feed in tank or another tank/tub?

I dont need to argue about that just go read the book link a posted last and you will learn that they are domesticated and lots of info about that on the internet if you could just try to look for yourself

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Originally Posted by catboulet

I dont need to argue about that just go read the book link a posted last and you will learn that they are domesticated and lots of info about that on the internet if you could just try to look for yourself

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I did read the bit of the book you linked. It says that "they may only be in the early stages of the process, but it is certainly under way."

So once again, I don't think that just because they have been selectively bred for 20 years they can be considered domesticated.

there is just no point to this, what ever you think or what I think it`s never gonna be the same and this is starting to be ridiculous this post was about feeding in the tank or other containers I post what I was doing and works great for me and my snake and if you feed yours in there tank that`s fine too everybody do it there way any way there always two side on a coin!

I haven't read all the posts (I stopped after the debate about being domesticated or not) but back to the OP.

I have 3 balls, we are feeding them today for the first time. We have had our normal for 2 weeks with no luck on eating. We offered her in her enclosure with no luck a week ago. The other 2 we just got this past weekend. We are undecided about where to feed. We had a redtail boa about 4 or 5 years ago that was about 4 months old when we got her. She was very sweet and docile, we could handle her anytime we wanted, a great eater, never missed a meal. We fed her in her enclosure, after about the 4th time, every single time your hand went in her cage, she would strike. Not a scared strike, but a food mode and she drew blood more then once. It got to the point where you could not change her water without being bit to the point of blood. We fed her once a week on the same day, changed her water once a day and handled her about 4-5x a week.

I truly believe that feeding in her enclosure caused her to act like this. Maybe it's a boa thing, I don't know but I don't want to feed our balls in their enclosure. I hear all the arguments for it, I understand them and they make perfect sense to me. But given my past experience, I do not want to take the chance of my balls being aggressive. Maybe I'm crazy and some would call me wrong for thinking like this but given what I went through with my last snake, can you blame me?

this last post is very convincing any opinions? Any past experiences similar?

Alright Im convinced that its pretty much a personal preference...arguements for both methods make sense...Now if u go the feed out of tank route, how do you go about putting them back in the vivarium. Just pick em up? I would think they would still be in a hint mode and the risk for a bite would be elevated. with my corns i gently turn the bin and let them slide back in there cage from no more than a inch from the substrate

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Originally Posted by Wh00h0069

I feed all of my ball pythons in their own enclosures. I do not see any reason to stress them out by moving them to another enclosure, or increase my chances getting bit by handling them while they are in feed mode.

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Ditto
Plus if I moved every snake feeding day would take all day. I use a spray bottle to keep things throttled back a bit with aggressive feeders. a quick squirt when they look too eager usually makes them think twice. Its also great for keeping humidity up:gj:

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Originally Posted by bdc873

this last post is very convincing any opinions? Any past experiences similar?

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I feed my ball in her tank every time and she's never struck at me since I started(or ever). She actually would not eat in a separate enclosure and I know it was a stress thing because as soon as I changed her living setup and started feeding in tank she started hammering down food and has put on a bunch of weight.

There are a TON of people who feed in tank with no issues, in my experience and from other people too, BPs know what is food and what isn't especially if you make sure to feed with hemostats. The way I feed mine is I just "zombie dance" a mouse by the tail in front of the door to her hide, she hits it like a freight train from inside her hide and never even sees my hand. When I handle her I always take the hide off first, then I slowly put my hand in and touch her back down at the fat part of her(not near the head) so she know's I'm there. Then I just scoop her up and let her crawl all over me.

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Originally Posted by Bluebead

Ditto
Plus if I moved every snake feeding day would take all day. I use a spray bottle to keep things throttled back a bit with aggressive feeders. a quick squirt when they look too eager usually makes them think twice. Its also great for keeping humidity up:gj:

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i agree completely....i've owned a ball python and boa for just over a year now.....for the first few months, i actually did move them to a separate tub (because I was using these forums as a major resource for information) I had read a bunch of comments on this site about how if you fed them in their cages, they would become more aggressive or something when you reached your hand in to clean, etc.

But, i actually found the opposite to be true, particularly with my Boa. Everytime I moved him to the separate tub to feed, after feeding him, he would be so psyched up from feeding, that he'd be even more aggressive and snappy to the point where I got bit more moving them, rather than keeping them in their own cages. in fact, the only times i've ever been bit is before and after moving them into a separate tub for feeding.

so now (and for the past 8 months), I feed them in their own cages and do not move them, and i have had zero problems and my boa has even calmed down during feeds. my ball python has never missed a chance at eating and also has never, ever thought about biting me. my boa, will always look up when i open his cage, and might possibly snap out if i put my hand in, but like "Bluebead" says, just spray them a little with some water to calm them and back them down, and that works great to be honest.

during the time in between feeding, if i spray the boa to back him down, once i actually have picked him up, he is totally fine and calm. the only times he was ever stressed was when i was "bothering him" by moving him from cage to tub during feeding, which he sure let me know about by striking me. LOL

I would definatey recommend feeding in the same cage! :gj:

I personally feed in the animals enclosure, I have animals that live singular, and as long as there is no impaction issue I have never seen the need to separate the animal from it's enclosure..
This includes all different boids (including common boas and ball pythons), colubrids, "condas" etc.
I also feed frozen/thawed, no need for the live vs F/T debate, It's just what works for me after 12+ years experience.
Just thought I'd add in to the debate. I guess what works for me may not work for the next guy...
Rusty