Do you feed in or out of the enclosure?

[Zincubus]

Zincubus, let me preface this by saying I have gotten to "know" you pretty well through this forum and I have nothing but the utmost respect for you, so please don't take this in a negative way. I don't think you will, but wanted the disclaimer out there....
I always get a chuckle when you discuss your Kings' feeing responses. I can almost picture you (without having a clue what you look like) feeding your Kings and just love the image I have created in my head, Hahahaha!!! Anyway, hope you took that the way I meant it. You're one of the people on the forum I have 100% respect for and would never mean to give you anything but the compliments you deserve....

Like most Kings, my boy Django has that insane feeding response, so I completely get what you're saying. I just open his enclosure with his mouse close by and he's all kinds of fired up and there are times he comes flying out the top to get his prey. It's hilarious!!! So, I get it. I just dangle and let him do his thing. Sometimes he'll miss more than once, sometimes he'll strike at a shadow, sometimes he'll try to strike me through the glass.... it's hilarious to me. I love my crazy boy to death and his feeding response is part of what I love about him.

I daren't use tongs for my Kings

In the morning or afternoon I put a couple of pieces of card in their vivs and feed later in the evening .
I check where they are in the Viv then slide the door open and quickly drop the thawed mouse onto the card and quickly slide the door shut before they 'get me '


One feeding time , my Black and White banded Cali launched himself at my hand but grabbed the stainless steel water dish and swung it around his head a few times !!



My Bamboo Ratsnake is the scariest feeder of all , launching himself into the air taking in mouthfuls of nothingness ... I've mentioned before that I have to wear a suit of chainmail reinforced armour to get him out when giving his Viv a deep clean ...... thank the Lord he's only 15" long !




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[Craiga 01453]

I daren't use tongs for my Kings

In the morning or afternoon I put a couple of pieces of card in their vivs and feed later in the evening .
I check where they are in the Viv then slide the door open and quickly drop the thawed mouse onto the card and quickly slide the door shut before they 'get me '


One feeding time , my Black and White banded Cali launched himself at my hand but grabbed the stainless steel water dish and swung it around his head a few times !!



My Bamboo Ratsnake is the scariest feeder of all , launching himself into the air taking in mouthfuls of nothingness ... I've mentioned before that I have to wear a suit of chainmail reinforced armour to get him out when giving his Viv a deep clean ...... thank the Lord he's only 15" long !




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Awesome stuff!!!

[Hikari]

I feed my corn snake in a separate container, cause that's how I was taught it was done via the corn snake forums. I think it's because corns tend to be kept on aspen, which is easier for them to accidentally swallow. At any rate, I have zero issues with it. She's associated "critter carrier = food", and she knows what to expect. The routine goes that I put the critter carrier on the scale, zero it, and put the snake in for pre-feed weigh-in. After that, I open the little hatch, put the mouse in via tongs, then she strikes and eats. I close the hatch while she eats so she can't escape, and just let her take her time. Once she's all done, I open the carrier over her tank, she slithers back in, and all is well. I know people say you can't train snakes, but she definitely knows the routine by this point (had her for two years now).

Now, I just got my BP, and I think I'll try and do that same routine with her. If she ends up being too shy for it though, I'll just switch over to feeding in tank. I'll just put a paper towel down for her or something.

I think the biggest plus to out-of-tank feeding for me (besides the not having to worry about eating substrate) has been that it doubles as a weigh-in day, since I keep records of weight to make sure they're eating properly. I need them in a container on the scale for that for that anyways, may as well feed them while I'm at it. It's not a big deal for me though, since I'm just now getting two snakes. Could see that not being an option for someone with a bigger collection though, and I don't blame people for feeding in-tank. As long as the snakes are okay, I suppose it really just comes down to personal preference.

[Pezz]

I feed my corn snake in a separate container, cause that's how I was taught it was done via the corn snake forums. I think it's because corns tend to be kept on aspen, which is easier for them to accidentally swallow. At any rate, I have zero issues with it. She's associated "critter carrier = food", and she knows what to expect. The routine goes that I put the critter carrier on the scale, zero it, and put the snake in for pre-feed weigh-in. After that, I open the little hatch, put the mouse in via tongs, then she strikes and eats. I close the hatch while she eats so she can't escape, and just let her take her time. Once she's all done, I open the carrier over her tank, she slithers back in, and all is well. I know people say you can't train snakes, but she definitely knows the routine by this point (had her for two years now).

Now, I just got my BP, and I think I'll try and do that same routine with her. If she ends up being too shy for it though, I'll just switch over to feeding in tank. I'll just put a paper towel down for her or something.

I think the biggest plus to out-of-tank feeding for me (besides the not having to worry about eating substrate) has been that it doubles as a weigh-in day, since I keep records of weight to make sure they're eating properly. I need them in a container on the scale for that for that anyways, may as well feed them while I'm at it. It's not a big deal for me though, since I'm just now getting two snakes. Could see that not being an option for someone with a bigger collection though, and I don't blame people for feeding in-tank. As long as the snakes are okay, I suppose it really just comes down to personal preference.

it also comes down to the snake. with bps the stress and excitement of moving them out of the enclosure to a new tub back to the enclosure can cause regurges. That being said it's an old practice that works for the majority of people who do it but as the hobby grew most herpers moved past it.

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[Sauzo]

I feed inside the cage, always have, always will. I feed them on Rpetichips and aspen and havent had a problem. Had them swallow aspen here and there, Caesar somehow got a piece stuck in his throat i guess cause he coughed it up, looked at me and then got a big drink of water and was fine. I feed them on sheets of printer paper and sometimes they do good, sometimes they drag it all over. In the wild, they get their food dragged through all kinds of dirt, leaf litter, twigs and everything else and have done fine over the course of millions of years. I dont think they will have a problem all of a sudden. Babies worry me the worst and those are the ones i try and make sure they stay on the paper which is easy as their food is little.

Feeding a small snake in a separate tub might work but try that with a 6'+ boa, burm, retic or anaconda and let me know how it goes for you.....