The Feeding question: Separate Feeding Box or in Cage?

I use the really thick paper towel and lay down a couple layers(some of my balls like to burrow in them. I also put the water dish over the heat for humidity and if you spray a little water on the towels it really does nicely. I recommend tupperware type containers because hold humidity better but if using an aquarium you can cover the top except for a light if you use one. I didn't like the bedding and switched from it quickly.

I feed in a separate enclosure I only have 1 and I use aspen so I was worried about him eating that if it gets stuck to the rat Im sure if I get more I will switch to some kind of paper and feed in the enclosure

I feed in seperate feeding boxes just because I use reptibark, don't want to chance them accidentally swallowing a chunk of bark. I use substrate for the same reason, humidity and it really makes the enclosures look much prettier. :D

Thanks for the input everyone. So if I do end up getting a baby, I'll probably try out the paper towel and see if I can still keep up the humidity. I'm just thinking I definitely don't want to move a baby to a separate feeding enclosure, especially when I'm going to try to switch it to f/t right away.

Hi,

You could try putting down something to keep the food off the substrate - a piece of slate or a bit of kitchen towel for example.

Not feeding wet mice helps a lot in the initial stage of the feeding but if the snake moves about after striking and starting swallowing ( and they usually do :cool: ) then you will probably get a few bits of bark now and again.

It really shouldn't cause too many problems though unless it is a massive amount or a huge peice.


dr del

I had a boa that gave me a bad time switching from live to frozen, and over time, began to refuse live (This was when I only had a few and put them in a feeding container to feed). What I ended up doing was leaving the F/T mouse in with the boa and putting a piece of paper towel over them. Worked every time. Once I got my 1st rack system, and got them out of the aquariums, I was able to feed them in the bins. After that, I never had another feeding problem with her. Your snake likely just needs security, as moving them to feed them seems to stress them out a bit.
Moral of my story, if you want to feed in a different container, try covering the snake and food with a paper towel, otherwise just feed in the container they live in and maybe offer a hide.

HTH

If you do decide to go with a seperate container, I don't think there would be a problem with moving him from it after he has eaten. Again, I have fed my snakes in seperate boxes and have never had a problem, I even fed my baby corns in paper bags (I know differnt species :) ) and they did great. Only downside about that is well, let me share my story. :D

When I first got my ball (don't have him anymore :( ) I started feeding him in a box and what I would do was grab the mouse by the tail and toss it in the box. He would snatch it up quick and was a VERY aggressive eater. One day I decided it was time for a deep enclosure cleaning for all of the critters... There was no one else home and I had no place to put him while I did this, I looked at his feeding box and thought "Meh, why not?" yeah, big mistake. When I was done with the cleaning I walked over to Damiens box to pull him out and right as I reached in he lunged forward and got my hand OUCH! Well it really wasn't too painful but it was more of the surprise that got me. I just kept my hand there and waited for him to release, I guess he realized it wasn't a mouse and let go after a few seconds. I gues my point is that if you use a seperate feeding box, just keep in mind that if you ever need to transport or hold him keep in mind that he might think it's feeding time. :D AND leason learned, I bought a pair of long tongs, don't handle feeding mice with my hands, wash hands before and after (even if I don't tough the mice or rats), and I don't just toss the mouse in the box anymore, lol! :D

I personally use a separate feeding area for my BP. I have aspen as a substrate, so i just transfer him to another box to feed, then put the box back in his terrarium. He is a fierce eater, so being uncomfortable has never been a problem for him. I never pick him back up after he eats, so I just let him crawl out and into his hide to digest, then remove his feeding box. I know people that feed in the cage without problems, but that's just me.

I feed them all in their enclosures. Especially with ball pythons who tend to be picky eaters by nature, removing them to feed them could cause them to refuse. I use aspen, and feed f/t rats (thawed in a ziplock bag so it's not wet) and have never witnessed any of them ingest the substrate. The only thing I would have been worried about is if I used coco fiber, it's just so heavy and gets everywhere. Other than that I don't see a need to feed in a different box, especially for a picky eater.

Thanks everyone so much for the input. I think I will start feeding my picky eaters and young eaters in their enclosure but I have 2 that are potentially snippy so I will refrain and keep feeding them outside of the enclosure.