Feed in cage or separate cage?

[Tiny_loves_Roxanne]

seperate cage teaches your snake that

1. your fingers are not prey
2. that when they recognize the scent of the second cage/box that its feeding time

[jimbo4382]

Well i feed defrost and they know its feeding time coz a pre scent.

So handling a 4ft+ snake in feeding mode is a sure way to get nailed IMO. Even after they have eaten they will always take another one.

I would suggest you remove any items that could potentially get swallowed before you start to defrost / pre scent the room

I've had snakes for 8 years and have not been biten yet

jim

[snakesRkewl]

seperate cage teaches your snake that

1. your fingers are not prey
2. that when they recognize the scent of the second cage/box that its feeding time

old school and untrue
Separate cage means possibly getting bit more often, as mentioned, many snakes will eat more than one prey item.

Mine know it's feeding time when I open and close the lids quickly or slide open and closed the drawer quickly.
They have learned to assume that if I leave the lid open it's not feeding time, just time for love

I'm a firm believer in feeding ball pythons in their own housing, and most hobbyist these days will agree

[Punkymom]

seperate cage teaches your snake that

1. your fingers are not prey
2. that when they recognize the scent of the second cage/box that its feeding time

Funny, my BP has never bitten me. Not once. He also has never bit any of my children for that matter...strange seeing as our fingers look like food to him. My snake smells his rat and knows it's feeding time. I've never had him be confused bc the smell of the "other container" wasn't there. I don't see anything wrong with feeding in another container. I personally don't do it bc it seems to be more of a hassle than anything else. If this was a problem that BP's had (see your list) then everyone would be feeding in another enclosure. I do, however, have a routine for my snakes. When I'm getting them out of the cage, I move their hide and pick them up right away. When it's feeding day, I move the hide, move them over and let them explore a little. This has worked fine for my snake. He almost automatically starts looking for food.