**New snake owner** Should I disturb my ball python to feed it?

[VEXER19]

imo, you should never feed on a paper towel, this snake died in the process of accidentally swallowing a paper towel that was stuck to the rodent (not my snake, pulled from google):



a little bit of substrate isnt going to hurt your snake, unless theres alot, or theres large peices, but small bits of coco wont hurt them at all

You always find the craziest pics. That is another reason why you don't feed and walk away. No way that owner sat back and watched it eat all that.

[cmack91]

You always find the craziest pics...

thanks, i try lol

That is another reason why you don't feed and walk away..

especially if you ever feed live, this snake was probably left over night with a rat in the cage (also pulled from google):

[heathers*bps]

I would try feeding him/her. No need to take the snake out of the enclosure, a little bit of substrate, if swallowed, will not hurt him/her. Good luck and we love seeing pics around here

[Emily Hubbard]

Both of those pics are instances of not supervising. I don't think there is any danger in feeding on a paper towel if you supervise. I never toss food and walk away. I no longer feed on a towel because I changed substrates, but when I did, she never came close to eating it, and I never left until the prey way fully swallowed and she had crawled back in her hide. If she HAD started eating it, I would have caught it when her lip caught the corner, it would have gone nowhere.

I would hope that anyone who feeds live knows better than to walk away. There is a pic in the ball python book I got before getting my girl of a poor snake that was left alone with live prey and actually survived, but its pigment was gone in most places after it healed up. Looked like a pied that went through a blender. So sad. I actually think supervision is a must no matter what method you use. Just safer all around.

[cmack91]

Both of those pics are instances of not supervising. I don't think there is any danger in feeding on a paper towel if you supervise. I never toss food and walk away. I no longer feed on a towel because I changed substrates, but when I did, she never came close to eating it, and I never left until the prey way fully swallowed and she had crawled back in her hide. If she HAD started eating it, I would have caught it when her lip caught the corner, it would have gone nowhere.

I would hope that anyone who feeds live knows better than to walk away. There is a pic in the ball python book I got before getting my girl of a poor snake that was left alone with live prey and actually survived, but its pigment was gone in most places after it healed up. Looked like a pied that went through a blender. So sad. I actually think supervision is a must no matter what method you use. Just safer all around.

just in case you were wondering, i wasnt trying to bash you, so sorry if it went over like that, i was just trying to point out that there is a risk

[Emily Hubbard]

just in case you were wondering, i wasnt trying to bash you, so sorry if it went over like that, i was just trying to point out that there is a risk

Oh no, I understand you weren't bashing. I was just stating that both of the very important problems you highlighted can be solved with supervision. You stated it visually, I did it with words. Sometimes we need to see those graphic pics to highlight the importance of being vigilant and taking 20 min or so to just watch the prey go down without incident. We need to learn from the mistakes of others, and your pics were two VERY big mistakes made by others. The problem was not the paper towel or life feeding. It was a lazy or uninformed keeper.

[cmack91]

Oh no, I understand you weren't bashing.

okay, good

It was a lazy or uninformed keeper.

and thats the only reason i post them

[MikeJuggles]

Thank you to everyone that replied. Glad to be a member of this community. I will post up pics of my new baby as soon as I get more spare time.
His/her(not sure of the gender) first feeding went very smooth. In a separate container I dangled the mouse around near it's face but wouldn't take it. Once I dropped the mouse though it was all over. Happened so fast it scared me a little bit.
I was a little afraid to pick my baby back up to return to the tank right after eating, but there was no problem. I don't know how ball pythons are about being handled after feeding.
But again, thanks to everyone who replied, and will keep the community posted with new info as it comes.

[Mike41793]

No need to take the snake out of the tank to feed. The description of your setup sounds ok with the noted exception of another hide. I'd say after 8 days, you should be good to go. I would try to feed IN the enclosure and see if he goes. Taking him out to feed does nothing but create unnecessary stress for the snake that could potentially trigger refusals.

Ok so not to hijack the thread but are you saying that it is perfectly fine to feed in the enclosure? Because I was always told that the snake would associate the opening of the tank with feeding then and become more aggressive. I only have one snake so its not really that much extra work for me to do it but Im just wondering?

[Annarose15]

Ok so not to hijack the thread but are you saying that it is perfectly fine to feed in the enclosure? Because I was always told that the snake would associate the opening of the tank with feeding then and become more aggressive. I only have one snake so its not really that much extra work for me to do it but Im just wondering?

Feeding in the enclosure will NOT cause your BP to become aggressive. I have 17 currently, and everyone eats in their respective tubs. I have not issue taking them out the next day or any other day, by hand. In fact, you put yourself at greater risk by picking them up out of a feeding tub when they might still be in feeding mode. If you think about it, you probably open that cage to handle him more than you do to feed him, so a conditioned response would be to assume it isn't food until he can smell it. Some of mine are fed more often than they're held, and I still have zero problems.