who feeds in separate containers??

[cowbully]

Just wondering what the ratio is between people who feed their snakes in their cages versus people who feed theirs in separate cages/ containers

[Sky1982]

I feed in their cages with no problems.


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[Rob]

I have one who refuses to eat in her tub, but other then that I don't see any reason not to feed in their tubs.

[kitedemon]

I don't, and of the three breeders in my area they all feed in the enclosure the live in, all told that is about 400 snakes. I have a WC girl ( rescue) whom is so timid will not eat if she see me during offering. If I touched her she would never eat for a few days or more.

My point is not all snakes are pragmatic enough to tolerate handling before feeding and still feed. The best chance I have of a bite is during before or after feeding. Moving my most aggressive feeder on feeding day would be almost a sure way to get bit. Generally the thought of cage aggression is believed to be a myth. I am not saying there are no other reasons for separate tub feeding but not all snakes will feed after being moved.

[rabernet]

I don't feed in a separate enclosure. There's zero benefit to doing so for me.

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[Slim]

I feed in the tub, and always have. I've never had an issue with cage aggression.

New owners think they need to feed in a separate tub so the snake doesn't start to associate their hand with feeding time. For some reason, the fear of getting bitten makes new owners think this is a logical thing to do. Here's my break down of that thought process:

1) You stick your hand in the enclosure to handle the snake for husbandry and such, right?...you stick your hand in the enclosure to move the snake to a feeding tub, right? How is the snake ever supposed to know the difference? If the snake is going to make associations, wouldn't it be with being picked up? Things that make you go hmmm...

2) Let's say you move your snake to a feeding tub and successfully feed him. Now you have to move a snake that's in feeding mode back to its regular enclosure. Tell me again how you don't want to have a snake associate your hand with feeding time

3) If you use long tongs or hemostats to introduce the prey (which is recommended) how can they associate food with your hand?

4) The two things that trigger the feeding response are scent and heat. So, don't smell like a rat, and you won't trigger a feeding strike.

[LLLReptile]

I feed in the tub, and always have. I've never had an issue with cage aggression.

New owners think they need to feed in a separate tub so the snake doesn't start to associate their hand with feeding time. For some reason, the fear of getting bitten makes new owners think this is a logical thing to do. Here's my break down of that thought process:

1) You stick your hand in the enclosure to handle the snake for husbandry and such, right?...you stick your hand in the enclosure to move the snake to a feeding tub, right? How is the snake ever supposed to know the difference? If the snake is going to make associations, wouldn't it be with being picked up? Things that make you go hmmm...

2) Let's say you move your snake to a feeding tub and successfully feed him. Now you have to move a snake that's in feeding mode back to its regular enclosure. Tell me again how you don't want to have a snake associate your hand with feeding time

3) If you use long tongs or hemostats to introduce the prey (which is recommended) how can they associate food with your hand?

4) The two things that trigger the feeding response are scent and heat. So, don't smell like a rat, and you won't trigger a feeding strike.

I just wanted to add one last bit to this fantastic little list:

If the goal is to condition the snake to not associate its cage with food, the logical result of this is that the snake instead becomes conditioned that it ONLY eats when it is outside of its cage.
This means, what? Okay, so the snake doesn't bite you when its in the cage...but you have potentially conditioned your animal to more readily engage in a feeding response bite outside of the cage. The complete opposite of what this practice is intended, right?

Personally, if I have to pick where my snake ends up becoming aggressive, I'll pick the cage - at least there I can work with it, maneuver it, and deal with it. A snake that potentially can associate a traveling box with feeding, or a tub, or a soaking container, or just being out...that is much more unpredictable, and if you are working with another, larger species, potentially even dangerous.

I feed all of my snakes at home in their cages/tubs, personally. Haven't been bitten at home in years.

-Jen

[mackynz]

2) Let's say you move your snake to a feeding tub and successfully feed him. Now you have to move a snake that's in feeding mode back to its regular enclosure. Tell me again how you don't want to have a snake associate your hand with feeding time

3) If you use long tongs or hemostats to introduce the prey (which is recommended) how can they associate food with your hand?

I think that it's less of an association with a hand and more of an association with the opening of the cage something entering it (Hand, food, etc.)

More of a "Something is coming in, that means food." rather than a "I see hands when I am going to get food so these must be food."

Like how Pavlov's dogs associated the bell ringing with food, not just seeing the hand that rings the bell.

[Kaorte]

I think that it's less of an association with a hand and more of an association with the opening of the cage something entering it (Hand, food, etc.)

More of a "Something is coming in, that means food." rather than a "I see hands when I am going to get food so these must be food."

Like how Pavlov's dogs associated the bell ringing with food, not just seeing the hand that rings the bell.

The point is, there is no association. Ball pythons associate the smell of rodents with being fed, not the smell of your hand. They are primarily smell driven.

I stick my hand in my snakes enclosure nearly every day except for feeding day. Only been bitten once, and that was when I was removing an uneaten rodent from a tub.

[rebelrachel13]

I always feed in the same enclosure. My snakes are as docile and healthy as can be.

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