How do YOU feed your BP?

[Punkymom]

I feed f/t and I feed in the enclosure. I either thaw my rats out on the counter (takes a couple hours) or I put them in the fridge and let them thaw over night. I warm them in hot water for 10 min and they're good to go! I try not to handle the rats with my bare hands bc I'm HIGHLY allergic to them! They stay in the baggie all through the thawing and heating process and then I handle them with tongs. With one of my snakes I don't even have to do a zombie rat dance...as soon as he smells it, it's over! My newest little guy still needs a little convincing, LOL, so the rat does a little dance all over the place!

[PurplePython]

I was feeding my BP frozen medium rats which he enjoyed, but the process to prepare them took several hours as I thaw them out in warm water before giving it to him. I found that I was unable to get a regular feeding schedule because I would not be able to dedicate 3 hours to being in my office on any regular day. I get pulled out frequently into the field, so I had to find another solution.

I decided to try a live rat. I dropped it in his enclosure and although I don't like the sound of the mouse dying, it is very VERY quick (not like they are suffering) and I felt like I really got to see how my snake would act in the wild. Instead of sniffing around and snapping at a pair of tongs, I witnessed the snake slowly creep up on an unexpecting rat before striking. It was really interesting and to me, the enjoyment my snake got out of it (and me) makes it worth it even though I don't particularly like riding home from the pet store with that cute little rat.

This also makes it much easier for me to regulate his feedings.... every Friday now!

Yes thats the way I plan on doing it also. Just setting the mouse in the tank, and letting the snake sniff him out and slowly creep up on him. I figured that is the best way to feed them because in the wild they arn't going to get fed with tongs or frozen pre-killed prey. Also this way he can get a little extra exersize and I don't have to bother handling him before/after the feeding by tanking him out of his tank. I'm sure they enjoy hunting their food because its basically their instinct.

[broadude]

Holding the snake by the head, I smack the bejesus out of it with the rat to make it angry enough to strike..then leave them to it in the gladiators arena, and let nature do the rest.









Seriously: I feed males and females alternately..not on the same day...so, open tub, drop in rat, move on to next tub. Give everyone 30 minutes..then make rounds to remove any uneaten prey.

[Bruce Whitehead]

Yes thats the way I plan on doing it also. Just setting the mouse in the tank, and letting the snake sniff him out and slowly creep up on him. I figured that is the best way to feed them because in the wild they arn't going to get fed with tongs or frozen pre-killed prey. Also this way he can get a little extra exersize and I don't have to bother handling him before/after the feeding by tanking him out of his tank. I'm sure they enjoy hunting their food because its basically their instinct.

They are not hunting out of enjoyment, they are hunting because it is how they eat... you may or may not get a better feed response in the manner you described, but do what works for your snake.

I always hear "this is how they do it in the wild" but your snake is not in the wild, I will hazard a guess the snake is many generations deep into captivity? Eating off of tongs is just as effective, as is eating FT vs. eating live.

They get as much exercise hitting FT as they do live. Again, a captive snake has a limited range of movement and hunting range, so truly the difference in minimal (and ineffective).

Feed in what ever manner works for you and the snake.

Bruce

PS: I feed a combination of FT and live. Some FT I leave in overnight, others I zombie-dance around the enclosure, others need 20 minutes with live prey, other hit instantaneously, all depends on the snake.

[ballpythonluvr]

I feed live mice because that is all my snakes will eat at this point. I just drop the mouse in the enclosure, superivse the feeding and then leave the snakes alone so they can eat in privacy.

[stratus_020202]

I am trying to switch to frozen. My mojo male is a hide striker, and was scratched during the last live feeding. Stupid rat! How dare he scratch my snake. Lol.

It would calm my nerves if they would all switch to frozen, but if they would rather have live then so be it.

[twan]

i feed my bp in a seperate 20 gallon tank.

[Oroborous]

All my snakes are fed p/k or f/t. Sometimes the only way to get my big female BP to eat is if I put her in a separate tub in a dark pre-scented dark room. All the others are fed in their enclosures using hemostats.

[loonunit]

In a separate enclosure, f/t mice, typically dangling from my fingers by their tails. Most of my snakes won't go for a f/t mouse that's just lying there cold.

But I'm usually too lazy to grab the tongs unless I have to retrieve a dropped mouse from under a snake that's still staring intently at my empty fingers.

[Punkymom]

Holding the snake by the head, I smack the bejesus out of it with the rat to make it angry enough to strike..then leave them to it in the gladiators arena, and let nature do the rest.

HOLY COW!!! You made me laugh so hard! I totally got a visual on that!