Feeding

[Johnny Hive X]

Since I'm most likely getting a hatchling BP, I was wondering what to feed it. I've read that small size mice are OK - is this true?

Also, method wise, what is the way you guys do it? I'm thinking I want to use hemostats and feed live after keeping it in a container with holes punched in so that the scent can get the BP interested. After 30 minutes I'll use the hemostats and dangle the food in the tank.

I don't want to move the snake from it's tank to a separate spot for feeding because I don't want to stress the snake; I don't want to have confusion with me handling the snake and basically have a bite accident; I want the BP to be able to be immediately left alone to digest for 48 hours.

I want to use the hemostats/dangling method so that the live feeding doesn't hurt the BP and the hemostats so that when striking, the BP doesn't swallow some aspen bedding or tank decor.

What is the general consensus here? I'm not expecting 100% agreement on how everyone feeds, but just some input.

[Somed00d]

sounds good. for mice size just make sure its about the same girth as the snake. Pre-scenting may not be necessary depending on your snake but there is no harm in trying..

[Rapture]

I think you've got a good plan figured out. The prey size will really just depend on the snake. You want to be able to see a small bulge in the snake's body after it has fully swallowed the prey.

[starmom]

I have one snake that feeds live and I just put the mouse into her tub and she does the rest!

I only use hemostats for the rest of my snakes who eat f/t.

[Pandora]

I don't believe hemostats are at all necessary for feeding live. Two reasons: some rats/mice actually squeak when you hold them by their tails, this may or may not disturb you. Second, even though you're using the hemostats so the snake doesn't eat any substrate accidentally, it will eventually pick up pieces of substrate when the rat/mouse isn't held by the hemostats, and you can't hold on to it while your BP is constricting. Moving them straight to a feeding bin, without handling should not confuse the snake between handling/feeding time. Make sure you don't smell like rodent when you handle it, though. If you wish, you can use a snake hook to take it out of the tank when feeding in a separate bin. Pre-scenting may or may not also be necessary if you plan on feeding live. The little buggers normally do the job for you if they're not frozen. All in all, seems like you've got your method pretty much sorted out, just don't give yourself extra work if it's unnecessary.

[Johnny Hive X]

Even if I use a hook to take it from it's tank to a separate feeding spot, isn't it bad to disturb it after it's caught/constricted/devouring the food? I know I wouldn't want someone twisting me and moving me around while I'm eating a meal.

[Pandora]

Even if I use a hook to take it from it's tank to a separate feeding spot, isn't it bad to disturb it after it's caught/constricted/devouring the food? I know I wouldn't want someone twisting me and moving me around while I'm eating a meal.

No, sorry, I meant use the snake hook to take it out of it's tank to put into a feeding container (although this isn't necessary, I do it by hand). Then, once it's done eating and starts moving around/looking to get out of the feeding container, gently take it out and put it back in it's home (make sure you support their entire body and don't pick them up by the lump of food). Several people feed it like that outside of the tank and it's okay. The first time I fed mine, I decided to do it in her tank and even though I thought I did what I could to avoid her swallowing any substrate, once they're done constricting and slobbering up their meal, it will pick up substrate no matter how hard you try to avoid it. I mean, in the wild they do this naturally anyway, but just to be on the safe side and avoid constant substrate with their meals, I would try my best to feed it in a seperate tank or Rubbermaid container or something. If you're feeding live, just put the snake in the container first, and then pop in the mouse, the movement and smell of a live mouse will let them know it's mealtime right away. It's not as stressful to feed outside their tanks as you may think. I think mine has actually gotten used to feeding time because she knows her feeding tank from her home. Hope this helps =]

PS: You also may or may not want to line the bottom of the feeding container with paper towel prior to feeding because sometimes when they constrict, the rodent can poop/pee a little and it saves time cleaning up. Also, I spray my rodents with a bit of water before feeding to help with hydration because I've never seen Pandora drink so the paper towel helps from getting the container all soaked.

[zandro_mania]

As for me I trained my hachtlings on pre-killed mice.

[starmom]

Even if I use a hook to take it from it's tank to a separate feeding spot, isn't it bad to disturb it after it's caught/constricted/devouring the food? I know I wouldn't want someone twisting me and moving me around while I'm eating a meal.

I would not bother feeding the snake outside of the container. Some people do and many more people don't (as evidenced by polls that have been conducted on this site.) Ball pythons are ambush hunters and so are quite adept at lunging from within their hide (or part way out since you've pre-scented) and getting their prey.