Eating Bedding!

[trumetal96]

ok so this has not happened since the day i got him, only happened once, but my snake strikes and missed today with feeding and he got a whole bunch of repi-bark in his mouth, he swallowed it eventually, i couldnt get any out cause he wouldnt let me anywhere near his head. he just got his mouse now also. help anyone? is he fine? he seems fine

[771subliminal]

he will be fine. just think of all the stuff they eat by mistake in the wild, that being said just make sure he doesnt make a habit of eating his bedding as a meal

[pythontricker]

Yeah he should be fine, but just to let you know, paper towels are much better and you could avoid the bedding eating problem all together. It is more sanitary too.

[Viper 1]

that happened with me too! my snake got the mouse and a whole lot of aspen snake bedding so with my new snake i went with critter carpet but i'm finding out that critter carpet is not a fan favorite around here.

[trumetal96]

yeah, im probably going to switch to aspen, i dont prefer paper towels or newspaper, i might try it out but idk. my mom bought me carpet to use a while back, but then looking at some of the posts on here it doesnt look like carpet is to pleasant to clean.

[Viper 1]

the aspen was good but i just hated the idea of my snake swallowing wood. he had a hard enough time with the mouse.

[The Green Man]

I'm probably going to catch a bit of flame for recommending this, but I'm going to anyway.

There's a school of thought out there that suggests you shouldn't feed your snake in their regular tank. I haven't even heard this mentioned in these forums, but I believe many if not most of the people on this forum are keeping numerous snakes and therefor it wouldn't be practicle to feed each one outside its tank.

The reasons for feeding outside their cage are twofold. First, you completely avoid the problem of digesting their own bedding. Second, it prevents your snake from becoming accustomed to objects entering their cage being food, which means you're less likely to catch a bite while reaching in to handle your snake, clean their cage, fill a water dish, etc.

I recommend either a plastic tub or, if you've got an old 10 gallon lying around somewhere, that works well too. If you're going to use this method, follow these steps:

1. Place the prey item in the feeding tank first
2. Wash your hands
3. Put the snake in the feeding tank

Depending on the snake, you should allow them fifteen minutes to an hour to settle before you put them back in their regular tank. Some snakes are still very aggressive right after eating, and others are skittish and you might get a regurg if you pick them up too soon. Your snake will let you know how to proceed.

[blackcrystal22]

I'm probably going to catch a bit of flame for recommending this, but I'm going to anyway.

There's a school of thought out there that suggests you shouldn't feed your snake in their regular tank. I haven't even heard this mentioned in these forums, but I believe many if not most of the people on this forum are keeping numerous snakes and therefor it wouldn't be practicle to feed each one outside its tank.

The reasons for feeding outside their cage are twofold. First, you completely avoid the problem of digesting their own bedding. Second, it prevents your snake from becoming accustomed to objects entering their cage being food, which means you're less likely to catch a bite while reaching in to handle your snake, clean their cage, fill a water dish, etc.

I recommend either a plastic tub or, if you've got an old 10 gallon lying around somewhere, that works well too. If you're going to use this method, follow these steps:

1. Place the prey item in the feeding tank first
2. Wash your hands
3. Put the snake in the feeding tank

Depending on the snake, you should allow them fifteen minutes to an hour to settle before you put them back in their regular tank. Some snakes are still very aggressive right after eating, and others are skittish and you might get a regurg if you pick them up too soon. Your snake will let you know how to proceed.

There is a reason this hasn't been posted on here.
This is a ball python forum. I would agree with your reasoning for almost ANY other type of snake. Colubrids and boas mainly.. I usually feed my snakes outside of their enclosure except for my ball python.
Why is this?
Ball pythons are naturally shy.. He already went through a very long fast at his age and stressing him out by moving him into a completely different environment to do the thing they tend to avoid in captivity is just asking for trouble. Some balls may do it, but I don't recommend it to people who are not knowledgeable of their feeding behaviors. Ball pythons prefer to smell the rodent while in their hide, come out, and hunt for it.. eating it in its enclosure. Since balls are almost always hiding, they wouldn't usually see the mouse enter the cage anyway would they? This means that the biting factor doesn't really mean anything for ball pythons.

:]

Also, I've seen a snake regurge after 15 minutes.. if your moving the snake within 48 hours after feeding I think it's generally stressful and not a good idea.

[The Green Man]

I'll be the first to say that my experience has been limited to my single ball python and a single kingsnake prior to that. I was unaware that feeding practices for balls differed from other breeds, so the expertise brought to bear on this forum trumps my personal experiences.

That said, I'll state that my ball has never hasn't shown any hesitancy or aversion to being fed outside his tank. He takes his meals quickly in the feeding cage, recognizes the feeding cage as where meals are provided, and allows me to return him to his tank without incident within half an hour after eating.

It's also important to note that Badoo spends a lot of time outside his tank, and so is likely more comfortable 'traveling'. He curls around my wrist during movies on the couch, while playing poker with friends, and occasionally while driving or shopping. He's been handled by nearly every visitor to my home and has always been content.

Again, this is just my personal experience keeping a single ball python. Those of you with experience keeping and breeding dozens of snakes have likely seen less agreeable behavior from your charges, and certainly have the more informed opinion.

[_Venom_]

My snake bit me putting it back in it's tub when I tried feeding it out of enclosure the first time.

Never did it again, and that methodology fails.