Feeding in a separate tank?

[Spaniard]

Other people have stated their concerns for why they choose not to feed in a separate enclosure but speaking from experience I have to say they are about as true as the feeding your snake in its tub myth.

So are you going to argue that handling a snake immediately after it eats is not stressful? Is regurgitation a myth too?

[JoshJP7]

Yes you are correct I am calling it a myth... Ive fed all my snakes except 1 every week for 2 yrs outside thier enclosure with 0 bites, 0 regurges... Actually let me correct myself... I was bit twice but that was right after I put them in the tub and was pulling my hand away(before being fed). It takes .2 seconds to pick the snake up and gently put it in its cage. As far as handling after feeding... picking them up to put them back in their tub is not handling in my book so yes I agree you should not handle 48hrs after feeding.

My problem with her response is she gets all flared up when she reads someone post that myth but shes going to mention two other myths? Even worse is she doesnt even feed outside the enclosure so how would she know? I speak from my 2 yrs of experience... No its not 40yrs and no I dont have 100+ snakes but its experience none the less.

Just like people who feed inside the tub get bothered by that myth I get bothered by the myths of feeding outside the enclosure. Both can be done correctly and both can be done incorrectly... neither is superior to the other and as well all keep mentioning its not how/where you feed but that your snake eats.

[cinderbird]

i feed my girl in a separate enclosure and although she's only a yearling she has yet to refuse a meal for me that way. i always make sure her environment is well prescented and that the room is dark so she feel secure. I feed F/T so i leave her in there for 10-20 mins and come back when i feel she should be done. that gives me time to clean her tub and change her water, etc without disturbing her. I give her 24 hours or more before handling her again unless its absolutely necessary (ie, she's tipped her water bowl or something).

i did try feeding her in her enclosure a few times but she would get a little snappy. this was NOT because she was associating me opening her lid with getting fed. it was because she could still smell the rat because the scent had gotten all over everything in her enclosure. I dont always use the same substrate so
depending on the substrate i will definitely remove her.

keepers have been doing both successfully for decades, do what you think you'd be more comfortable with.

[starmom]

I agree that there are many more ways than one way.
I feed inside the snake's enclosure and here is why: They are ambush hunters and so they typically strike from within their hide. With the snakes who are ready to jump out of the tub or cage when I open the door for feeding, they strike, wrap and drag their prey into their hide.
It is my opinion that it is my responsibility to try to duplicate, to the best of my ability, scenarios that will best exploit their instincts and natural snake-ness.
EDIT> I don't understand about the reason that one feeds outside the enclosure to give an opportunity for the keeper to clean the environment. Don't you do that all throughout the week? Darn, I'm in my snake's cages and tubs at least twice every day checking on them, cleaning pee and poo, and giving fresh water...

[JoshJP7]

I use newspaper so I clean when I notice poop/pee...Its kinda impossible to spot clean with newspaper bc the pee is all over the place and the poop is stuck to the paper. I take my snakes out atleast once 1 week, besides feeding day, and will clean tubs then as well if needed... Feeding day just gives me a definite day to clean if I am busy for whatever reason during the week and cant get to it.

[starmom]

I use newspaper so I clean when I notice poop/pee...Its kinda impossible to spot clean with newspaper bc the pee is all over the place and the poop is stuck to the paper. I take my snakes out atleast once 1 week, besides feeding day, and will clean tubs then as well if needed... Feeding day just gives me a definite day to clean if I am busy for whatever reason during the week and cant get to it.

I also use paper and I clean the tub thoroughly after each poo and pee- doesn't matter the day of the week.
Yesterday I cleaned 4 tubs and 1 cage; last night I cleaned 3 tubs; this morning I cleaned 3 tubs and 1 cage. Cleaning means that I switched the snake into a prepared clean tub and removed the dirty tub and completely cleaned it and the water bowl and the hide and set it back up for next time. As for the girls in the reptile cages, I take the snake out and put her into a clean tub and then clean the cage. When the cage and contents are all cleaned, I put the snake back into her home and clean the tub she was in.

Edit> I don't just "notice" poo or pee, I am looking for it when I do my morning and evening checks, as well as afternoon check. Sheesh....

[JoshJP7]

you asked why we use that day for cleaning and I let you know. I am not going to change the paper every time one of my snake pees. If I did that every time I'd be changing each tub 3 times a week. My tubs are far from dirty and I'm far from OCD with cleaning their tubs. These animals live in the wild where their own poop and pee is far from the worse thing they encounter. If you think 8ball or Ralph change their tubs everytime a snake poops or pees youre insane. I could be wrong but im pretty sure they do all their tubs 1nce a week.

[dalvers63]

For me, I feed everyone inside their enclosures, except a pair of carpet pythons that live together for breeding.

Though both methods work fine and I've fed both in and out of the enclosure, I feed inside for one main reason: I'm lazy and don't want to take the time to move my snakes to feed them. By the time I get the F/T rats into the room, they ALL know that it's feeding day and are ready and waiting. If I tried to move my Macklot's to a different tub I'm sure that he would happily start to eat me instead.

In the end, do what works for you and don't go for any of the myths from either side. As long as your snake is eating and healthy you're doing a great job

[Sunny1]

I too think that you should do what you are comfortable with and what works for you and your snake(s). I personally feed both of my girls live and in their tubs. I have not had any problems since I have had them (almost a year now for the first one) with aggression or anything. I just feed them routinely on the same day of the week at about the same time. I think that for my girls that is enough for them to know when it is time to eat and when it isn't.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Substitute 1 myth with 2 ... good advice

So handling a BP in feeding mode is not likely to get you tag??? It’s a myth???