Quick: For those who feed inside enclosure

I was thinking of trying to feed by ball inside the enclosure so I dont have to worry about moving him. Do I need to move any hides or anything or will he be ok? Just wondering since the mouse might run into one or something..

I will usually take everything out of the tub, give the snake more room to get in position and effectively strike/swallow. Plus it gets my snakes in the habit than when everything comes out it's feeding time :D

When I feed , (always inside the snakes tub)I leave all the hides in. Ball Pythons are ambush preadators so they will use their hide to sit and wait for the prey to pass. Plus you want the snake to feel as comfortable as possible when feeding. Don't worry if the mouse goes into the hide...the snake will find it!

I don't remove anything.

I guess it will depends on how furnished your enclosure is and whether or not there would be spaces for the mouse to hide.

Right now its only furnished with 2 hides, a log in the middle and a rock water dish.

Just worried about him getting hurt. Worried mommy :D

Thanks for such quick responses BTW!

I guess it kind of depends. For the most part, I would suggest not to move anything. Pre-scent the room and that will get the snake ready to pounce...then just drop the rodent in and watch. That's what I do with my big girl.

My new little guy, however...his water-bowl-hide takes up most of the floorspace in his little tub and when I dropped the mouse in, he refused to come out, even after pre-scenting. I lift the bowl off of him and then he slammed the mouse.

Easy answer...start with the simplest solution...which is to feed in their own enclosures without moving anything....see if that works. If it doesn't...you might want to consider lifting a hide or moving some cage decor that seems to be in the way. But give the simple way a chance first.

monk makes a good point

As does JLC :D

Alrighty.. ill try that! Today is actually the day so I gotta go get my mouse :-) Thanks a bunch!

I keep everything in, although i feed f/t. I just heat it up and drop it in his tank, if hes already out he will catch it before it hits the ground which is pretty cool to watch. If not then by the time i drop it a few seconds later he will come out and take it.

I am surprised no one has chimed in and told us how bad we are for feeding live! I have to agree with you guys i dont take anything out and have noticed mine like to stay in there hides with just there heads out and wait for the rat or mouse to run by and then strike!

i take everything out just so that every time i open the cage, she doesn't associate that with being fed. she recognizes when everything is gone, and then switches to feeding mode. she hasn't even attempted to bite me yet!

Yea.. no problem. :-) Guess he isn't that picky of an eater lol

I think feeding out side of a cage is pretty silly myself. I think the premise used is that there are snakes out there that are such various feeders and seem to be chomping at the bit for food unless they just ate. When they see the door open they are on it in hopes of food coming in. Now the snakes that come to mind would be retics, burms, scrubs, some carpets ECT..... Now Why in the heck would you risk a misunderstanding trying to remove the animal to put it into another enclosure to feed it then have to move it back. I think the truth is more like the animal is on high alert when there cage door opens weather its food or not because they are trapped in a cage with no were to run to and they are not sure what is coming so you have a defensive snake that isn't sure weather food or trouble or what is coming its way. So it is alert and ready for whatever and in that heightened state misunderstands can happen.
So feeding out side a cage makes no sense to me. maybe it is just me but just my 2cents. Snakes switch into feeding mode when they smell food, to think outherwise is sorta silly to me also

Chuck

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Originally Posted by Sparky1

I am surprised no one has chimed in and told us how bad we are for feeding live!

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That would be because here at BPNet we try to support all types of feeding methods. As long as the owner of the snake knows what they are doing and the snake is easily handling the method of feeding and prey offered....it's all good. :)

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I have to agree with you guys i dont take anything out and have noticed mine like to stay in there hides with just there heads out and wait for the rat or mouse to run by and then strike!

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I love walking into the BP's room and seeing all those lurking snakes.

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Originally Posted by Chuck

So feeding out side a cage makes no sense to me.

Chuck

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I guess it depends on the snake, as always. I have a boa that MUST eat outside of her cage. She is deformed---Kinky---and needs a smaller space so she can manuever herself for eating. It still takes her forever to eat---a couple hours sometimes---but watching her struggle to eat with nothing to push off in her big home tub is sad... and she usually gives up.

I guess I just wanted to point out that there are instances where feeding outside a snake's home tub isn't such a bad thing :)

Yet another example of how these animals can have very different needs and personalities!

Yes I agree with you totally, I think there are situations were it is prudent and necessary. I think with everything there are some exceptions to the rule, and I should put that at the bottom of my statements every time I make them.



Chuck

I feed f/t, inside his enclosure and take one hide out. He seems to know that it's feeding time when that happens. He's still able to "hunt" from inside whatever hide he happens to be in at the time, but still has enough space to eat. Although, once I scent the room - he knows what time it is!