I am a seperate tub feeder, mostly cause i use to have large boas and did not want cage aggro in them, I find with a seperate feeding tub they get into food mode as soon as they hit the tub, I ussually let them sit in there a minute to prime them up, with the mice in there hot water in the room to get the smells going, when i open that lid they are pretty stoked to see a mouse