Feed in cage or separate cage?

Do you feed your bp in its regular cage or do you move it into a different one for feeding?

In the cage. Avoids stress issues, avoids getting bitten, and is much less of a hassle.

When I first started feeding live (tried frozen for a while and they just didnt eat as steadily) I moved them to a different enclosure.

But I soon realized it was just less stressful on the snake and easier on me to feed in their regular enclosure. So its a win win situation all the way around for me :)

Typically, the reason people want to use a separate cage is to reduce cage aggression. I was in this camp to start. However, remember the animal you're dealing with here, its a ball python, yeah its an "unpredictable" animal, but they are pretty harmless. I've not had my BP, or my brothers 5 ever have a go at me, and they are all fed inside their enclosures. Its less of a hassle and they don't develop any cage aggression, even on the day I feed, I can take out Lucius and hang out with him, put him back in his cage, an hour later, he snaps up his food. IMHO, just do it in the cage

I feed my bp in its cage with no problems. But than again i only had is for a month or so, yea.

In the cage... much easier less problems..

Separate, only because its a good idea with loose bedding. Bedding getting impacted in the mouth/throat would not be good.

I was just chatting with someone about their ball pythons not feeding. They had resorted to assist feeding.

Apparently they are losing weight, even with the assist feeding.

I asked about their feeding technique. They move the animals to a separate feeding tub to keep down "cage aggression".

Draw your own conclusions.

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Originally Posted by Icatsme

I was just chatting with someone about their ball pythons not feeding. They had resorted to assist feeding.

Apparently they are losing weight, even with the assist feeding.

I asked about their feeding technique. They move the animals to a separate feeding tub to keep down "cage aggression".

Draw your own conclusions.

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Crazy! I feed in the same enclosure and never had a problem. My friend has bred balls for years and does the same and never bitten!

I feed everyone in their cages.

In......

I feed everyone in their tubs, I've never had a problem doing it this way. Just make a routine so your snakes know it's time to eat. I take out their water bowls and let them sit for a minute to figure it out and throw the food in.

I feed in a separate enclosure, not because of "cage aggression" or anything but because I have loose bedding and it gives me a chance to easily clean out his enclosure... Aldous has never been a picky eater, the second I put him in the feeding container he gets into the strike position, he knows whats up :gj:

I feed in their tubs. I don't have the time to remove everyone to feed them in seperate tubs.

I fed Tanveer in a seperate cage when I first got him in May because that is what the previous owner had done. Him being my first reptile and BP I didn't know any better;) However, after only a couple successful feedings he went on a 4-1/2 month fast. I tried everything possible to get him to eat except trying to feed him in his enclosure:O.

Once I sucked it up and tried feeding him in his own enclosure I decided that I will never go back to the seperate bin!!!!!

First off when I used to use a seperate bin he would ignore the F/T rat for atleast 20 minutes or so before acting slightly interested. Only once did I ever get a good feed response where he struck within seconds. SecondlyI believe that the stress of moving him to new surroundings once a week (even though it was the same food bin) was just too much for him and he felt pretty insecure.

He now has had 4 very successful feedings since coming off of his fast and me feeding him in his viv!!! He strikes quickly and I believe prefers being able to be in his hide when he strikes and eats because he always retreats back into it:P

I was your classic case of being freaked out that he wouldn't be able to tell the difference between when I was going to feed him, handle him, clean etc..That he would become cage aggressive etc.. However, I am happy to report that he is still the same goofy guy he has always bin and has not acted aggressive once towards me. I even was in his viv adjusting the probes 15 minutes before I was going to feed him this week. He slithered out of his hide, noticed I was being rather boring ( :D ) and turned right back around into his hide again until I brought his dinner LOL.

i feed my girls in a seperate tub but only because they share a tank and because i use the loose jungle bedding
when they get bigger and i seperate them ill probably switch to feeding them in their enclosure

Our bp is about 2-3 months old so we're feeding him every week.
I like to feed him in a separate container cuz those lil mouse brats
like to pee while they're dying. Too much of a hassle to clean an
already clean cage every week. I don't want baby rolling around in mouse piss.

I'm not worried about cage aggression, I'm worried about mouse pee
getting soaked into my aspen or bark.

I feed in her tub, and have never had a problem with cage aggression. There are holes on the lid, I put the bag with the mouse in it on top of those holes right above her hide, and she smells it within 2-3 seconds. She knows when it's time to eat, and she knows my hand is not dinner.

A lot of variables come into play here.

How many snakes you have?
What types of snakes you have?

Those are just 2. My anaconda I feed in a seperate enclosure, not for any particular reason but I just want her to never know her enclosure as getting food.

My Rufous beaked snake I don't feed in a seperate enclosure, he eats in his tank.

If I had a venomous snake? It would eat in its cage.

If I had a BP, it would probably eat in a seperate enclosure.

Ball pythons, always in their own cage. They're just too insecure. You may get a few individuals who will accept being fed outside their cages, but I seriously doubt it's that common.

I only see my ball pythons coming out looking for food on or the day just before feeding day. A little nudge with a hook or a squirt from a spray bottle, and they settle down. Cage aggression is virtually never an issue, and it's easily defused if it occurs.

Regarding the Anaconda--it's a double-edged sword. Yes, your anaconda may never see its cage as being the place where it is fed. However, you will wind up having to move a keyed-up anaconda that has just been fed and may be looking for seconds, back into its enclosure. Good luck with that, and make sure your insurance is paid up.

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

Ball pythons, always in their own cage. They're just too insecure. You may get a few individuals who will accept being fed outside their cages, but I seriously doubt it's that common.

I only see my ball pythons coming out looking for food on or the day just before feeding day. A little nudge with a hook or a squirt from a spray bottle, and they settle down. Cage aggression is virtually never an issue, and it's easily defused if it occurs.

Regarding the Anaconda--it's a double-edged sword. Yes, your anaconda may never see its cage as being the place where it is fed. However, you will wind up having to move a keyed-up anaconda that has just been fed and may be looking for seconds, back into its enclosure. Good luck with that, and make sure your insurance is paid up.

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LOL, my conda is more calmer then most bps, actually then any other snake i've seen. Go look under the anaconda section and look at possibly thread, with a video of her eating.

They're on aspen so separately for me is more safety than anything else--however, I'm not opposed to feeding in the tub since that's what I did for my newly acquired female because she wouldn't take it in a separate tub, but I had to keep watch and pull off pieces of shredded aspen from the mouse (which had been dried but still stuck) as she was swallowing.

After the initial feeding, it didn't matter where I fed her, she'd take it no matter what.

Everyone of my snakes gets fed in it's enclourser. No "aggression" that I've ever seen. LOL Just a few hungry snakes wanting their rats every Saturday though. :)

In their cages.
If you pre scent when you feed they'll get into feed mode and come out of their hides looking for a meal. When i go to handle i (obviously dont prescent) pull the hides off them and they get prepared to get picked up.
Never had any issues.

I use seperate because it's a hassle to have to clean rat defication out of the tank and sometimes blood is an issue (happened when she caught the rat, wrapped around it and repositioned her mouth and allowed blood to flow onto her and into the seperate container).

I'm a skeptic when is come to cage aggression because I know some BPs are like that around here and there have been instances. I'm glad I only have a problem with her not eating because the rat is white and not colored. For some reason, correct me if I'm crazy, but my BP doesn't like white rats. I would buy white but she'd never take it... I would have to exchange for a colored and she'd take it down right away, no problems. All my animals are picky as hell.

I should have gotten a vidoe of her this week. She was a meany. Spying her prey for like ten minutes before getting it. She was really into it the other day.

I feed mine in their own tubs. I just make sure I wash my hands before getting them out of the tubs, especially if I have been handling any mice or rats.

Being a breeder of feeder and pet rats, I handle my rats all the time before I handle my snakes, and I rarely get bit :P
My hatchlings bite like mad but that's a good thing :D

A plain ol' grocery store paper bag is the "restaurant". While Patriot is dining, I use that opportunity to clean out the tank.

Everyone (all 65) eat in their own homes.

A hungry lurking snake is a great thing, and I am not gonna mess with that.

As is, I have Kevin and Olive meeting me and snatching the prey from the tongs before I can get it into their enclosures, I cannot imagine trying to handle them at that time. :O

Bruce

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Originally Posted by Bruce Whitehead

Everyone (all 65) eat in their own homes.

A hungry lurking snake is a great thing, and I am not gonna mess with that.

As is, I have Kevin and Olive meeting me and snatching the prey from the tongs before I can get it into their enclosures, I cannot imagine trying to handle them at that time. :O

Bruce

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this. I have snakes who will fly out of their tubs, my normal female and my spider especially. My carpet is getting to that point too. Pretty much everyone except my pastel (but its ok, i still love him). My new pick up is the same way. They are always looking for seconds and i do NOT want to move them. I have to sneak the rat in stealth style, then let them know its there so i dont get bitten.

I used to feed in a separate container but abandoned that idea over a year ago when my girl originally went on fast.

i use to feed in a separate tank due to the rats getting scared or nervous and pee'n and poo'n all over the place which is the most awful smell i have encountered. but as she has gotten older she doesnt really play those waitin games anymore... she sees the prey and its gone. so i let her eat in her place. that way when she is done she can go straight to her water bowl and back in her hide.

This is what Big Gunns has to say. If you're worried about the "cage aggression" of your BALL PYTHON!!!!!!! You better be a female....and a very leeeetle one.:D

Same cage people. It's a BALL PYTHON!!!!!!!

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Originally Posted by Big Gunns

This is what Big Gunns has to say. If you're worried about the "cage aggression" of your BALL PYTHON!!!!!!! You better be a female....and a very leeeetle one.:D

Same cage people. It's a BALL PYTHON!!!!!!!

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:D Too true.

IMO, if feeding in-cage is good enough for dangerous snakes like hots and giants, it's good enough for BPs.

I always feed all of mine in a separate tub. I have my reasons for this and don't plan to get into it, really. Suffice to say that all of my snakes eat just fine and are doing wonderfully. :) ;)

I too, used to take my pythons out of the normal cage and used a sterilite to feed but if you have more than a couple ball pythons this starts to get really old really quick. Trying to clean the container between each snake, or have 6 other containers out to feed is just way to much of a hassle. I do also notice several of my more skittish babies eating a lot better without the added stress of being moved and it does not seem to have changed the aggression in any way.:snake:

i feed in a cardboard box cuz i had a scare with loose bedding one time and dont want it to happen again.

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Originally Posted by filly77

When I first started feeding live (tried frozen for a while and they just didnt eat as steadily) I moved them to a different enclosure.

But I soon realized it was just less stressful on the snake and easier on me to feed in their regular enclosure. So its a win win situation all the way around for me :)

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same

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Originally Posted by lps2

i feed in a separate enclosure, not because of "cage aggression" or anything but because i have loose bedding and it gives me a chance to easily clean out his enclosure... The second i put him in the feeding container he gets into the strike position, he knows whats up :gj:

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x2

Quote:
Originally Posted by lps2
i feed in a separate enclosure, not because of "cage aggression" or anything but because i have loose bedding and it gives me a chance to easily clean out his enclosure... The second i put him in the feeding container he gets into the strike position, he knows whats up


x3

I feed my Ball in his enclosure and my BCI and Cali king in separate containers. The King will eventually start eating in its enclosure once it gets a little bigger. The BCI will always eat in a separate container.

I feed all my Corns, JCP's and my Cali king all in thier enclosure but in the beginning I started off feeding my Corns in a separate container.

I used to feed them in their cage, but I was afraid of the loose substrate, and started feeding them in a separate tank. No problem at all. I could feed them both ways, but the separate cage works fine for me.

I always feed in a seperate cage. My BPs have never shown stress and rarely refuse a meal. It just the way i have always done it and my snakes know that they get handled before they eat and they are fine with it, i do give them 10 or so mins to remember why they are in this little rodent smelling cage before i dangle there dinner. I started doing this first with my Red tail boa cause she is a little cranky and the last thing i need is that big girl thinking foods a coming every time the top comes off her cage. I think it is a choice that we all have to make for ourselves. I do know that the sometime my snakes will hit a thawed rat so hard that the belly rips open and blood and stuff gets in the feed cage. I would not want mess in my bed room so i show them the kindness of keeping that out of their home :)



chris

I feed all my snakes in separate containers. It works great for us. I also feed my beardies their live food in a separate container.

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Originally Posted by artis223

I always feed in a seperate cage. My BPs have never shown stress and rarely refuse a meal. It just the way i have always done it and my snakes know that they get handled before they eat and they are fine with it, i do give them 10 or so mins to remember why they are in this little rodent smelling cage before i dangle there dinner. I started doing this first with my Red tail boa cause she is a little cranky and the last thing i need is that big girl thinking foods a coming every time the top comes off her cage. I think it is a choice that we all have to make for ourselves. I do know that the sometime my snakes will hit a thawed rat so hard that the belly rips open and blood and stuff gets in the feed cage. I would not want mess in my bed room so i show them the kindness of keeping that out of their home :)



chris

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I agree with this post completely. I have a 7 ft. Red Tail and when I first got him (rescued him from certain death) less than a year ago, he had been fed in cage and I started out feeding him out. He messed me up a few times at first, but he is totally fine with it now. The main reason I dealt with getting tagged a few times at first was because I don't want to deal with that aggression every time I go to handle him or change water, etc. I know this is a Ball Python forum and Red Tail Boas are different. It's relative to the fact that I have been feeding both of my 9 mo. old BP's out sinc I got them and they are so o.k. with it, and are totally relaxed when handles about 20 mins. after each feed. That said, if I noticed any stress around feeding time at any time in their lives, I would consider changing out the loose substrate and feeding in cage if it makes my snakes happier. This is working very well for me now, though.

Seperate, only because EVERYTIME Shogun strikes & coils, the darn mouse pees n poops all over the place o(0.o)o

I used to feed my Ball pythons in a separate container and didn't have that many problems. I fed Candice on a separate container for over a year and never had a problem with her. Though I did have one snake (Dumeril's boa) that never ate in a separate container. One day I just started feedig all of my snakes in their own enclosures because it was a lot easier.

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Originally Posted by otiswest

I agree with this post completely. I have a 7 ft. Red Tail and when I first got him (rescued him from certain death) less than a year ago, he had been fed in cage and I started out feeding him out. He messed me up a few times at first, but he is totally fine with it now. The main reason I dealt with getting tagged a few times at first was because I don't want to deal with that aggression every time I go to handle him or change water, etc. I know this is a Ball Python forum and Red Tail Boas are different. It's relative to the fact that I have been feeding both of my 9 mo. old BP's out sinc I got them and they are so o.k. with it, and are totally relaxed when handles about 20 mins. after each feed. That said, if I noticed any stress around feeding time at any time in their lives, I would consider changing out the loose substrate and feeding in cage if it makes my snakes happier. This is working very well for me now, though.

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So, are you saying you handle your Ball pythons 20 minutes after they eat?

all snakes here from bp's to retics all fed in their enclosure. All animals but the bp's are hook trained and with al the snakes that we have raised we have never had an issue with cage aggression. this topic came up the other day with a woman in a store when another woman told her I had snakes. when I asked her what and how she feeds her bp she told me large rats outside the cage and when I asked why , she said because she knows how dangerous and aggressive they get when fed in the cage. I asked what made her think that , and she said she had a burm once that she fed in the cage and everytime she tried to take it out it would strike repetedly. I asked how old and big was the burm, and her responce shocked me. She said the burm was 6 yrs old and only 5 ft. I told her if I was a burm at that age and size I would try to eat more also. She just looked at me and said I didnt know what I was talking about and would not listen to anything I had to say. I just ended up walking away.

I feed in the tank, as I don't have a suitable second tank set up for her to digest in, and I handle her enough so that she doesn't think the only reason I'm ever disturbing her is for a meal, so she's not likely to be snappy.