getting him out of his hide

[SnakeLos]

okay my BP has been inside his hide for 4 days and i havent seen him come out at all (he probably came out while i was sleeping) and i check up on him at noon, the evening and past midnight... my question is how do i get him out of his hide when i feed him because im going start feeding him out of his enclosure in a rubbermaid and also how do i check if hes going into shed so i know when to mist to 70% ????

[sw204me]

Plop the mouse in there, he will smell it and do the rest on his own. Mine was passed out in his hide when I put his tuesday meal in there, took about 5-7 min for him to realise what was in the cage with him, the rest is history.

[kavmon]

not trying to be sarcastic, but you just lift up the hide and pick him up!



vaughn

[SnakeLos]

wouldnt plopping up the hide cause stress on him, leading him to get defensive and refusal to being picked up??

[SnakeLos]

Plop the mouse in there, he will smell it and do the rest on his own. Mine was passed out in his hide when I put his tuesday meal in there, took about 5-7 min for him to realise what was in the cage with him, the rest is history.

i have my snake on coconut husk and i dont want him to ingest any of it and i have gotten advice from alot of people saying i should feed in outside of his enclosure ?? any truth to this?

[kavmon]

no, feeding inside the enclosure causes no problems.



vaughn

[casperca]

wouldnt plopping up the hide cause stress on him, leading him to get defensive and refusal to being picked up??

if you are worried about this, why don't you feed in the enclosure? if you have a super skiddish snake, then maybe it will be very stressful, but it has been my experience that once they smell that mouse/rat, they switch into "feed mode" and eat the same as if they were in their tub. it really depends on the snake though. if you are gonna feed out of the tank, have the container close by and just move the snake to it with as little handling as possible to eliminate some stress. but there is definatly nothing wrong with feeding in the enclosure, wherever your snake feels comfortable enough to feed. Hope this helps

[frankykeno]

A ball python being inside a hide is pretty much "situation normal" for these snakes. Just lift the hide and move the snake. We have a habit of giving each snake a little stroke down their dorsal just to let them know we are picking them up but do whatever works for you and your snake. As others have said there's no reason you have to feed in a seperate bin. Totally up to you of course but feeding in the enclosure doesn't lead to problems usually or that your snake will now consider your hand food or some such thing.

[SnakeLos]

alrighty, i think ill just feed him in his enclosure... thx everyone! and one more thing, its ok for me to lift up his hide right? to check for poop or to see if hes going into shed??

[xdeus]

They usually don't defecate in their hides, but it's fine to lift it up and check on them or if you want to pick them up. Why would you be concerned about lifting up the hide?