feeding?

[ianpudlich]

hi.i've got aspen wood shavings as my substrate for my small red-tail boa.am i ok to feed it on this substrate? if not,anybody got any advice how to feed it?
thanks

[xdeus]

It should be fine. The biggest risk with feeding on wood shavings is that the larger pieces can possibly get stuck or cut their mouth. It's not very common, but just something to be aware of.

How are you feeding the snake? Live, F/T, or PK? If you're doing F/T or PK, just use tongs and make sure the prey is dry so the substrate doesn't stick to it.

[cassandra]

When my ball and boa were younger, I used to feed them on small pieces of cardboard inside their enclosure, on top of the aspen, maybe 8" x 8".

Now that my ball and boa are larger, I don't bother with the cardboard...they may get a chip or two of shavings in with the feeder animal, but those are nothing to digest in comparison to the bones they are digesting. =)

[Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]

I typically feed directly on the shavings. I enjoyed the convience when I used news print, but the wood shavings just suit me better. I don't worry about it. if i notice them injesting wood chips, I just try and get them out with my tongs.

[waltah!]

I feed directly on the aspen too and it's never been a problem. The food barely touches the ground anyway since they always take from the tongs. I do feed my baby corn and baby hognose in a plastic container though.

[edie]

i was able to get my hog island boa to eat in a separate container for me the first few months i had her, but now she'll have nothing to do with it.. both of my boas are on newspaper until their new cages get here so i don't worry about it now.

my BPs on the other hand are still on aspen, and only eat in their cage, i haven't had a problem with it at all.. but i still get worried about the aspen so i'll be switching them to newspaper when their rack gets here.

i'm assuming that if they ingest enough shavings they'll get fecal impaction, correct? as far as i know only cows and termites have enzymes that can actually digest wood, unless snakes have this ability too.. let me know if anyone can answer this for me...

[Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]

You will soon realize, when you have to try and safely move a 6-7' boa in feeding mode, its no easy task. Feed in the cage for your own safety and lay down some paper if you are worried.

[edie]

i feed both of my boas in tank, i fed my hog in a container when she was smaller, but shes eating in the tank now.
i only feed my corns in containers now