Feeding box?

[shotty]

Hi,
Having previously owned a corn snake I always fed him in a seperate container as this seemed to be the done thing. Ive read lots about ball pythons and there seems to be much less emphasis on feeding the snakes outside of their viv. What do u guys do? Should I feed my BP outside his viv? I use aspen as substrate and heard this may be harmful if ingested so Im worried about just laying a mouse on the vivs floor.

One final question...My BP is captive bred and 2 months old. Hes been feeding fine whilst at the breeder and seems very tame. How long should I leave him to settle into his new home before attempting handling and feeding him, Ive had him 2 days now and left him alone so far.

Any help will be much appreciated.

Cheers!

[elevatethis]

Should I feed my BP outside his viv?

Seems to be a split between inside and in a seperate container. There's a myth out there that feeding a snake in their enclosure will cause them to be aggressive to anyone coming into the cage. If you removed the snake from the cage and then fed, you could make an equally convincing arguement that the snake would then go into feeding mode each and every time you removed it from the cage to handle it. So to answer your question: it doesn't matter...whatever works for you. Many balls are shy feeders and eat better when they are on "their turf."

I use aspen as substrate and heard this may be harmful if ingested so Im worried about just laying a mouse on the vivs floor.

No problem if they injest a piece or two. They've got a nice strong simple digestive system that takes care of all that.

My BP is captive bred and 2 months old. Hes been feeding fine whilst at the breeder and seems very tame. How long should I leave him to settle into his new home before attempting handling and feeding him, Ive had him 2 days now and left him alone so far.

Its "standard procedure" around here to leave them alone completely w/o any handling for a week to allow them to settle in an become acclimated to their surroundings. In my experience, I've had bps that needed a week and other that needed only minutes and ate right away. Wait a week with no handling to be on the safe side.

I think that covers it!

[Lioness]

Seems to be a split between inside and in a seperate container. There's a myth out there that feeding a snake in their enclosure will cause them to be aggressive to anyone coming into the cage. If you removed the snake from the cage and then fed, you could make an equally convincing arguement that the snake would then go into feeding mode each and every time you removed it from the cage to handle it. So to answer your question: it doesn't matter...whatever works for you. Many balls are shy feeders and eat better when they are on "their turf."

i feed mine out of her enclosure simply becuase of the first 'myth'.. i would hate for her to have somewhat of an appetite and sense my warm blood and expect me to be food. and like you said.. it could be equally argued that the snake can associate being taken out and handled as feeding time as well.. so to avoid that..this is what i do.

I try to handle 4 days after feeding[to ensure the meal has been digested].. til about the 8th day after the feeding. then when its feeding time again.. i dont handle her too much. i just pick her up and put her in the other enclosure quickly ..then toss the rat in there. And to be safe.. i use the same enclosure to feed everytime. it has a familiar scent of food..so she knows its coming. If its not feeding time.. she doesnt see or smell that box at all. Its worked for me so far

[Adam_Wysocki]

i feed mine out of her enclosure simply becuase of the first 'myth'.. i would hate for her to have somewhat of an appetite and sense my warm blood and expect me to be food. and like you said.. it could be equally argued that the snake can associate being taken out and handled as feeding time as well.. so to avoid that..this is what i do.

If it puts you at ease at all, I have a couple of hundred ball pythons that all get fed in their cages every week (for the last 10 years or so) and none of them mistake my hands, arms, legs or anything else for food.

Feed box or not, as long as you enter their cages for regular cleaning/handling/water, they are smart enough to know the difference between a person and a rodent.

Hope this helps.

-adam

[frankykeno]

Sounds like you've got a lovely baby ball python, congrats on acquiring him/her. We leave ours all for a week or so to settle in and don't handle them much until we have two or three feedings in them. Afterwards of course they get the 48 hours of hands-off after each weekly feeding.

If you want to feed in a seperate container I don't think there's a really huge problem with it as long as you don't trigger a regurge when you are moving a just fed snake (or get bitten yourself if the snake is still in hunt mode) but there's also no real reason to do it. BP's are ambush hunters and tend to like hunting from their hides, from on top of their hides or using their hides as cover - very cool to watch by the way - so feeding them in their own enclosure gives them that. None of ours has ever mistaken us for rats - if they want to bite us, I'm sure it's because we deserved it LOL.

If you are really worried about aspen ingestion put down a pad of newspaper over it if you like but as Brad said, a tiny bit of aspen isn't a problem for a creature with stomach acid strong enough to fully digest bone, teeth, hair, etc.

[Mr. Morph]

If it puts you at ease at all, I have a couple of hundred ball pythons that all get fed in their cages every week (for the last 10 years or so) and none of them mistake my hands, arms, legs or anything else for food.

Feed box or not, as long as you enter their cages for regular cleaning/handling/water, they are smart enough to know the difference between a person and a rodent.

Hope this helps.

-adam

When's the best time to feed them? Being nocternal I would guess late in the evening. What time do you feed your balls?

[elevatethis]

I've had better success with feeding in the evening...not sure if it makes an difference. Probably whats more effective is the fact that I feed about the same time on the same day each week. Consistency goes a long way with these guys.

[Razaiel]

I always feed mine in the evening - usually just when she's starting to wake up and poke her head out a bit.