hide your snake is peeking out of- & hope he takes the hint. *Too much activity on your part can be an appetite-killer, so be as subtle as you can.

both - a lot of my crew is so food motivated technically they’ll slam the rat outside the tank and I’ll have to pick em up a little, and put them back 😂 so both

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Originally Posted by YungRasputin

both - a lot of my crew is so food motivated technically they’ll slam the rat outside the tank and I’ll have to pick em up a little, and put them back �� so both

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:rofl: Yeah, I've had that happen now & then- the more snakes you have, the more years you feed them, or the feistier they are, the stranger things you get to see. The snakes that strike so hard they fly out towards both you & the food you're offering them sure gets your pulse racing! :D And it really helps to know which snakes won't let go of their food & come after you when you pick them up as one & put them back where they belong. I have snakes that will happily let go of their prey & come after motion (me!) without fail, so it's imperative they stay IN their tanks in the first place. I know that many keepers prefer sliding front doors, but personally I find it easier to feed from overhead, because in my experience it seems much easier for snakes to loop outside those sliding doors when feeding.

I think the original question posed here is about where we "intended" to feed the snake, anyway. :rolleyes: