What do you guys use??

I've got plenty of time, but figured it can't hurt to ask around for pros and cons.

Eventually I'll need to upgrade my feeding tongs so what are the pros and cons to different tongs and hemostats?

Straight tweezer style? Angled tweezer style? Rubber feet? Hemostats?

Thanks in advance, I'm curious to see what the keepers who keep medium/large and large snakes have to say.

I dont know how people use tweezer style. They KILL my hand. Especially when trying to feed ETBs, and that can take 15+ minutes of dangling.

I use grill tongs, like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DBPL435..._wBMyFb47FEK9J

Theres more purchase for your hand, so it's way easier to hold a huge rat.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wnateg

I dont know how people use tweezer style. They KILL my hand. Especially when trying to feed ETBs, and that can take 15+ minutes of dangling.

I use grill tongs, like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DBPL435..._wBMyFb47FEK9J

Theres more purchase for your hand, so it's way easier to hold a huge rat.

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Thank you! That's exactly the type of reply I was hoping for.

I hadn't thought of the hand comfort for myself, but that's a good point. My geriatric, arthritic, carpal tunnel ridden paws appreciate it!

Nowadays my snakes pretty much all eat fast, so I have no issues with my 12" tweezers...but I understand the objection if you have to keep dangling prey for a while.

I also have large (18" + 24") non-locking hemostats for hots & snakes with a bigger reach. I do not recommend the 24"...they're just too long, awkward & out of balance-
at least for my hands? But the 18" are great, easy to grip.

Buy quality tools though...there are some cheaper ones out there...they're heavier metal but less flexible & tend to rust. With as much as you hold these tools, you want
good ones.

I've never used the hemostats so I have no input there. I have a pair of 12" tongs for my smaller snakes and a pair of 18" for the bigger ones. All of my snakes strike pretty quick so it's not an issue for me to just hold them up for a few seconds. The only issue I have with them is the rubber tips on the 18" tongs. They don't "grip" the prey item very well so I would suggest not getting them with the tips on them.

To feed my boas and dwarf retic I use an 18 inch locking hemostat, much easier for me to keep the rat zombie dancing xl rats for 10 mins with the lock then my 24 inch tweezers. I only use the tweezers to feed tegus, they eat immediately and the extra length is nice to have.

I'm currently using 16" curved hemostats and like them. Everyone here eats with gusto so hand fatigue isn't much of an issue. I'm looking into 24"-36" tongs from AEStoney or Midwest Tongs in the future when the gang is bigger. Still have a pair of 40" wide mouth tongs from Reptile Basics for when I had the retics but they're kinda heavy and awkward especially when they had a 3xl Rat or guinea pig in them.

I use 12 inch tweezers too. For snakes too big, or too fast, for me to safely feed with them, I just open the doors and chuck the prey in their general direction.

Those feeding tongs that come from petsmart. I don't dangle my snakes food. I rest it on the floor of the enclosure and quickly wiggle it side to side. My ball python takes his food pretty much instantly. Sometimes I can't get it into the tub before he's trying to get it. I'm always afraid of breaking the skin of the rat by pinching too hard, though.

Thanks everyone!!!!

To this point the whole crew strikes pretty quickly, so no hand fatigue yet, but it's definitely something I'm keeping in mind.

I was guessing many would say it's simply a matter of preference, but was hoping you guys would be more specific and y'all haven't let me down!

Keep em coming please!