who feeds in separate containers??

[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