Feeding question.

[Tidus10]

I personally have separate tanks for feeding and I see no negative affects from switching tanks for feeding and it helps keep the "food" smell out of their main tank.. But that's just me..

[Jeo123]

I've only had my snake for about 2 months now, but I've been feeding him in a separate "enclosure"(it's just one of those white USPS boxes) and I've never once had any trouble with him eating f/t mice. I keep doing it not because I'm worried about him being aggressive if I feed him in the tank, but rather because he's now come to associate being put in the box with eating. I usually put him in while the mouse is still thawing and he spends the entire time searching for the mouse. When I go to put it in, he strikes instantly with no issues.

As for moving him back, I usually wait until he's done swallowing and has started to move around a bit more before taking him out. So far, no mice have come back up.

[Nimitz87]

I agree with what's been said: it's a myth that your snake will become aggressive if you feed him in his enclosure, and it can even stress them out if you try to move them before and after feeding.

One thing that is really important is to be careful about feeding on loose substrate (aspen, coco husk, etc.) because if your prey item is damp or if your snake gets really excited about it, it's possible that your snake could ingest part of the substrate.

I used to keep mine on aspen and fed on it, but after a scare about aspen ingestion I moved him immediately onto strictly paper towels with no problems.

I know zero about this as I don't have a BP (yet) but what harm would a small bit of aspen do to the snake? surely they eat dirt/bark, etc. in the wild when eating prey.

Chad

[Jeo123]

I may be mistaken, but I don't think their natural environment has the same bark that is commonly used as a substrate. In the wild, you're more likely to find wood that has largely decomposed or isn't small enough to be swallowed. The dirt isn't a real issue(though I'm sure it's not good).

The main threat from the bark is that it could get impacted and essentially stab the snake from the inside. Picture swallowing a somewhat large toothpick. If that poked both edges into the side of your throat, you'd have no way to swallow it and it could likely poke a hole in your throat.

[anatess]

I personally have separate tanks for feeding and I see no negative affects from switching tanks for feeding and it helps keep the "food" smell out of their main tank.. But that's just me..

I've only had my snake for about 2 months now, but I've been feeding him in a separate "enclosure"(it's just one of those white USPS boxes) and I've never once had any trouble with him eating f/t mice. I keep doing it not because I'm worried about him being aggressive if I feed him in the tank, but rather because he's now come to associate being put in the box with eating. I usually put him in while the mouse is still thawing and he spends the entire time searching for the mouse. When I go to put it in, he strikes instantly with no issues.

As for moving him back, I usually wait until he's done swallowing and has started to move around a bit more before taking him out. So far, no mice have come back up.

I do the same thing. I feed live. My tank is "designer" - too many places for a rat to wedge himself into that a snake can't get to. No rat poop allowed in my tanks either. So, I feed in separate enclosure wait for the snake to completely finish swallowing/re-aligning its jaw and move him back to his tank. No problems.

[Hilltop]

I saw a couple people write that cage aggro is a myth, thats just sillly. It maybe uncommon in BPs but to tell a new guy its a myth is bad, what if his next snake is not a ball. I have seen it in boas, and I have 2 balls that where feed in there cages before I got them, and they act differant when i open there lid, They dont strike but they have a differant look on there face, till I touch them they are in food mode, This is in fact cage aggersion, my balls always size it up before striking, where the boas and corns i have had in the past, shoot first and ask if they can swallow it after. The BPs tendecty check out there food before they strike IMHO is the reason that they have "no cage aggro". not that they arent in food mode when you open the cage.



chris