Getting a BP in 2 weeksish, trying to learn as much as I can.

[KMG]

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I feed all of my snakes in their cage. Its pretty easy to take a BP out of a tank or tub and feed it in another place but think about doing this with the big guys out there. I don't have anything huge but I do have a BRB and Blood that are about 6ft with the Blood weighing in at 30lbs. Can you imagine even trying to move them while they are ready to eat? That would be nuts and I guarantee you will end up bit. Even my GTP which is small in comparison would be an absolute terror to move while wanting to feed.

Even though I feed my guys in their cage I have never been tagged by my Blood or BRB, the GTP is another story. Im not saying that it will never happen but my collection is not a hunger crazed bunch ready to strike every time the door opens.

As for being bit or tagged. I would say its not if you will but more accurately, when. It may not be from your BP as mine has never even tried to tag me. If you get into snakes you will find you cant just have one. So one day you will have that certain snake that will give you a very special bite. Once you get it you become a member of a very important club. You do have to report it with pictures to secure your membership. I have been tagged by my Hoggy, 2 GTPs, and all three of my younger Bloods. All of those are worse than a BP but none were bad. Even the slowest snakes are lightning fast when they want to be and many times the bite is over before you even know it happened. They are not bad as the teeth are so sharp. A BP bite is nothing to fear and those that have survived to tell about it have likened it to brushing up against the rough portion of Velcro.

Now while I said none of the bites I have received were bad I am not saying that all snake bites are that way. My big Blood can hit like a freight train when she wants to and Im sure that if she ever decided to latch onto me I will be reporting a pretty nasty incident.

As for the substrate I have never worried about it. I don't place the rats on paper, plate, or alter. I just pull the rat out of the warm water and offer it to the snake. It is taken and though it does hit the substrate sometimes the amount of stuck on and ingested substrate is minimal and has never been an issue. My preferred substrate is a mixture of Eco Earth, Cypress Mulch, and Repti Bark except my BRB and Big Blood who are on newspaper.