feeding with tongs

Just one ball python here and I use my hand. Just grab the rat by the tail and drop him in. He's only a few months old right now, and I feed him in a 10 gallon tank. I just drop the rat in the side he's not.

I use tongs to feed....I grab the live rat/mouse by the back of the neck.

Tongs for the ball, and older corns, but for da babies, they get my hand! Easyer for a smaller snake to use hands..imo.

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Originally Posted by Noek

f/t wooden tongs - hold by the tail. I still jump when they strike :)

guess I'm addicted to the little adrenaline rush

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I jump too....and I'm not even the one feeding! LOL

Yea, I hold by the tail for everyone now. I just recently stopped using tongs for my carpet though, he's probably the most high strung of all my snakes when it comes to feeding time and it took me a while to get used to how he strikes.

And I totally still jump when they strike too. I even jump when my little 10 inch Spotted python strikes. :rofl:

i use tongs for my girl only because she's starting to get big.. ( not terribly big, 500 grams or so ) but i feel safer feeding her with tongs. she's always been on F/T but she's missed before and when my hand is a similar temp as her rats and probably smells like them because i've been "preparing dinner" i'd rather not have her latched on to me in a feeding strike. poor girl, she missed the memo on her prey being already dead ( she constricts for at least 5 minutes, then decides she's done a good job, and eats her rat).

We use hemostats for all our snakes and will always do so. Using stats allows my grandkids to help out and really minimizes the chances for an accidental hit!

I have 4 bps and feed f/t with hemostats. If a snake is already waiting for food it will snatch them from the hemostats. If not I set the rat on the snake's hide and go away for a few minutes and when I come back the rat is either gone or in the snake's grip.

I use feeding tongs here for my four balls. I have one girl who tries to tag me almost every week, her rats never even touch the floor, and I wouldn't want to be dropping that rat in with my bare hands! I still jump when they strike too!

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Originally Posted by TanyaL

I jump too....and I'm not even the one feeding! LOL

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I jump when they take their sweet time; flicking their tongues, moving the head around, getting into the strike position then WHAM! Gets me every time!! I'm glad they are so fast cause I jump so that I darn near pull the rat back out of the tub!! Silly snakes!