Feed Inside or Outside?

[JamminJonah]

Okay I have read a bunch of stuff on both sides of this issue but I figure I will ask those with experience!

Do you feed your BP inside or outside of it's normal enclosure?

Also what benifits have you gotten from either method? What negatives are there with each method? Has the Pavlov theory paid off in terms of regular feeding or not getting bitten?

[Aaron]

I just use a cardboard box for feeding, its really simple. It's amazing how quickly they learn the system if you are consistant. I just bring the snake's head near the Petco mouse box so he can smell it, put the snake in one corner of the cardboard box, drop the mouse in the other corner, and wait for the mouse to get a little too close. By the time he gets close to that little white Petco box, his neck is in an S curve and he's just begging to get in the box.

I'm sure you know the benifits of feeding them outside, I'll just say that it works great for me. Bongo is quite the glutton and it's good to know that he only associates food with being put in the box, as opposed to me opening the cage door to handle him. I also appreciate chucking the box and not having to clean rodent piss out of Bongo's lavish quarters. It really stinks.

[The_Godfather]

I feed inside. NEVER had a problem. Last time I was bit was actually when I fed outside.

See, people feed outside because they believe that their python will think they're food if they reach into the tank, like they'll always be expecting food. Large boid owners started using this method, because with a snake that can kill you, you wanna do everything to be safe. Then someone decided if it works for them it'd work for balls.

Feeding outside does nothing for your animal, it is only a measure of protection for yourself. Some balls will refuse to eat if you remove them from their hide, then mve them around, they don't like being disturbed.

I also don't have any harmful substrates. If a person has a substrate like bark they should feed outside.

[Tigergenesis]

I agree with Godfather...I have a hard time buying the Pavlov theory on this issue. I mean, if you are in the cage more often to handle, clean, change water, etc. I think there's less likely a chance they will associate you with food.

I feed in the cage - of course I use carpet. If you have a loose substrate I think you should feed outside the cage...but then again my Kenyan Sand Boa is on crushed walnut shells and I just lay a piece of carpet on top and feed him inside

[The_Godfather]

As long as they're well fed why would they try and bite a human. Assuming you don't play with rodents prior, I doubt they'd associatte you with food.

I once was feeling psycho, and I put a rat in front of Monty, and he went into instant hunt mode. Then I put my hand in front of him to see if he would associatte me with food (he was smaller....). Anyhoo, he smelled for a few seconds and turned around to get his rat. Even when in deep hunt mode they know whats food and what isn't.

[jotay]

I agree with the Godfather, I really dont think they will confuse your hand with food unless you have handle some animals. I always wash my hands good before I handle Ozzy beause of my cat but thats just me being me
I feed outside in a box because I choose to use repti-bark in his cage.
Funny he already assiociates that box with food he crawls right off my hand into the box and gets all set up and ready for me to lower in said dinner.
The first few times I feed him it was in his cage and he seems to know the difference.
I was concerned at first with taking him out of the box to put back in his cage, I would think if ever a time to confuse your hand for food then that would be the time since they are in feeding mode and hands may smell like mouse, but so far so good he just wraps around my hand and goes for the ride back to his cage.

[JLC]

Of course, I don't have a bp yet...but I can speak of my experience with Caesar. I was "taught" to feed him outside his cage, so he gets fed in a sterilite box. We've never had any problems doing this...until the temps dropped in the winter and the unheated box got too chilly to spend even a few minutes in. That's when Caesar decided to fast. During his 3month fast, I tried feeding him in his tank (with a paper towel over the substrate) and it never really worked. Now he's back to eating in his sterilite because that's what he's used to.

All that being said...I too, do not buy into the Pavlovian theory for the reasons Tigergenisis and Godfather stated. When I get my bp later this summer, I will probably feed him in his cage and not mess with the whole feed box issue.

One upside to feeding in a separate container though...is if the rodent pops...the outside container is a lot easier to clean up!

On the issue of feeding giant boids (since Godfather brought it up)....I would never, ever feed a giant snake outside of its container. Can you imagine trying to get a 16' python back into its enclosure while it may still be in feeding mode? Or in danger of regurging because you can't exactly gently scoop it up in the palms of your hands to return to its home!

Just my wordy two cents on the matter. I won't answer your poll because I feed Caesar outside, but will probably feed any future snake in its home.

[Marla]

I feed both inside and outside. Snyder, Hanover, and Seymour eat in what we like to call the 'dining room.' It's a plain aquarium (though we've used cardboard boxes before too) with newspaper at the bottom that we change the top layer of between snakes. The new guy who has eaten twice is soooo shy that I've fed him in his enclosure, and that's worked really well for him. It would actually be good if he'd learn to associate me with food.The new guy who's just shown up may be an inside or outside feeder, I don't know yet.

The others definitely associate the dining room with eating. I can generally tell by the way they behave going into it whether they're going to eat or not -- if they're going to eat, they're perky and alert and start cruising immediately. If they're not hungry, they're just as interested in the outside of it as in the inside, and may try to climb up my arm.

I'm really not concerned about getting bitten by a bp who thinks I'm supper, but I've seen too many clumpsy bp strikes to be happy about feeding in a cage with furniture in it that they could injure themselves on with a clumsy strike. If you've never had a bp who rammed herself into a wall or something and hurt her head or jaw, trust me, you don't want to. That, and supervising Seymour while he still eats live, is why I prefer to feed outside.

[iceman25]

I use bark for substrate so I have to feed outside. I use a small rubber maid for this purpose. I do not clean this rubber maid because it helps my guy go into hunting mode anytime of the day. Plus the mouse is already waiting inside for him :wink: Also, I feed live so I dont want the mouse running inside my snakes hide and biting him or something. With the rubber maid, I can closely supervise his feedings. I have not had any problems so far, becuase his strike is deadly acurate. I use a pair of tongs to hold the mouses back legs still(when its being constricted) so that it does not scratch my baby.

[daftperception]

i feed outside because less things to get in the way of the strike, easyer to cut in when something goes wrong with live, soft cardboard sides incase the strike goes wrong it can be as big and as you want boxes are cheap, and they probably will get used to a pattern and eat better.