2 quick feeding questions

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Originally Posted by Igor

your right its rare...but its better not to condition it in any way that it might bite you...and also if you are using substrate other than newspapers or papertowels, your always runnin the risk of it being ingested...

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well i think its worth the risk because ive read about this and its okay if the snake swallows a piece or two.. its happened to me twice and the snake was fine.. i'd rather use bark then newspaper or paper towels because for 1 it looks a lot better and 2 because its a lot less work.. newspaper ur gonna have to change a lot

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Originally Posted by 51-50 Python

well i think its worth the risk because ive read about this and its okay if the snake swallows a piece or two.. its happened to me twice and the snake was fine.. i'd rather use bark then newspaper or paper towels because for 1 it looks a lot better and 2 because its a lot less work.. newspaper ur gonna have to change a lot

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yeah, well whatever works best....for me, i take the snake out durin feeding day, than introduce the rat in a box...where it cant see it, than after about two mins i open up the box and the rat is gone within 5-10 seconds, its not a bad feeding response, considiring it didnt eat for me for a loong time while i fed it in the tank

Some great tips, thanks.

If feeding outside of the cage, the tub doesn't need to be heated I guess, right?

edit:
If he doesn't take the food after a little while do I try again the next day?

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Originally Posted by YvesA

Some great tips, thanks.

If feeding outside of the cage, the tub doesn't need to be heated I guess, right?

edit:
If he doesn't take the food after a little while do I try again the next day?

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lol na it doesnt need to be heated because the feeding is only gonna take 10 minutes max.. and if it doesnt eat try again in a week

Sorry to bump this up but I feed my BP tonight and it went great.

Took her a few minutes after waking up to realize food was there but she ate.
I've seen videos of ball pythons feeding but that was amazing to watch. :snake:

Is this one of the signs of a healthy python?

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Originally Posted by 51-50 Python

i never said it was " impossible " im sure it happens EXTREMELY RARELY... but i dont think its worth it to take the snake in and out just to feed it everytime because that seems stressful for the snake.. if it were such a common thing then my BP would have bit me by now but its never even tried to

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To get bitten during feeding is not rare at all. It happens when owners do not think before they put their hand in the range of their snake. I do agree that removing your snake from its enclosure is not necessary, but some owners do do it.

To the OP, if you are concerned in the future about feeding and your snake consuming substrate, you can put a piece of newspaper over the substrate where you put the prey, but this does not usually help for feeding live because the prey can go where ever it pleases. If you do become concerned about your bp consuming substrate on a regular basis, unprinted newspaper may be better to use rather then substrate. I personally use Scott Shop Towels, because they are not as unsightly as printed newspaper, VERY thick and absorbent, and easy to clean.

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Originally Posted by missi182

To get bitten during feeding is not rare at all. It happens when owners do not think before they put their hand in the range of their snake. I do agree that removing your snake from its enclosure is not necessary, but some owners do do it.

To the OP, if you are concerned in the future about feeding and your snake consuming substrate, you can put a piece of newspaper over the substrate where you put the prey, but this does not usually help for feeding live because the prey can go where ever it pleases. If you do become concerned about your bp consuming substrate on a regular basis, unprinted newspaper may be better to use rather then substrate. I personally use Scott Shop Towels, because they are not as unsightly as printed newspaper, VERY thick and absorbent, and easy to clean.

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Edit: Removing a snake from its enclosure for feeding also increases the chance of getting bitten, and putting your hands in range of your snakes strike during feeding can result in a bite.

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Originally Posted by missi182

To the OP, if you are concerned in the future about feeding and your snake consuming substrate, you can put a piece of newspaper over the substrate where you put the prey, but this does not usually help for feeding live because the prey can go where ever it pleases. If you do become concerned about your bp consuming substrate on a regular basis, unprinted newspaper may be better to use rather then substrate. I personally use Scott Shop Towels, because they are not as unsightly as printed newspaper, VERY thick and absorbent, and easy to clean.

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I only feed F/T prey.
This time I choose to feed in it's enclosure...
I removed her 'cold' hide box (so she would have some room) and I put down paper towel where the prey was, then after she ate, she went into her 'warm' hide box and I removed the paper and put back her 'cold' hide box.
I'll most likely just switch substrate though, just to be sure.

i guess i should have said this earlier. when we feed our snakes we make sure that we use a dollar store set of tongs for like salad to hold the feeders. it might seem silly but it gives you extra room between the feeder and you. Especially when feeding ft i can get the mice close to my snakes and keep my hands at a safe distance.

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Originally Posted by shadi11

i guess i should have said this earlier. when we feed our snakes we make sure that we use a dollar store set of tongs for like salad to hold the feeders. it might seem silly but it gives you extra room between the feeder and you. Especially when feeding ft i can get the mice close to my snakes and keep my hands at a safe distance.

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Yes that is a great tip (one that I forgot to mention too:)) I use hemostats which are like strong thin metal tongs, but dollar store tongs work perfect!!