Do you think I'm eventually going to get bit?

On feeding day, I pre-scent my room so the snakes are ready to feed. My BPs are taken out of the enclosure and into separate containers to be fed. And also I have to dig out my boa from the substrate and put her on top of it to tell her it's feeding time. When I thaw my mice out, I check on them to make sure they are thawed or need more time to thaw so I will handle each mouse/rat and then when it's ready I just go in and get my snakes out and get them ready for feeding time. Do you think if I don't wash my hands I'm most likely going to get bit?

.......Yup

I would say yes, actually if thats how you have been feeding them in the past I'm surprised it hasn't happend yet lol.

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Originally Posted by waltah!

.......Yup

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Ya that's what I thought lol.. well when I go in to get Monty all he does it hide and curl up into a ball so not too worried about him. When I pick up Candice she's ready to be handled but she knows she's eating when I quickly pick her up to put her in her container. My Dumeril's boa doesn't like being touched in the enclosure, so I think she may tag me sometime and that the fact I have the smell of her rat on my hands.

If you feed IN the cage instead of OUTSIDE, you'd greatly reduce your risk:D

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Originally Posted by 2kdime

If you feed IN the cage instead of OUTSIDE, you'd greatly reduce your risk:D

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Most of the snakes eat in the enclosure, just not the BPs. Especially don't want my sweet little girl to get a feeding response in the cage;)

That's NOT gonna happen.

I feed ALL my BIG Bloods in they're cages. And they KNOW when feeding day is. NO problems in between those days.

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

Most of the snakes eat in the enclosure, just not the BPs. Especially don't want my sweet little girl to get a feeding response in the cage;)

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Yes you will!

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Originally Posted by 2kdime

That's NOT gonna happen.

I feed ALL my BIG Bloods in they're cages. And they KNOW when feeding day is. NO problems in between those days.

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Well, my King snake ALWAYS thinks I'm feeding him right when I even come up to the cage. Since he's in shed right now, he doesn't do anything. Though, I need to take him out daily for just a second so I can inject his antibiotics into him to get rid of the RI. He almost tagged me a few weeks ago when I was trying to pick him up. I held onto the middle part of his bosy to pick him up and he rushes over open mouthed and ready to bite. I'm just too quick for him xD

You probably will not have an issue feeding in the enclosure. I don't move any of mine out to feed them and have never had an issue. If you are thinking they have that "gonna strike" look to them you can use something like a paper towel roll. Put it in front of them and they will back off. You should be able to pick up as you normally would after that.
That's just my experience with them though.
I honestly believe that you have more chance getting tagged feeding in a second enclosure.

Yes you will and it might come from the one you least expect. Thats what happened to me, I got over confident with a very shy feeder and bang he got me. I'm glad I got it out of the way though it wasn't that bad.

Is he in feeding mode or is he just defensive?

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

Well, my King snake ALWAYS thinks I'm feeding him right when I even come up to the cage. Since he's in shed right now, he doesn't do anything. Though, I need to take him out daily for just a second so I can inject his antibiotics into him to get rid of the RI. He almost tagged me a few weeks ago when I was trying to pick him up. I held onto the middle part of his bosy to pick him up and he rushes over open mouthed and ready to bite. I'm just too quick for him xD

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You can't compare kings to ball pythons. Kings are known for eating anything and everything. Ball pythons (in mine and many others experiences) are not aggressive feeders and don't develop "cage aggression".

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Originally Posted by 2kdime

Is he in feeding mode or is he just defensive?

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Feeding mode, for sure. He has that "where's my food" look on his face and he really shows it by the way he moves.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

You can't compare kings to ball pythons. Kings are known for eating anything and everything. Ball pythons (in mine and many others experiences) are not aggressive feeders and don't develop "cage aggression".

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Ya true, I just don't really want my snakes to swallow the substrate. I know it won't harm them (switched to Aspen now) but I know the substrate really isn't meant to be swallowed so just avoiding possible future impaction from swallowing the substrate cuz it always can happen. Especially when I had the Cypress Mulch.. I would never feed in the enclosure with it. The Cypress was dry, sharp, and rough so I was afraid that if swallowed it would tear the insides of my BPs and possibly cause a painful impaction.

if you keep snakes more then likely eventually you are going to be bitten.

I feed all my animals in there cages and 99 percent of all my animals have HUGE feeding responses but it is more dangerous moving a large snake to another cage to feed and then having to move it back to its cage after it has fed. So instead I hook train my snakes so I dont run into any problems. BUt I have a few snakes that will strike out of there cages as soon as the glass is open so I have to be super careful with them.

This guy has the worst feeding response out of any animal I have EVER kept
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e5...n/snake054.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e5...n/DSC01754.jpg

He will come out of his cage mouth open and everything. And I have to be extra careful because his cage is the very top cage in this pic so when I open it im on a step ladder lol trying to manage a hook to get him out. So its really interesting when I have to clean his cage to see what he is going to do. BUt once hes out hes the greatest snake in the world
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e5...5/DSC02934.jpg

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Originally Posted by Denial

He will come out of his cage mouth open and everything. And I have to be extra careful because his cage is the very top cage in this pic so when I open it im on a step ladder lol trying to manage a hook to get him out. So its really interesting when I have to clean his cage to see what he is going to do. BUt once hes out hes the greatest snake in the world
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e5...5/DSC02934.jpg

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Lol if a big snake like that struck at me while on a step ladder, I would most likely fall off of the step ladder:8::rofl:

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

Ya true, I just don't really want my snakes to swallow the substrate. I know it won't harm them (switched to Aspen now) but I know the substrate really isn't meant to be swallowed so just avoiding possible future impaction from swallowing the substrate cuz it always can happen. Especially when I had the Cypress Mulch.. I would never feed in the enclosure with it. The Cypress was dry, sharp, and rough so I was afraid that if swallowed it would tear the insides of my BPs and possibly cause a painful impaction.

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They swallow animals WHOLE. teeth, nails and bone. Their mouths are meant to take a beating. A little piece of substrate will not harm them.

As for substrate ingestion, because snakes can digest bone and hair, a small bit of substrate will not cause impaction. If you feed F/T just lay down some paper towel and put the prey item on that.

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

Lol if a big snake like that struck at me while on a step ladder, I would most likely fall off of the step ladder:8::rofl:

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its not the snake you need to watch out for. Its the ceiling fan behind you. When we first moved in to that house I was cleaning cages and I leaned to far back and that fan smacked me in my head and knocked me off the ladder lol. I didnt know what happened

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

They swallow animals WHOLE. teeth, nails and bone. Their mouths are meant to take a beating. A little piece of substrate will not harm them.

As for substrate ingestion, because snakes can digest bone and hair, a small bit of substrate will not cause impaction. If you feed F/T just lay down some paper towel and put the prey item on that.

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Alright thanks :]. All of my snakes are so horrible when it comes to feeding in the enclosure. My colubrids always swallow a piece or two of the substrate. Though, my King snake is very smart. Probably one of the smartest snakes of my collection. When he eats, he tries to get the pieces of substrate on the side of his mouth so when he finishes only a little bit of the pieces are in his mouth so he'll go over and rub his mouth against his hide or the water dish to get the pieces out of his mouth. Throughout the entire time I've had him, he really hasn't been in a whole lot of stress and he deals with things pretty well. Like his visit to the vet, he gave the people a hard time to open up his mouth, but he did pretty good and was completely friendly. The vet said since we put him through some stress he may regurgitate the food items you gave to him yesterday because when snakes are stressed they will sometimes regurgitate their food items. Though, when he got back, no sign of a food item spit up in the cage. He has never regurgitated a mouse either, so he does pretty well.

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Originally Posted by Denial

its not the snake you need to watch out for. Its the ceiling fan behind you. When we first moved in to that house I was cleaning cages and I leaned to far back and that fan smacked me in my head and knocked me off the ladder lol. I didnt know what happened

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Lol ouch that's gotta hurt! I bet if my head smacked into it my hair would get all tangled in the fan which would not be nice for me at all lol. I wouldn't want to get my hair chopped off to make it shorter. A lot of the girls in my family have short hair besides my sister and I and I don't even plan on cutting off my hair. I don't really like short hair much on me lol:rofl:

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

Most of the snakes eat in the enclosure, just not the BPs. Especially don't want my sweet little girl to get a feeding response in the cage;)

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None of mine have a feeding response in their enclosure, except on feeding day. I've never fed in a separate enclosure, I find it un-necessary (for myself).

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Originally Posted by rabernet

None of mine have a feeding response in their enclosure, except on feeding day. I've never fed in a separate enclosure, I find it un-necessary (for myself).

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If I notice the BPs getting a feeding response in the enclosure on feeding day, then I'll just feed in the enclosure. For now, I like feeding in a separate container. I've been doing it with Candice for a year now, and she was also fed in a separate container at the pet store I bought her from so I just kept feeding her in a separate container because I thought she would be most comfortable in that. Though, now I notice she'll eat where ever she can as long as she gets her food lol.

I have a normal female that is always in feeding mode but I just tap him on the head with a piece of newspaper and he snaps out of it real quick.

I know for sure that if I fed in a seperate enclosure, I would get tagged all the time. So far, the only time that I have been tagged I was cleaning the tub while holding the BP. She decided she was hungry at that point (not feeding day)...lol.

you play w/ snakes, your gonna get bit.

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Originally Posted by redpython

you play w/ snakes, your gonna get bit.

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Yep. I've been bitten 5 times: 3 were thinking my finger was their meal, and 2 was a defensive bite. Though, when feeding time comes, I'm very careful because my hands smell like rodents lol.

Lmao .. I told you thats how i got bit babe..but..think about it..and you cant admit that you cant wait for your first nice bite :) I dont mind getting bit..but..then again..im a masochist!