Christmas Boa Heat Concerns

[Gio]

Another feeding-related topic, I read multiple people posting saying that feeding in the cage is healthier. Is this just due to the fact that you aren't handling the snake after it's eaten? I felt these posts were worded wrong seeing as, regardless which container the rat goes in, it's the same rat, it has the same nutritional value. I had never heard of feeding in the enclosure due to the fact that feeding outside is always recommended. I should be feeding in their respective bins, though, correct? I'm going to hook-train them not only for my peace of mind but for my daughter's safety when she becomes old enough to want to interact with these magnificent animals.

Feeding in a separate container is one of the biggest myths going. The thought process behind it is totally flawed. People say the snake will "think" every time the cage is opened its going to eat and you risk being bitten. Well, you still have to open the cage to REMOVE the snake to feed elsewhere, which requires pre and post feed handling. So, using the mythical theory in reverse, one could easily argue you will be bitten every time you remove the snake from it's enclosure.

You ARE far more likely to be bitten putting a snake back into it's enclosure after feeding in a separate tank if it's feeding response it still turned on and the smell of food is in the air. My boa, at times is still in "feed" mode a day after he eats.

I've always wondered why nobody thinks if you are just taking the animal out to handle why it wouldn't make the same association about food using the same theory, seeing that it's out of the enclosure and that is when it gets food regularly. So,, open cage means food, but out of the cage means wait and see???? Makes no sense because it isn't associating the open cage door with food or being out of the cage with food. There is more to it.

The snake isn't reacting to being in or out, it's reacting to smells and movements. The closer it is to feeding day, the more movements and smells will stimulate the snake.

The answer to safely feeding in or out of the enclosure is NOT to smell or move like a prey item.

I'm baffled that people ignore the fact that keepers of multiple giant retics, burms, olive and scrub pythons would spend hours moving these huge animals around to feed in a separate area. They feed the snake where it lives. You'd have 2, 3 or 4 people doing the job.

That doesn't even begin to cover what would happen with venomous snakes.


The only reasons I could see feeding in another area would be if you have 2 snakes in the same cage or to minimize ingestion of substrate, which can be avoided by laying news print down in the cage.

All that said people do find a system that works for them and should do as they choose, but the myth that in cage feeding causes aggression, is just that, a myth.