how close/far should the rats/mice be kept from the snakes

[aaschmitt]

i don't have the privilage to have a snake only/feeder only room, not the the two are in the SAME room but the townhouse is fairly open between rooms so a keen sense of smell IS going to detect the feeders even if they're in the basement as far as i'm concerned so i'm just seeking some other opinions on this, like are my balls gonna get all salty cause they're constantly smelling thier food? i'm completely positive i could've rephrased that. ANYWAYS....

[grammie]

I have mine in the same room. Doesn't lower the feeding response at all.

[Clear]

lol if anything it should raise the feeding response!

[aaschmitt]

well .... yeah that's what i was thinkin, that it would raise it, too far, to where they start expecting food everytime i stick my tasty hands in there wondering if there'd be an adverse affect either way, outside the worry for my fingers.

[grammie]

mine eat once a week, and they don't stress or seem like they are expecting food all the time. I handle them, love them, and when it's time to eat, they eat. No different than the two snakes I have in other rooms.

[truthsdeceit]

I keep all of my animals in the same room, some are even on the same shelf.

It's not an issue... I just make sure that I wash my hands really well after handling a rodent and before handling my snakes... soapy clean hands smell very different than rodents and I've never had a snake get confused.
I also make sure there's no line of sight between snakes and rodents so that they don't start hunting through the glass, or learn to hunt outside movement (like fingers).

My ball python has started feeding more aggressively (which is great cause he used to go on strikes for months) but he's still as gentle as ever to me and does occasionally still refuse a meal. My kingsnake (by far the most aggressive of my snakes before I started breeding my own feeders) can be found cruising for food at all hours, no change there, but hasn't got any more aggressive. I would say the snakes are more ready for the food now, and feed more readily in response but they don't hunt my fingers any more often.

I didn't originally want to keep then in the same room but I live in a one bedroom apartment so there no room to separate them. I can smell the rodent from the other room, I'm sure the snakes could.

[Ranegyr]

My ASF colony sits on top of 2 glass enclosures. I've never had any problems.

I agree with Clear that it could raise the feeding response. I don't see how it could be negative.

[frankykeno]

well .... yeah that's what i was thinkin, that it would raise it, too far, to where they start expecting food everytime i stick my tasty hands in there wondering if there'd be an adverse affect either way, outside the worry for my fingers.

My bp's live in the same room as my rat breeder/feeder colonies. My boas and my milksnake live in another room. Can't honestly say I see any difference in feeding responses other than with specific snakes who may feed in specific ways that aren't at all related to prey being nearby or not.

The only concern with nipping at your fingers would be if you smelled like prey. It's very easy to forget, go to feed the rats and then pull a snake tub out without washing off the prey scent first....been there...done it myself LOL. I've also seen folks open a snake enclosure, see a snake coiled and looking intently at them and for some completely silly reason, feel the need to wiggle their fingers in their snakes face. Not a good plan whether or not you smell like dinner.

[TJ20]

I keep mice, rats, and my snakes in the same little room that is my bedroom. My rat tub actualy sits on top of my male boa's enclosure. I've never experienced any problems such as extra aggressiveness/all the time feeding behavior, or any other prblems for that matter. I just make sure to wash/sanitize my hands between handlings and clean the rodent enclosures once a week.

[Darkice]

I have three 30gallon tanks set up with ASF's in the same room as all my snakes and geckos. In fact one of the rat tanks is next to a boa tank. I had to put a paper barrier between them to keep my boa from trying to get out. He was always climbing the glass.
The rats on the other hand might not like seeing the boa all over the side of their cage but i find it keeps them in line.