I was wondering...

Do any of you feed your snakes in their day to day living environment? aka tanks/tubs ect..

There are several threads pertaining to this practice. Some prefer to remove their pets from their everyday habitat and feed in seperate quarters. I prefer to feed mine in it's everyday environment to reduce the chance of being struck. I sinply dangle the rat by forceps inside the tank and let the snake do the rest. it works great for me. Several others prefer to feed in seperate containers though, which is good as well. Basically it's whatever your snake prefers and what you feel more comofrtable doing. ;)

Have they ever tried to strike at you when you aren't feeding them? Just curious.. I dont feed mine in their tanks, I dont want them thinking I'm prey when I take them out to hold them. My bp knows when it's time for him to eat when I put him in his feeding tub, it's rather neat to watch..

its a myth that they become aggressive if u feed in their tanks

I dont think it's so much a myth as it is the indivudal snake.

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Originally Posted by etenia

Have they ever tried to strike at you when you aren't feeding them? Just curious.. I dont feed mine in their tanks, I dont want them thinking I'm prey when I take them out to hold them. My bp knows when it's time for him to eat when I put him in his feeding tub, it's rather neat to watch..

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None of my snakes have ever struck at me. I wear disposable gloves and use long surgical forceps whenever i handle the rats. I never let the scent of the rats get on my skin. By eliminating the scent on your skin, your reduce the chances of being struck significantly. If your snake has eyecaps from a pending shed, they may not be able to differentiate between you and the food you are giving it. hence, another reason to use long forceps to keep your hand as far from the meal as possible. ;)

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Originally Posted by grim reaper in NY

None of my snakes have ever struck at me. I wear disposable gloves and use long surgical forceps whenever i handle the rats. I never let the scent of the rats get on my skin. By eliminating the scent on your skin, your reduce the chances of being struck significantly. If your snake has eyecaps from a pending shed, they may not be able to differentiate between you and the food you are giving it. hence, another reason to use long forceps to keep your hand as far from the meal as possible. ;)

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My snakes have never struck at me :) and I hold them both just about everyday for a few minutes. When it's really nice and warm we go on walks! :banana:
I was just curious cuz a friend of mine has a snake he feeds in it's tank and he's gotten really mean. His other ones haven't though.

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Originally Posted by etenia

Have they ever tried to strike at you when you aren't feeding them? Just curious.. I dont feed mine in their tanks, I dont want them thinking I'm prey when I take them out to hold them. My bp knows when it's time for him to eat when I put him in his feeding tub, it's rather neat to watch..

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Sure I've had snakes strike at me. When you own 40 of them, well somebody is going to take a jab at you once in awhile. :) Is it related to the fact that they all eat in their own home enclosures - likely not since there's no obvious pattern to it to indicate to me that is the reason. Snakes strike occasionally, it's what they do.

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Originally Posted by etenia

My snakes have never struck at me :) and I hold them both just about everyday for a few minutes. When it's really nice and warm we go on walks! :banana:
I was just curious cuz a friend of mine has a snake he feeds in it's tank and he's gotten really mean. His other ones haven't though.

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Most likely it's not related to feeding or perhaps he's only got his hands in there for feeding so the snake is simply reacting to a habit. There's far too many factors involved in why a snake might strike at you to lay it all at the door of feeding in the environment.

I feed my snake in his enclosure and I haven't had any problems with him trying to stirke or bite.

well if ya have 40 of them you have to kind of expect to get bit sooner or later :P it was a question more geared towards those of us that only have a few ;) i guess. As for my friends snakes, he's a herpatologist, he's also the one that told me when i first got my snake (i made him go with me to check it before i bought it) not to feed it in it's cage and in the long run it'll be more easier to handle .. maybe that isnt the right phrasing but in general it's what he meant.

The idea comes from Pavlov's dog experiment. In the experiment he would ring a bell and feed a dog, over and over every day he would ring this bell and feed the dogs. after a while he could just ring the bell and the dogs would start slobbering as if they were eating.

The idea that you animal will associate the cage opening with food also assumes that the only time you open the cage is to feed. If once every 10-15 times the tub or cage is open a food item is presented I don't think that's enough to imprint the animal with the association between the two..

If feed close to 100 snakes every week in their tubs.. Like Jo said..odds are some are going to take a swipe at you..

I feed my snake in my enclosure, and she has never struck at me (knock on wood). It's not the movement that gets your snake ready for food, its the smell. They aren't interested in eating us, only rodents. They only strike during feeding becuase they smell rodents. If you aren't feeding, and don't smell like a rodent, the strike is caused by something else.

I don't like the idea of moving my snake after she's eaten. She eats goes into her hide, and sleeps. That's what she likes, so i'm comfortable with it.

I also have about 40 that I feed all in their enclosures. I never get mistaken for food or have them try to strike at me on non-feeding days. My personal experience - I've seen NO evidence that feeding them in their enclosure will make them more likely to strike.

The same argument can be made for feeding in a separate enclosure. If the snake becomes conditioned to being fed every time it's moved to a different enclosure, it's more likely to strike at you in anticipation of food when you put it in the feeding tub.

I like feeding in the enclosure, because it's less stressful to the animal from being moved.