Cage Aggression Due to Feeding Practices

Hobbyist or Breeder: Both

# Snakes in Collection: 22

How often do you handle your snakes: couple times a month per snake

In cage/Outside of cage to feed?: inside

# of snakes with cage aggression: 1

F/T P/K or Live?: F/T and occasionally live

Tank/Tub: Tubs

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

I was at work yesterday and one of my co-workers took the ball pythons out of their cage and took them into the back to feed them. While I was in the back and she was feeding (they actually ate for once, but I might add that later when I looked in the feeding log she had wrote down that she fed one of them 4 pinkies! Ugh!) I just said "Petsmart's way of feeding is so strange to me." She asked me what I meant and I mentioned that I fed in the cage. She then replies, "Oh no, you shouldn't do that. It makes them cage aggressive." I politely told her that no, that is a myth and whether you feed in the cage or outside the cage has no influence on cage aggression. She says, "I have to respectfully disagree." I then told her that I keep ball pythons and that I don't have any snakes that are cage aggressive BECAUSE I feed in the cage. I have one or two that are just cage aggressive anyway (Thriller my pastel, though he is improving a lot, and my corn snake who has been cage aggressive since day 1) She says, "Well then I think you are just lucky then." I told her that many breeders that I have spoken to do not experience cage aggression either even if they feed in the cage.

So I figured I'd take a poll here and see how many people actually experience ANY cage aggression. Please, please, please fill this out the way I write it because I want to compile all the data and possibly print it out to show my co-workers.

Hobbyist or Breeder:
# Snakes in Collection:
How often do you handle your snakes:
In cage/Outside of cage to feed?:
# of snakes with cage aggression:
F/T P/K or Live?:
Tank/Tub:

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i work at petsmart too! LOL

Hobbyist or Breeder: Hobbyist
# Snakes in Collection: 4
How often do you handle your snakes: 3 to 4 times a week
In cage/Outside of cage to feed?: In cage
# of snakes with cage aggression: 0
F/T P/K or Live?: F/T
Tank/Tub: Tubs in a rack

Hobbyist or Breeder: Hobbyist.
# Snakes in Collection: 4
How often do you handle your snakes: 2-3 times a week.
In cage/Outside of cage to feed?: In cage
# of snakes with cage aggression: None
F/T P/K or Live?: One eats live, the others get f/t
Tank/Tub: Rack system

I personally believe that cage feeding being the cause of agression is a myth that just refuses to die. :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

Well, if they alert to the fact that it's feeding day, then they can be 'cage aggressive'--they will come up out of the bin after food as soon as it opens, because the scent is in the air. I don't think that really, counts, though.

I don't have any ball pythons that normally behave that way, and I always feed them in their bin.

I have 41 snakes--40 balls and one Plains garter. (He's not cage aggressive, either).

I don't have any aggressive snakes. I have a few that can be touchy sometimes, but will calm if approached correctly.

Cage aggression is specifically when a snake strikes to FEED whenever its cage is opened. A snake that is simply aggressive all the time isn't 'cage aggressive'. A snake that strikes defensively is not displaying cage aggression.

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Agreed..

Hobbyist or Breeder: Hobbyist

# Snakes in Collection: 7 Ball Pythons and 1 Corn Snake

How often do you handle your snakes: 4 to 5 times a week

In cage/Outside of cage to feed?: In

# of snakes with cage aggression: The corn can be aggressive but he has never bitten.

F/T P/K or Live?: The corn and one of the BP's will eat F/T, P/K, or live and the rest of the BP's all eat live.

Tank/Tub: The corn is in a 55 gallon tank and the BP's are in tubs.

Hobbyist or Breeder: Both
# Snakes in Collection: 2 at the moment
How often do you handle your snakes: 1-3 Times a Week
In cage/Outside of cage to feed?: In
# of snakes with cage aggression: 0
F/T P/K or Live?: F/T - Sometimes Live
Tank/Tub: Tub

Hobbyist or Breeder: Hobbyist
# Snakes in Collection: 15
How often do you handle your snakes: some daily, most weekly
In cage/Outside of cage to feed?: In
# of snakes with cage aggression: 1 old female
F/T P/K or Live?: Mix
Tank/Tub: Tub

I've experienced cage aggression from feeding in the cage, but it's animal-dependent and very seasonal. Most of my older animals know the difference between my hand and a dead rodent; and in the winter they can't even be bothered to strike at the rodents. But in the summer, if there's even a hint of rodent in the air, then it's all gaping jaws and flying leaps.

Sounds like you'd have the same problem whether you're reaching in to drop a rat or to pick them up to move them to feed them.