Question?

[jdouglas]

Cage aggression caused by feeding ball pythons inside their enclosures is a complete and total myth. They do not learn to associate their cages with food any more than they learn to associate a tub or towel with feeding time.

The feeding mode is triggered by scent, heat, and to a lesser degree, sight. Unless you smell like, have the heat signature of, and look like a rat, sticking your hand into your snakes cage to handle them will not engage them in feeding mode. Same with putting your snake in a tub or on a towel. They could care less where you put them down. You won't get a feeding response with out the proper stimuli.

There is no reason to feed a snake in a separate location. In fact, there are quite a few very real reasons not to feed outside the enclosure.

^^This, I have been feeding my boy in his cage. And he is the sweetest thing. The most he will do is go into a "strike position". I have even attempted to get him to strike at me by going straight in for him while he is in this position but he will not bite (I want to get my first bite over with haha). He must think hes a cobra or something the way he just gets taller and taller the closer I get but never hisses or strikes at me.

Now if I have presented the room with a F/T rat he will strike at anything that moves! Even the sliding glass doors while I am sliding them open! I don't want a feeding response bite though. So I would never touch or try to handle him while there is the smell of a rat in the room.