Do You Feed In Your BP's Enclosure/Tub/Tank?

I was reading the thread about people being tagged by their bp's and so many seem to be stories of just an aggressive feed response. I was just wondering if most of you feed in your snake's enclosure or if you feed in something else. I have a different tub set aside for feeding and it sure didn't take my babies long to figure out the routine! Thing is even at their hungriest they seem to know they have to come out to get fed so they don't lunge out at me. Usually they're crawling out and onto my arm like, "C'mon, get this show on the road. I'm hungry here." My two normal boys were adults and gentle when I got them so its not a fair comparison but my baby female was a snappy little thing and now she follows the same routine as the big boys. They don't get jumpy until they're in their feed tub. On that note, my daughter wasn't paying attention and Kashmir did raise right out of that tub and tag the rat before she even had it half off her lap. He was like a ball python jack-in-the-box. Scared her sister and hooked my youngest daughter for life. She's like "So cool Mom!"

I feed both in tub my ball cuz he dont care long as there is food when he is hungry. My carpet cuz I don't wanna move a seven foot snake when it's feeding time ha

I feed my ball python in his enclosure. Moving just increases stress/messes with temps and I've been told you're more likely to get bit feeding them in a separate tub, because they begin to associate being moved with eating.

I have a feeding tub separate from his enclosure. He's always been really tame, so I'm not too worried about getting mistaken for food. But we're both used to the feeding tub now, and he knows what's up with the purple tub, haha. He knows that when he goes in, food's sure to follow. I'd rather not switch up my routine now, just because we both know what to expect.
I also handle him frequently aside from feeding, so as long as he can't see that tub he's perfectly fine with hanging out on my arm. I know some people leave their guys alone for the most part, but Magnus likes body heat too much to deny him that, lol.

I feed in their enclosures.
I don't want to be bit moving it to and from a feedin container

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Originally Posted by Archimedes

I have a feeding tub separate from his enclosure. He's always been really tame, so I'm not too worried about getting mistaken for food. But we're both used to the feeding tub now, and he knows what's up with the purple tub, haha. He knows that when he goes in, food's sure to follow. I'd rather not switch up my routine now, just because we both know what to expect.
I also handle him frequently aside from feeding, so as long as he can't see that tub he's perfectly fine with hanging out on my arm. I know some people leave their guys alone for the most part, but Magnus likes body heat too much to deny him that, lol.

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I feed all of my snakes in the enclosure. The feeding response is better with less stress. And no cage aggression, which is a myth anyway.

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I feed in their enclosure/tub. Less stress for them and it's a lot easier/faster for me. Haven't had any offer to tag me yet (except my enchi, but he tries to tag me always, he just wants a taste :P)

I feed in a separate tub. My girl's a smart one and caught on very quickly. (In another thread I mentioned how she bit herself once before I even lowered the mouse in because she was so excited.) I think the main reason I don't get tagged is because right when she's done, she crawls out. I've had no problems.

Then again, I think it really depends on the snake when it comes down to which way works best.

In the enclosure. For all of the reasons mentioned above.

i also feed mine in a different container so i don't have to worry about her swallowing substrate... i heard about the cage aggression myth too which never made sense to me, if the bp is going to associate opening the lid of an enclosure for feeding time then i guess your never going to hold your pet huh.... anyways that's my reason and i feel its a good one since shes on aspen substrate.

I think if a person has one or two snakes or a real small collection then it's not a big deal either way, but when you have 50+ snakes to feed the last thing you want to be doing is moving them in and out of their tubs to feed them :rolleye2:

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Originally Posted by satomi325

I feed all of my snakes in the enclosure. The feeding response is better with less stress. And no cage aggression, which is a myth anyway.

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I don't think I ever heard of it described as "cage aggression" but rather as a feed response associated with the opening of the tub. I guess I just thought if they never associated opening the tub with direct food....well it sounds like it makes sense lol. Anyway, I'm more comfortable feeding in the big tub rather than on the substrate too but I'll be going from three snakes to five snakes and a rack system in the next few months and it all might change.... :)

I feed inside the enclosures


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Originally Posted by XoKarma

I feed my ball python in his enclosure. Moving just increases stress/messes with temps and I've been told you're more likely to get bit feeding them in a separate tub, because they begin to associate being moved with eating.

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I've been told I'm more likely to be bitten if my snakes associate opening the tub with food, you've been told you'll be more likely to be bitten because they'll associate being moved with food.....I think I'm going to assume snakes associate everything with food and sooner or later I'm going to get tagged! :D
I am concerned by all the posters who said moving them before feeding stresses them. That is not what I'm trying to accomplish at all so maybe feeding in the enclosure is a better idea....

Too much trouble to move them. Have had my hand mistaken for a nice juicy rat though. Doesn't hurt much.

My two balls get fed in their enclosure. My baby ball Bacchus just because its easier and more convenient, my adult Sweetie since shes already got such a feeding response as an adult. I don't think it would help. As long as I reach in and rub her side, she knows it's not feeding time. The Hognose on the other hand refuses to eat in his enclosure. I actually put him in a paper lunch bag with a pinkie as instructed by where I bought him from and he gobbles it right down. :D

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Originally Posted by prettyballsy

I've been told I'm more likely to be bitten if my snakes associate opening the tub with food, you've been told you'll be more likely to be bitten because they'll associate being moved with food.....I think I'm going to assume snakes associate everything with food and sooner or later I'm going to get tagged! :D
I am concerned by all the posters who said moving them before feeding stresses them. That is not what I'm trying to accomplish at all so maybe feeding in the enclosure is a better idea....

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Originally Posted by bx718

i also feed mine in a different container so i don't have to worry about her swallowing substrate... i heard about the cage aggression myth too which never made sense to me, if the bp is going to associate opening the lid of an enclosure for feeding time then i guess your never going to hold your pet huh.... anyways that's my reason and i feel its a good one since shes on aspen substrate.

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Actually you have a higher chance of getting bitten when moving your snake to a feeding tub. They're still in feeding mode when they're done feeding and you need to pick them up to move them.
While it's rare, moving a full snake can result in a regurge. It's just less stressful to leave them in the tub. Plus, we don't have to bother them once they've downed the feeder. :\
At least, I wouldn't want to bother them once they're finished....
BPs are known to be a picky eater species. While your snakes may take food just fine out of their enclosure, I can tell you that many others won't.
Only a handful of my most aggressive feeders could probably pull off a separate feeding tub. The rest just feel more comfortable taking food in their own enclosures. When I first started, I did the separate feeding bin thing. I've noticed that my snakes have a stronger, more consistent feeding response in their own enclosure vs separate feeding tub. Also as Jerry said, when you only have 1-3 snakes it will work fine. But try doing that with a larger collection. Feeding would take hours.

A little bit of substrate isn't going to hurt your snake. After all, nobody cleans off dirt/debris covered prey in the wild.;)
And they do digest bone, which is more dense than wood.

Either way, whatever works for you.

I feed in a seperate container for a couple reasons. Rats poop and pee and i dont want to clean it. Also i dont want blood in the tub. But as far as being scared of being bit i say not a chance. I use to feed in the enclousure but didnt wana keep cleaning it because of the rat poop. And ive also never been bitten putting the snake back in its home after a meal in a seperate container. In fact ive never been bitten with feeding in its tub or in a seperate tub. So just do what u feel more comfortable with.

I feed my snakes in separate tubs just for the sake of not having them swallow any substrate but that will probably change eventually.

When I got my rosy boas, I started out trying to feed them in a separate container. I had read about their enthusiastic feeding response, and that it was better to feed them in a separate container so they wouldn't develop "cage aggression". Result: One snake ate most of the time, the other skipped half his meals, and finally one of them escaped from the feeding container. (Did find the escaped snake.)

I now feed them in their enclosure. So far no problem with them acting hungry or bitey when I am handling them. There's a different routine between handling and feeding, and they seem to understand what the routine is (besides the fact I don't smell like their food when I am handling them). Since I stopped using the feeding containers, I have not had one single skipped meal, snakes have seemed less stressed and more comfortable.

In terms of ball pythons specifically... my first ball python was always fed in his enclosure, and the ONLY time I got bit was when I stuck my hand in there during feeding time, food already in his enclosure. My mistake, not the snakes. He never bit any other time before or after that. My current snakes are fed in their enclosures too, and so far no problems.

I feed all 20 of my personal snakes in their enclosures. Much better and consistent feeding response, for all the reasons folks have mentioned before.

My thought on the in-or-out of the cage feeding goes along these lines:

If you are going to encourage the snake to associate something with feeding, why not make it the one place you can easily control it? Even if the snake did become cage aggressive (pretty much non issue with ball pythons), I would much, MUCH rather the snake assumes that the ONLY place it is ever going to find food is in its cage. Instead, by removing it, you are associating your hand with feeding time, moving it with feeding time, and assuring it that the only place it will ever get fed is OUTSIDE the cage. Where are you usually holding your snake? Where are strangers usually interacting with your snake? Outside the cage, of course! So why would you want your snake(s) to associate being out of the cage with eating?

I would much rather know that the snake will always be predictably ready to eat in the cage, and predictably not ready to eat out of it, than be concerned about where my snake will be when it decides that it's feeding time. :)

-Jen