Live feeding in tank? (Warning-graphic photo!)

[Bogertophis]

"Tank aggression" (a strong feeding response whenever the cage is opened) is rare, but it is not a myth. I've had a corn snake and a bullsnake that were tank aggressive. The corn was a bit over 3 feet long. When the cage top was taken off, he'd throw head and 8 inches of body over the tank edge, open his mouth and eagerly wait to have a dead mouse plugged into his mouth. The bull was nearly 6 feet long and sometimes sailed right out of his cage. I've never heard of a cage aggressive ball python, though.

IMO, swallowing substrate along with prey is a bigger worry than tank aggression.

Rodent bite trauma is the worst worry. This is potentially fatal. I was once given a boa that mice had chewed on. The snake healed, but the scars were really nasty. Nasty as in dead white skin, without scales, nearly 2 inches across. Feeding dead prey is the safest way.

Yes, to be clear about what I meant to say: "tank aggression", while technically "real", still should NOT be the main consideration when it comes to safely feeding our pet snakes.

What's more, I don't consider "tank aggression" to be much of an issue anyway, as there are ways to communicate to your snake that food IS NOT incoming. A light spray of water, for example, to the over-eager face of a hungry snake, often suffices to "change their channel" safely & effectively. And I've kept my share of snakes that "launch" first & ask questions later...

For those who have never noticed, most snakes are ALWAYS thinking about food anyway- it's how they survive- they cannot afford to miss an opportunity to eat when they can- so you should ALWAYS pay attention to your snake's body language & signal that you are not prey. Make communication to your snakes a real habit. But as you said, paulh, BPs are not likely to be "cage aggressive" anyway.