Removing items in cage for feeding

[IAFFbuckeye]

I have a few days before I feed our new BP, but want to make it as stress free for the snake and I as possible. Have a 6 month old BP in her new cage which is a 20 L, which I have cluttered up to make her feel secure. I am just wondering to feed her, would it be ok to remove the water bowl which is large and the climing branches? Or will this make her more stressed due to the changes. I ask because there is not a ton of room for her to strike and coil at a prey item. I would really like to feed her in the cage instead of having a seperate feeding box. My plan was to remove the water dish and branches and after feeding just put them back in. Ill put a few pics below so you can see how crowded it is for her normally. Any ideas would be great thanks.

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[snake lab]

You really dont need all that stuff in there to begin with. I understand the desire to have a nice display but ball pythons are not a good display animal. They would much rather hide then have climbing branches and all the other stuff. Ball pythons in the wild spend the majority of the time burrowed and hiding.

[Tfpets]

^I would agree.
Just having all of that stuff in the tank to begin with might cause stress, which could lead to feeding issues. Then removing the decorations and the related rustling to feed will make it even worse. 2 hides and a water bowl would be perfect!

[OhhWatALoser]

I don't see extra items causing stress. Actually I clutter up the cages of problem feeders if just a hide alone isn't doing it and it almost always gets them to eat.

To answer your question OP. Only you can observe how your snake is going to react. All animals are different. We can tell you trends, but your animal may not follow them at all. More than half my snakes do not have hides or anything in their cages and have no problems eating. The others need a hide. Just try to feed your animal and find out what does or does not work with them.

However in my experience you have nothing to worry about with having room to coil something, if there isn't room, they make the room.

[IAFFbuckeye]

Thanks for the comments guys. I had the same thinking in mind as Ohhwataloser as into adding alot of rocks and plants in there to make her feel more secure due to being a larger tank and her age. I guess I will just have to try it out when the time comes and adjust accordingly. At this point I will just leave the set up as is so she doesnt get stressed anymore since she is only on day two with us.

[Jazi]

I made the mistake of buying a tank far too big for my little guy and was told to have lots of hides and lots of plant cover so that he wouldn't panic from being so exposed. As a result I also have a nice naturalesque enclosure and he's doing just fine in it. I don't remove the big stuff during feeding time but I do remove whichever hide he's under, feed him, and put it back down on top of him. Outside of one skipped week during shed, he's eaten very well for me. You could try feeding your snake that way insyead of causing too much of a scene moving around the big stuff like the branches.

[snakesRkewl]

I wouldn't change a thing, just feed and watch.
If the prey has places to hide that doesn't allow the snake to take it down then I'd rethink the design, otherwise feed away.

Adding stuff to clutter it up isn't going to stress the snake out at all, having a bare tank is much worse...

[kitedemon]

I almost always keep snakes in cluttered cages, the sterile minimalistic seems to be a N. American trend and many in Europe have a different style. I don't bother to remove anything I just always keep a space clear for the strike zone an they feed where they want to. I keep close tabs on them in case they catch some thing as well but have never had an issue. Most of mine strike just at the mouth of the door I don't always get rats inside at all.

[IAFFbuckeye]

Looks like the clutter won out with you recommendations lol. I guess I am not big into the minimalistic look for the cage and would rather have it more natural looking. I will just feed her in her little jungle and see how it goes. The hard part of all this has been waiting to hold her again since we just brought her home. I also feel like I have adhd by going in the room with stealth like a ninja as to not disturb her, but to check temps and humidity. Dont worry I have not been wearing a ninja mask yet.

[snake lab]

If you want it natural looking then build a termite mound. Thats where most balls are found in the wild. Dug into termite mounds.