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.

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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!

I use these, or similar.

https://www.amazon.com/SurgicalOnlin...80251649&psc=1

They are OK but the rear locking part is semi annoying to me.

I was considering the grill tongs when I still had the retic, but then I considered very long feeding tongs because he was insane.

I may switch to the grilling tongs eventually as they hold more of the prey's body and allow for better head/face presentation.

I don't own a snake hook or any kind of feeding tongs/tweezers...:O and it is very rare that I get bit (sometimes years go by). I did have a baby Suri pop me this year though and he gave me plenty of verbal warning.

My adult boas are in 8 foot enclosures with two doors. I like to open the door the greatest distance from the snake and throw the food to them. Safety first...

(I have made a couple feeding mistakes that cost me some blood over the years) :oops:

I use these:
https://www.reptilebasics.com/hemostat-12

Use this for 2 balls, a Mexican black king, and a california king. I tried tweezers when I first got into the snakes, but I really did not like them... sometimes if you didn't squeeze hard enough the rodent would fall out, or if you were squeezing hard for too long you would get tired, etc. So, these hemostats are great now.

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Originally Posted by bns

I don't own a snake hook or any kind of feeding tongs/tweezers...:O and it is very rare that I get bit (sometimes years go by). I did have a baby Suri pop me this year though and he gave me plenty of verbal warning.

My adult boas are in 8 foot enclosures with two doors. I like to open the door the greatest distance from the snake and throw the food to them. Safety first.

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This is how we're feeding the retics. Not many tongs or hemostats can hold a rabbit. It's a two-person job, one to open and close the door, the other to toss the feeder into the enclosure.

For small and medium sized snakes I have a variety of tweezers and hemostats ranging from 12-24". Just don't use the 12" tongs to feed an adult boa... ouch...

Late to the party, but I use these https://www.reptilebasics.com/hemostat-24.

DO NOT GET LOCKING HEMOSTATS! I had a pair and ended up with a big boa pulling on one end with me trying to release them on the other. I won't use them anymore.

For those that throw the prey in - works for some of my snakes, but my boas, not so much. Any words of wisdom there? Those are the ones who strike extra fast and hard and would be nice to not have to play the tong/hemostat and try to keep the door closed game.

Since most of my crew are 7-8 feet, fast and hard hitting I just got these 16” hemostats off eBay.

I try not to lock the hemostats. Because sometimes my snakes can be so fast I never see the strike, just the last part of the wrap. If the h/stats are locked, my fingers and wrist get pretty twisted up when they wrap, which does not feel good.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...4d7d628bcd.jpg

Sometimes I can't get it into the tub before he's trying to get it.

Same here

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Originally Posted by Andiamo

Sometimes I can't get it into the tub before he's trying to get it.

Same here

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Attach a drawer pull to the tub so you can slide it open with a snake hook while standing out of strike range, then offer the prey using long hemostats.

Like this guy...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB3TDZ64wSQ