he ate right from my hand (pic)

i didnt have anywhere to set him today to feed, so i figured maybe he would eat from my hand, and he did! it was awesome

http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/SSPX0703.jpg

Why not just feed inside the enclosure? Good that he feels comfortable with you, but you may get bitten that way out of accident.

I feed inside the enclosures, but I love hand feeding my snakes - do it all the time.

And none of my snakes has ever been "conditioned" to bite me. If I don't smell like mouse, I don't get bitten. Now, that doesn't mean that an errant strike won't get me some day - so I never advise newbies to do this.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...CornEating.jpg

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...i/IMG_3479.jpg

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m82/knoxf4i/004.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jessica Loesch

Why not just feed inside the enclosure? Good that he feels comfortable with you, but you may get bitten that way out of accident.

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exactly, if the plan is to not have him associate his enclosure with eating then feeding him in your hand would be far worse, not that ive had a inprinting problem.

I'll second Jessica and 711.

idk, ive never fed in the enclosure for some reason, i always used to hold the rat in front of him to feed, and hes never gotten me, but i figured if he didnt eat while i was holding him, that wouldve been my next option

My ball python has always been fed inside his enclosure and I don't believe that has caused him to associate it with just feeding.
However, I'm not sure feeding in your hand is such a great idea. I am not saying it is wrong by any means but there is a possibility it could cause added stress onto the snake.

That's pretty risky as far as the chancing an accidental bite. Bites aren't fun as it is but a FEEDING response bite can lead to the snake constricting your hand and that REALLY isn't fun!

Definitely not a safe or recommended practice by ANY means!

this is just a one time thing, but he was comfortable enough to take it, and i set him down right after on top of the box the rat came in, it was big enough to hold him while he ate, just not during the striking process, but he ate fine. i fell for the feeding in the enclosure myth, which i now know is probably only half true, but now, even though a little bit of coco wont hurt him, none is even better imo, so i just take him out

It's funny to see all the responses.

As far as I know, zero research has been done on hand feeding, yet all I ever hear is "you better not do that".

Now, I DO understand. There IS a chance of getting tagged. I would never do this with a large Boa or Python. But colubrids are no big deal if I get bitten.

Funny thing... After 30 years of keeping snakes, the only bites I have every had were defensive, or Kingsnakes biting me for no apparent reason at all and chewing on me. I have had more bites from Black Racers than all other snakes combined and that had nothing to do with food.

In fact, Snakebytes did a test. Chewy dipped his hand in a bucket of wet mice, then went to handle some snakes. Some bit, others didn't.

Risk? Sure. But we take a risk every time we handle our snakes.

Relax, people... :D I know a guy who routinely hand feeds 5 foot Eastern and Florida Kings. With no problems at all.

Then again, I just remembered this is a Ball Python forum, and a bite from a full grown Ball is definitely a bit worse than a full grown King.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by knox

But colubrids are no big deal if I get bitten.

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i agree with all you said, but skiploder informed me about these: Drymarchon couperi-indigo snakes, and yellow tail cribo's, look them up on youtube, i definitly wouldnt want to get bit by one of them

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cmack91

i agree with all you said, but skiploder informed me about these: Drymarchon couperi-indigo snakes, and yellow tail cribo's, look them up on youtube, i definitly wouldnt want to get bit by one of them

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Yes, I agree 100%

http://i42.tinypic.com/3523nuc.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/2uhbh34.jpg

I only cage feed my retic, but she's also laying on one of my shirts that I shredded up and put over the heat pad so she constantly has my scent. When ever I open the cage to get her out, she'll move quickly towards my hand but not in a striking position. Haven't been bit once.

i feed in-cage & i have to add in here that i've almost gotten tagged having one of the doors wide open while trying to keep the rat in...my girl could smell the rat but target locked on my hand but thankfully i saw the movement of the strike & yanked my hand back in the nick of time, thank you nervousness, lol. even, yesterday the cage was closed & the pup was exploring the back of the cage while my girl was at the doors staring at me until she caught the movements of the pup & redirected.
i've heard that some snakes are more inclined to strike wildly or come flying out of their cages after their food while others will sit back & wait.
i guess you just have to know the particular animals habits & respect them. :gj:

I've fed in my hand and have never gotten tagged. Granted, I wouldn't do it with my Boas, for sure to get tagged, but my other snakes are fine with the hand feeding. I see nothing wrong with it and it let's me know how comfortable they are with me.

The only one I hand feed is my tiny Kenyan Sand Boa, I just hold him in my left hand and offer the mouse with my right, he takes it every time.

Chill out folks. Its not as if he is using your hand to feed the snake. Every snake handles situatons differently. Its not like he has his snake by the tail in one hand in the mouse in the other ever time he feeds. God forbid he had fun one time and yeah he could get bit but its a python not an andaconda. He and the snake will be just fine. Besides thats his choice. You people act like he is going to get bit by doing it then go tell horror stories about snakes. Get real and calm down. Its alot mellower then those peeps that put 2 males in enclosures and let them box like idiots and no one ever gives those morons grief. And alot of peeps say not to feed in their enclosure which I dont I feed in a seperate bin. But to each his own.

Like was said above know your snake i always use tongs for my bloods... i feel their hit through the tongs but my BPs either works either i give it to them with no tongs or with but I feed in their enclosure and have found that better use dto feed my bloods in a separate but stopped doing that too.. it depends on the animal and its up to you to learn its likes and dislikes. I feed my hognose in a separate container b/c she is on aspen and don't want her to ingest it

hes quite comfortable with me, i can handle him however i want, and i can even touch his head unless im too fast, but he seemed to strike at it sooner than normal this time

I do not think anyone has been overtly critical in this thread, which surprises me, as do the 'relax people' comments.

I feed in the tub, never in hand, as I have been tagged by every species I keep for SFEs (stupid feeding errors).

Worst SFE I took was from a corn snake because I reached in after dropping her rat out of sight... she was attached to my wrist for fifteen minutes following. :)

Bruce

If it is working for you then enjoy.

I sure would be mad if some giant picked me up in the middle of my dinner. :p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lasweetswan

I sure would be mad if some giant picked me up in the middle of my dinner. :p

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it wasnt during feeding, i had him in my left hand, and introduced the rat with my right in the air

I did this once with my 5-6 foot female Boa. Not something I would do regularly, but it was an interesting experience and I knew the risks involved. Something I noticed was that she would keep constricitng if I moved my hand or wrist at all (which actually makes total sense)...I had to remain extremely still until she was finished.

I feed several of mine by hand regularly. Never had a problem with it, and I plan to keep doing it. :)

I used to feed my gator by hand.

Course that was back when I was able to feed myself as well.....

Chris