feeding in seperate enclosure?

[Brstin2flames]

I have a question for all those of you who feed in a seperate enclosure... how long do you wait to move your snake back into it's normal enclosure? Aren't you not supposed to handle them for about 48hrs so is moving them immediatly potentially stressful? I'm new to this and I'm considering feeding mine in a seperate enclosure to avoid me worrying about the loose substrate getting stuck to the mouse and potentail messes.

Of course if he gives me any problems feeding if I move him then I will just switch back to feeding in his normal enclosure.

Any advice would be great! Thanks!

[AkHerps]

I don't seem to have a problem lifting our older ball python or cornsnake from feeding container to tank. The ball is really docile and doesn't care, but the corn get's pretty nervous after feedings. I just gently lift them up by the "lump" and support all their weight and put them back in their tank, no worse for wear. I think you shouldn't hold them for extended periods of time after feeding, but the 10 seconds it takes to put them back isn't that big of a deal in my opinion.

[bearhart]

Advice? Hmm... How about "Don't post questions about this topic."

Heh - just joking around. There have been some long and heated threads on this issue for sure. Or maybe I'm thinking of live vs. frozen.

I started feeding in a separate enclosure with my first baby ball several years ago. I don't bother with it any more though. My experience has been that you can get away with it for juveniles that are ravenous all the time but adults will tend to skip meals due to stress of being put in unusual surroundings. Or, for stronger feeders, you have to deal with hauling a snake out of it's enclosure when it is most primed to feed. That sort of negates the whole safety aspect of the theory.

Snakes surely form associations with external stimuli such as food. This is a basic function of every animal and person on this planet - it is a function of the so-called "reptilian brain" in fact. The debatable part is whether or not the immediate environment (i.e. the enclosure) is the dominating trigger. I think it is a strong one but timing, hunger level, scent, and physical contact all taken together outweigh it. So, I just stick with basic "hook training". You open the enclosure and are ready for possible anticipation of food. You use a hook (or stick or whatever) to safely make first contact with the snake. At this point you can usually see a distinct change in their posture and disposition that means your signal that there is no feeding going on has worked. Then you can safely handle them.

Now, to actually answer your question. Whenever I do feed out-of-enclosure, I put the snake in the feeding area and let it acclimate for an hour or so. For older snakes that are more finicky, I have some success with things like a little bedding and heating to make it more homey and help get the snake in the mood. Assuming all goes well, I'll leave the snake in at least long enough to let it get out of feeding mode (say an hour) but if the feeding enclosure isn't too spartan, I'll leave it in overnight. In any case, I try to be very gentle and brief when transferring a snake that has recently eaten.

[JNballs]

hello,

we have tried to feed in seperate enclosures for a short time, but since we have all the balls in tha rack, we just feed there! we use a substrate which makes no problems when swallowed, and the snakes never ate better then now.
feeding in seperate enclosures always was kind of luck, some week they ate, the other not,...

[Oxylepy]

Snakes can be handled right after feeding, I've had snakes poo within 10 minutes after eating, then cleaned out their tub with the snake around my neck.

[theartofsolitude]

i've posted some thread exactly like this like 2 weeks back.

experts would say that you can feed your snake in their own enclosures, no need for a different one. and it seems to work fine as i tried.

but for me, the different encolsure still works better.. sure there is a stress on moving the snake from enclosue to his home, but just be sure to support all his weight and weight is distributed equally on at least 75% of his body to prevent muscle contraction.

this worked for me great, my snake knows when its feeding time and gosh he just grabs the feed in less than 10 secs!

[Kaorte]

Snakes can be handled right after feeding, I've had snakes poo within 10 minutes after eating, then cleaned out their tub with the snake around my neck.

Well yes they CAN be handled, but it should be avoided. Picking them up for a few seconds to move them or clean the enclosure won't matter. Handling them for long periods of time might provoke a regurgitation.

[Oxylepy]

Well yes they CAN be handled, but it should be avoided. Picking them up for a few seconds to move them or clean the enclosure won't matter. Handling them for long periods of time might provoke a regurgitation.

Yes, very good point, thanks. I was just trying to dispel the phobia of not picking them up at all after feeding, trying to handle them for an hour could be a disastrous idea, but it wont kill the snake if you pick them up for a couple minutes after feeding. Though if you smell like rodent that may be a bad idea

[Skiploder]

Has anyone had their snake regurge after being moved back into the enclosure after eating?

[RR - Mackenzie]

I know this isn't related... but...

I feed my snake in his enclosure. He is eating just fine, he has never tried to bite, hiss, or strike at me. He knows when I have food or not, and he is eating fine. I also pet him before I pick him up, so that could also be it, too.