The Feeding question: Separate Feeding Box or in Cage?

Ok So I am hearing all sorts of things about the best way to feed ball pythons. I have a fairly decent collection and have been feeding them in separate feeding boxes. I have one very picky eater and driving me crazy but that's another post. I want all my critters to be happy and as stress free as possible and I have been reading about feeding within their home enclosures verses separate and want to do whats best.

I have a very new 70g hatchling home(bought him last week a little over a month old) that I have been feeding in his enclosure. He's so little I just want him to eat. (He ate for the first time for me yesterday wohoo!) I wanted to know what everyone's opinion on this was. I have heard so many contradictory things and wanted to bring it to the experts. Thanks for all your help!

I feed all of mine in there tubs and there are perfectly fine no aggression. I feel you are chancing a regurge feeding in a seperate box and then putting them back home.

I feed in my tubs. I use to move them into a feeding enclosure, but found that I had quite a few that wouldn't eat consistently.... I have a better feeding success rate now that I don't move them. I have never found them to be more aggressive either....

Thanks for the input, I was worried about aggression but I really fear the regurge as well that's why I want to see if possible to feed in their own space. Thanks much! I do have that one picky eater maybe that is his problem.

I feed in the enclosure. As a matter of fact I take his hides and water bowl out about 15 minutes prior to feeding so that nothing is the way. It works pretty good now because when I bring the f/t he seems to know the deal and always has the upper half of his body in the air looking up at the top of the enclosure ready to chow down. He has been hitting right away and when everything is down I put stuff back in and he goes right to his enclosure and starts digesting. (Hope I didn't just jinx myself...hehehe:))

Do those of you who feed in the tubs ever notice substrate getting stuck to the rat? If so, how do you avoid this problem?

use newspaper

I used to have the stuck substrate problem so i switched to newspaper and its cheaper to.

The only problem is, I like using cypress mulch because it helps with humidity. This hasn't been a problem so far, because my only BP eats fine in a separate feeding container, but I'm considering getting a baby. (Sorry to take this thread in a new direction. I've just been wondering about this lately)

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Originally Posted by reptile65

Do those of you who feed in the tubs ever notice substrate getting stuck to the rat? If so, how do you avoid this problem?

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I don't consider stuck substrate to be a problem. As long as your substrate isn't sand, or sharp, I don't see a huge issue. When I feed F/T I thaw the rodent in a zip lock bag so that the rodent itself is dry when I offer it. Snakes routinely ingest small amounts of dirt, sticks, leaves, or whatever else. I rarely use the "it happens in the wild" argument but in this case I think its a matter of weighing the pros of aspen or cypress bedding vs the cons of newspaper substrate.

I use the really thick paper towel and lay down a couple layers(some of my balls like to burrow in them. I also put the water dish over the heat for humidity and if you spray a little water on the towels it really does nicely. I recommend tupperware type containers because hold humidity better but if using an aquarium you can cover the top except for a light if you use one. I didn't like the bedding and switched from it quickly.

I feed in a separate enclosure I only have 1 and I use aspen so I was worried about him eating that if it gets stuck to the rat Im sure if I get more I will switch to some kind of paper and feed in the enclosure

I feed in seperate feeding boxes just because I use reptibark, don't want to chance them accidentally swallowing a chunk of bark. I use substrate for the same reason, humidity and it really makes the enclosures look much prettier. :D

Thanks for the input everyone. So if I do end up getting a baby, I'll probably try out the paper towel and see if I can still keep up the humidity. I'm just thinking I definitely don't want to move a baby to a separate feeding enclosure, especially when I'm going to try to switch it to f/t right away.

Hi,

You could try putting down something to keep the food off the substrate - a piece of slate or a bit of kitchen towel for example.

Not feeding wet mice helps a lot in the initial stage of the feeding but if the snake moves about after striking and starting swallowing ( and they usually do :cool: ) then you will probably get a few bits of bark now and again.

It really shouldn't cause too many problems though unless it is a massive amount or a huge peice.


dr del

I had a boa that gave me a bad time switching from live to frozen, and over time, began to refuse live (This was when I only had a few and put them in a feeding container to feed). What I ended up doing was leaving the F/T mouse in with the boa and putting a piece of paper towel over them. Worked every time. Once I got my 1st rack system, and got them out of the aquariums, I was able to feed them in the bins. After that, I never had another feeding problem with her. Your snake likely just needs security, as moving them to feed them seems to stress them out a bit.
Moral of my story, if you want to feed in a different container, try covering the snake and food with a paper towel, otherwise just feed in the container they live in and maybe offer a hide.

HTH

If you do decide to go with a seperate container, I don't think there would be a problem with moving him from it after he has eaten. Again, I have fed my snakes in seperate boxes and have never had a problem, I even fed my baby corns in paper bags (I know differnt species :) ) and they did great. Only downside about that is well, let me share my story. :D

When I first got my ball (don't have him anymore :( ) I started feeding him in a box and what I would do was grab the mouse by the tail and toss it in the box. He would snatch it up quick and was a VERY aggressive eater. One day I decided it was time for a deep enclosure cleaning for all of the critters... There was no one else home and I had no place to put him while I did this, I looked at his feeding box and thought "Meh, why not?" yeah, big mistake. When I was done with the cleaning I walked over to Damiens box to pull him out and right as I reached in he lunged forward and got my hand OUCH! Well it really wasn't too painful but it was more of the surprise that got me. I just kept my hand there and waited for him to release, I guess he realized it wasn't a mouse and let go after a few seconds. I gues my point is that if you use a seperate feeding box, just keep in mind that if you ever need to transport or hold him keep in mind that he might think it's feeding time. :D AND leason learned, I bought a pair of long tongs, don't handle feeding mice with my hands, wash hands before and after (even if I don't tough the mice or rats), and I don't just toss the mouse in the box anymore, lol! :D

I personally use a separate feeding area for my BP. I have aspen as a substrate, so i just transfer him to another box to feed, then put the box back in his terrarium. He is a fierce eater, so being uncomfortable has never been a problem for him. I never pick him back up after he eats, so I just let him crawl out and into his hide to digest, then remove his feeding box. I know people that feed in the cage without problems, but that's just me.

I feed them all in their enclosures. Especially with ball pythons who tend to be picky eaters by nature, removing them to feed them could cause them to refuse. I use aspen, and feed f/t rats (thawed in a ziplock bag so it's not wet) and have never witnessed any of them ingest the substrate. The only thing I would have been worried about is if I used coco fiber, it's just so heavy and gets everywhere. Other than that I don't see a need to feed in a different box, especially for a picky eater.

Thanks everyone so much for the input. I think I will start feeding my picky eaters and young eaters in their enclosure but I have 2 that are potentially snippy so I will refrain and keep feeding them outside of the enclosure.

I feed mine in his enclosure; its easier that way, and I don't need to remove him from his environment in which he's already settled into, and there's no stress after he eats when I pick him up and move him elsewhere. It's really a preference of how you feel and also how your BP feels (temperament wise) when you feed them in their enclosure. There's no absolute right way to do it, so don't let people sway you from the decision you make; you know your BPs temperament best! I got into a heated argument with a lady at an exotic pet store once because she was condemning on how wrong it was to feed them in their enclosures and looked down on me as an "uneducated" BP owner. Go with how your BP (and yourself) feels!

I use aspen chip substrate, so I don`t worry about my snakes ingesting it. It is such small little particles there isn`t really any danger there. The only snake I take out is my female rough scale sand boa, and the only reason is that she just seems to eat better that way. I actually put her in a small container and put that container in her tub and close it up until she is done.

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Originally Posted by Slytherin

Go with how your BP (and yourself) feels!

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Great advice. Thanks I just wanted to whats best. Much appreciated.

Dr. Del got it right on, I use a piece of slate that I throw over the substrate and feed the rat over that, solves the problem and I can keep using my cypress mulch, and of course this means I feed in the tubs. I used to move them to seperate container, but 2 of my picky eaters forced me to feed in the tub, so now I do all of them in their tubs...