In or Out?

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Originally Posted by JBallPython

All of my ball pythons feed in their tubs....I've never been bitten, I don't mess with them on feeding day when they are all business.:)

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You bet'cha!! Feeding day is JUST that...nothing more (unless pouring in water). All handling is after digestion days and the rest of the week.

No biting, no problems. Feeding Day is all business and they're all fed and eating IN their tubs or tanks.

Is it ok to handle the snake a day after I fed it? since its just a baby.

From Bearhart's post:


This, of course, changed when I switched to in-cage feeding. Also, many members here describe eager behavior during feeding time - which includes the snapping up of rodents practically before they hit the substrate. I'm seriously skeptical that you'll find an out-of-cage feeder that does anything like this.


That is not true for all....

With Baby, I was feeding her in a separate tub, live and I wanted to isolate her to encourage her to eat. After we changed her temps and got the husbandry right, she DID display the typical hunting and snatching WHEN SHE WAS IN THE SEP. TUB.

One reason why a snake moved to another tub and then fed may NOT exhibit normal hunting behaviour is b/c:

1. the smells are different in the other tub,
2. they've been physically jostled in the move and therefore lightly stressed,
3. they are ambush hunters, and now they're unprepared/no longer in hunt mode.


Just my :2cent: and thoughts to ponder.

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Originally Posted by trumetal96

Is it ok to handle the snake a day after I fed it? since its just a baby.

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Safer to wait two days (no matter the age of the snake) and let it have a chance to digest before handling it again. :)

ok, thanks

I started out w/ my first bp feeding out of tank. That lasted for about 8 mos and I went to feeding in cage and have never looked back. My other two year olds I have always fed in the tubs. I have never been bit or even come close even on feeding day and right after feeding. I stick my hand in to give fresh water etc w/ no problems right after feeding. And my two young ones are very aggressive feeders I can hardly open the tub without them jumping out to hit the mouse. I also wash my hands well after handling the rodents.


As for the eating of substrate my Ozzy when he was in a AP cage ate reptibark all the time and never had a problem. They can digest bones,hair etc and pc of wood is not a problem.

Dang - I've been busy and missed alot of a good thread... I'l reply anway.

I agree that a good feeding response is a great thing. I also feel like I understand the pros and cons of each method now. I've chosen to feed my BP out and I feed my JCP in. Corn snake is still up in the air but I'm leaning towards out because last feed he got this little peice of wood stuck in his mouth during the feed and it took him a while to get it out.

This is a weird thing because my JCP is a strong feeder and I would consder him far more aggressive than my BP. But he seems to chill right back out after eating and doesn't get all wound up on feeding day until he actually sees the rat enter. So, it just seems to work.

Now, with my BP he gets all wound up and is clearly heavily affected by the residuals smells. He cruises his cage looking in every nook and cranny (or sits in tense watching positions) for a couple of days after eating and regularly tracks me. Last weekend I switched back to out of cage feeding and those behaviors stopped just like that.

So I think that two important things to consider are a) what's important to the keeper, and b) the snake's personality. I get a bit frusterated when some people act like it doesn't make a difference because I think it does (or at least can). Sometimes the rationale for out-of-cage feeding is made out to be a sort of myth. I'd have to say that, at least for some snakes, the rationale does apply.

One thing is for sure is that it's all speculation until you try it both ways. In the past I've argued on the subject and stressed over which people were telling me 'wrong' and whether or not I was doing things the right way. Now that I actually have some experience with both methods under my belt, conflicting advice on the subject just doesn't stress me out as much. I think that you can save yourself alot of grief by getting good experienced advice, and trying to do things correctly the first time. But, I also think that its good to balance it with the experience that comes from trying different ways yourself to get what I'd guess you'd call "hands-on" experience.

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Originally Posted by jotay

As for the eating of substrate my Ozzy when he was in a AP cage ate reptibark all the time and never had a problem. They can digest bones,hair etc and pc of wood is not a problem.

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I was under the impression that impaction may not happen very often but, when it does, it can be deadly. I recall a member here posting that he had a snake die from impaction.

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Originally Posted by bearhart

So I think that two important things to consider are a) what's important to the keeper, and b) the snake's personality. I get a bit frusterated when some people act like it doesn't make a difference because I think it does (or at least can). Sometimes the rationale for out-of-cage feeding is made out to be a sort of myth. I'd have to say that, at least for some snakes, the rationale does apply.

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Your first post in this thread was a pretty good post....it presented both sides of the issue with anecdotal evidence of your own personal experience. That's fine. It's good to say, "Here's what I personally went through....and here is the other side if the issue as well."

But then you reverted to style and insisted that all feedings inside enclosures will lead to a more aggressive overall behavior. You backed off a bit later on by admitting that it "CAN" affect it, which also implies that it may not...but it's still a very strong stance to insist on a high risk of aggressive behavior simply because you drop a rat in the enclosure once a week....while at the same time being critical of those who insist it doesn't matter.

Why is it your ONE episode of limited experience outweighs on the scale of credibility literally hundreds and hundreds of other "Inside" feedings over a span of decades that show no behavioral change whatsoever?

Your experience is important; I don't discount that. But that one, rare, exception to the rule (which may or may not actually be an exception because there's not enough evidence either way yet) does not negate the argument that feeding inside the enclosure is perfectly safe and does not promote overall aggressiveness toward the keeper.

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Originally Posted by JLC

Your first post in this thread was a pretty good post....it presented both sides of the issue with anecdotal evidence of your own personal experience. That's fine. It's good to say, "Here's what I personally went through....and here is the other side if the issue as well."

But then you reverted to style and insisted that all feedings inside enclosures will lead to a more aggressive overall behavior. You backed off a bit later on by admitting that it "CAN" affect it, which also implies that it may not...but it's still a very strong stance to insist on a high risk of aggressive behavior simply because you drop a rat in the enclosure once a week....while at the same time being critical of those who insist it doesn't matter.

Why is it your ONE episode of limited experience outweighs on the scale of credibility literally hundreds and hundreds of other "Inside" feedings over a span of decades that show no behavioral change whatsoever?

Your experience is important; I don't discount that. But that one, rare, exception to the rule (which may or may not actually be an exception because there's not enough evidence either way yet) does not negate the argument that feeding inside the enclosure is perfectly safe and does not promote overall aggressiveness toward the keeper.

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Well I never meant to say anything even close to "all feedings inside enclosures will lead to a more aggressive overall behavior". Or, if I did I admit that I was over generalizing. I'm not sure if you are referring to this thread or another but I have been trying very hard to say that I think its a matter of the keeper's preference and snake's personality. I've been most adament about the issue of whether or not the decision has any ramifications - not whether or not it was right or wrong.

I admit to tempering my language on the subject more. The recent threads showed alot of posts with more detailed accounts of trying it both ways and such. I guess you could call it "backing off" but all I'm trying to do is reconcile the differences and accept what other people have said. So, I can only conclude that it must be that my BP is fairly unique and that its better to say "it CAN have an effect" rather than "it DOES have an effect".

I think you're being kind of hard on me, really. Alot of the people that feed in-cage posted in this very thread that they take special care when dealing with the snake on feeding day because it is expecting a meal to be placed in the cage. Are you saying that you think these snakes would act the exact same way if they were fed out of cage? (Once again, please keep in mind that I'm not debating the pros and cons of either method. I'm most interested in establishing what those pros and cons might actually be).