New baby BP / First time snake owner question

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Originally Posted by Lemmywinkzz

Thanks, I most definitely will. Honestly the only reason I feed him in a seperate enclosure is because that I heard if they ingest aspen, that it could be harmful.

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A little bit of aspen will not hurt him. They can digest bone, nails and fur...a little bit of aspen doesn't stand a chance in there.

Alright, well tomorrow I feed him. I might give it a shot.

For the OP....

I get where you are coming from. We are new bp owners and were feeding in tub. My thoughts originally were about cage aggression. After enough reading and talking with an experienced herp owner I understand that cage aggresion, when it comes to bp, is a non issue. Also, tub feeding allowed my son, the primary owner of the snake, to be the one responsible for the feeding process. After listening to advice from a well respected member of this forum we went ahead and fed in the enclosure. She ate fine, was not tempted to strike me since I wasn't moving her from a tub to her tank, and didn't get one single piece of substrate with the rat. The process of the swallowing actually kept the rat clean as a whistle. As many have said, snakes have survived and thrived for millions of years eating rodents. They are perfectly designed to do so. For us, all I need to do is offer my son a chair so he can reach her with the tongs for feeding, I don't have to worry about the tub, it is less stress on the snake, and decreases the odds of getting bit because of a SFE (stupid feeding error). So far I have been far more concered about he feeding process than the snake.

So, overall, don't stress it. Your bp will be fine. Relax and enjoy the ride. Lots of great advice on this forum....just keep reading and learning.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lemmywinkzz

Thanks, I most definitely will. Honestly the only reason I feed him in a seperate enclosure is because that I heard if they ingest aspen, that it could be harmful.

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You should have said that in the beginning. Like it was already said the substrate is not going to be an issue. When it comes to snake keeping sometimes all you need to think about is "how would this get done in the wild?" I can promise you that your snake can handle a bit of aspen.

I will say that if you warm in hot water just dry the prey a little before offering to keep the aspen sticking to a minimum. But that is really all that is needed. Nothing crazy like feeding on a paper towel or plate is needed. Just drop the prey in or zombie dance it and the snake will handle the rest. I think once you try it you will actually enjoy feeding in the cage better.

Also do not let our little sarcastic remarks get to you. Just know that if you open the door many of us will walk through it. I wasn't trying to offend you I was just having fun with you. Also remember that you will probably never ask a question that has not been asked before so using the search feature will usually answer most noob questions without having to wait on responses.

Im glad your keeping an open mind and just realize that if the majority of the forum agrees on a method it is going to usually be your best bet in most situations. There can always be differences in each keepers practices and you will find us more than happy to throw out ideas or issues that most of us will be speaking from, like you said, "personal experience."

Good luck tonight. Welcome to the hobby! I hope you enjoy it.

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Originally Posted by KMG

You should have said that in the beginning. Like it was already said the substrate is not going to be an issue. When it comes to snake keeping sometimes all you need to think about is "how would this get done in the wild?" I can promise you that your snake can handle a bit of aspen.

I will say that if you warm in hot water just dry the prey a little before offering to keep the aspen sticking to a minimum. But that is really all that is needed. Nothing crazy like feeding on a paper towel or plate is needed. Just drop the prey in or zombie dance it and the snake will handle the rest. I think once you try it you will actually enjoy feeding in the cage better.

Also do not let our little sarcastic remarks get to you. Just know that if you open the door many of us will walk through it. I wasn't trying to offend you I was just having fun with you. Also remember that you will probably never ask a question that has not been asked before so using the search feature will usually answer most noob questions without having to wait on responses.

Im glad your keeping an open mind and just realize that if the majority of the forum agrees on a method it is going to usually be your best bet in most situations. There can always be differences in each keepers practices and you will find us more than happy to throw out ideas or issues that most of us will be speaking from, like you said, "personal experience."

Good luck tonight. Welcome to the hobby! I hope you enjoy it.

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Thank you, no I was not offended at all. I was just unsure why I was being mocked when I was simply requesting input. I never asked about the seperate feeding enclosure, not sure how everyone got started on it. Though tomorrow I am going to give it a try. I do very much enjoy him so far, I grew up around reptiles my whole life. I honestly want to get bit, just to get it over with and get the fear factor out of the way. I'm not going to purposely get bit, or try to antagonize my little dude.

You will find that threads evolve or devolve often around here.

When/If you get tagged it will happen quick. They are incredibly fast. I have a few pics in my profile of some of the times I have been tagged by my bloods when they were young and my gtp. They bleed but I can honestly say that not one has hurt.

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Originally Posted by KMG

You will find that threads evolve or devolve often around here.

When/If you get tagged it will happen quick. They are incredibly fast. I have a few pics in my profile of some of the times I have been tagged by my bloods when they were young and my gtp. They bleed but I can honestly say that not one has hurt.

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Meh, I have a great pain tolerance. I've broken many bones and messed myself up pretty bad as a kid. (Skateboarding/snowboarding/dirtbiking and just plain being stupid) When a BP bites, does he latch on or just nip? What I'm worried about is getting him off me safely without hurting the dude.

Usually just a tag. The times I have been tagged it was over before I even knew it was happening. That's not saying that some balls have not latched on.

Most say a ball bite feels like rubbing the rough side of Velcro.

Search the forum and you will find what some have done to get them to let go.

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Originally Posted by 200xth

A little bit of aspen will not hurt him. They can digest bone, nails and fur...a little bit of aspen doesn't stand a chance in there.

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Actually, wood fibers, being cellulose, is not digestable.

I fed in a tub for a long time with my 1 BP and had no problems. I now feed in her enclosure because it's easier on her. It's all a learning process and what works for both of you. I also use coco husk as a substrate because I like the more natural earth look and because it holds humidity better. Everyone does things differently. It jus depends on how it works for each person and snake. I've been tagged by a BP and it felt like getting my finger pricked by a needle. It was over before I realized it lol. I got 1 drop of blood from it. The poor thing was very hungry, and I was the lucky person that was helping to feed it. I was very inexperienced. It was before I got my girl and I was trying to get experience to take good care of her. I learned not to hold the rodent by hand lol.