Ball Python ate A LOT of substrate

[Bogertophis]

... I turn their hides upside-down and feed them in the "bowl" it makes...

I do that too, sometimes. Especially for my longnose snake, that eats about 6 fuzzies & it takes a while- this keeps them out of his substrate, otherwise he tends to push them off the cardboard that I leave them on. It's a good technique, as long as it doesn't stress out your snake; I think it might put too many B.P.s off eating, since they tend to be shy, & feel bolder striking & taking prey from their 'doorway', so suddenly taking that away could easily make for a failed feeding. Otherwise, it's a good tactic. You can always use either an extra hide or a shallow bowl to feed in, just leaving their actual hide in place.