How to feed my shedding milk snake?

[Condog]

I need to know how to feed my new milk snake, his colors are just starting to fade and i need to know how to feed him before hand. To feed him on a regular day, I take him out of his cage and place hijm in a seperate container with his food, but during the shed, snakes get scared and could bite. How to I get him out of his cage to feed him. Or should I not even worry about it?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

I feed all my snakes in their enclosures whether they are in shed or not , it applies to BP, Milksnakes, Bulls, Carpets and Blood

[Condog]

I feed all my snakes in their enclosures whether they are in shed or not , it applies to BP, Milksnakes, Bulls, Carpets and Blood

I read everywhere that i should take it out to feed it. That way, it will notice that every time it's in its "hunting area" it knows its time to eat. Because then if you feed it in the enclosure it wont be able to tell if you are just trying to handle it or give it food. Also, the snake could ingest some substrate with it's meal, not good.

[JLC]

I read everywhere that i should take it out to feed it. That way, it will notice that every time it's in its "hunting area" it knows its time to eat. Because then if you feed it in the enclosure it wont be able to tell if you are just trying to handle it or give it food. Also, the snake could ingest some substrate with it's meal, not good.

Well, "everywhere" doesn't include here. I know folks here DO that...and that's fine. Whatever works for you. However, we're also very quick to point out that it's a complete myth that feeding inside the enclosure will cause your snake to confuse you with its food.

Snakes fed on a regular schedule frequently know it's feeding day even without being moved. Also pre-scenting the room for 20-30 minutes is an excellent way to get your snake into "hunting mode" without having to move it.

Do you go into the cage to clean it? Do you go into the cage to freshen the water? Do you go into the cage just to get your snake out sometimes? Then why would the 1 out of 4 reasons to go into the cage make the snake associate just that ONE thing with the cage opening? So long as you don't reach in with a hand smelling like a rodent, you'll be fine.

In the wild, they're not served their rodents on a paper towel or in a pristine plastic box. Snakes ingest twigs and leaves and dirt and grit with their food in the wild. A couple bits of aspen won't hurt it.

In other words....do whatever you think works best for you and your snake, but please do so with the knowledge that it's not necessary to move a snake into a separate enclosure to feed it.