Rat chewed up all my wires!

[NightLad]

I upgraded to medium sized rats recently & after dropping it in (i have a tank with 2 identical caves on each side) the rat chewed the digital hygrometer bud sensor to pieces.

Hi there. 5 days for a 1 year old can be a little much. Remember, snakes can become obese too. Sometimes people make the mistake of judging their health based solely on their weight. That isn't always the best indicator. I would suggest you change to a 7 day cycle, depending on the size of rats.

I have the sensors above the aspen substrate inside each hide. & Or is there anything I can do to prevent this?

I'd move the sensor below the substrate. To anchor it, try a setup like this. You can substitute the paper for paper towels, they work just as well in my opinion.

Is this just a normal side affect of live feeding?

Do you provide the rat with food and water prior to feeding? Do you leave the rat in the enclosure even if the snake shows no interest? If so, they will get hungry and start nibbling on whatever. Including your snakes. Seriously, they go right for the eyes and spine. Rats can be very vicious.

I prefer not to feed outside the container because it seems as though this would incur stress on the snake as well as having to move a 'snake on the hunt' back into its own container I would also not want to encourage regurg...
Also, ball pythons seem to be ambush hunters and so having them in their own space might, over time, maintain a good feeding response.

Those are valid concerns. I worried about them myself when debating whether or not to feed in a separate tub. However, since doing so, I’ve not noticed any lack of feeding response in Salzedo - in fact, just the opposite. He has come to ‘know’ that when he goes in the big tub, its rat time! As opposed to being 'stressed' he seems downright excited. My fears about regurg have also been put to rest, because when he gets the rat all the way down he actually starts climbing the walls trying to ‘get home’ on his own. When I gently pick him up (providing full body support) to put him back home he immediately seeks the direction of his enclosure. In contrast, he did refuse quite a few meals in his own enclosure back when I was doing that. The separate feeding tub seems to be working quite well, because he has never refused a feeding, and he is gaining healthy weight like a little piggy! To each their own. I suppose individual methods will vary as widely as the personalities of the snakes. This is just my experience with it. Hope the information is helpful!