Originally Posted by prettyballsy
I've been told I'm more likely to be bitten if my snakes associate opening the tub with food, you've been told you'll be more likely to be bitten because they'll associate being moved with food.....I think I'm going to assume snakes associate everything with food and sooner or later I'm going to get tagged!
I am concerned by all the posters who said moving them before feeding stresses them. That is not what I'm trying to accomplish at all so maybe feeding in the enclosure is a better idea....
Actually you have a higher chance of getting bitten when moving your snake to a feeding tub. They're still in feeding mode when they're done feeding and you need to pick them up to move them.
While it's rare, moving a full snake can result in a regurge. It's just less stressful to leave them in the tub. Plus, we don't have to bother them once they've downed the feeder. :\
At least, I wouldn't want to bother them once they're finished....
BPs are known to be a picky eater species. While your snakes may take food just fine out of their enclosure, I can tell you that many others won't.
Only a handful of my most aggressive feeders could probably pull off a separate feeding tub. The rest just feel more comfortable taking food in their own enclosures. When I first started, I did the separate feeding bin thing. I've noticed that my snakes have a stronger, more consistent feeding response in their own enclosure vs separate feeding tub. Also as Jerry said, when you only have 1-3 snakes it will work fine. But try doing that with a larger collection. Feeding would take hours.
A little bit of substrate isn't going to hurt your snake. After all, nobody cleans off dirt/debris covered prey in the wild.
And they do digest bone, which is more dense than wood.
Either way, whatever works for you.
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