General snake feeding questions..

[TheaN526]

I am definitely "okay" right now with wanting a snake. The care and handling do not bother me a bit. Not even cleaning the cages out.

However,one thing I am kind of uneasy is feeding. Does anyone have any tips on how I can eventually feel comfortable with the thought of feeding the snakes? Obviously I have to be okay with that or I can't own snakes. The thought of feeding a live or frozen rat gives me the heebie jeebies. LOL.

I would definitely like to see the feeding process up close. Hopefully I can make some friends with people who will show me this so I won't be afraid of it so much.

So..tips, stories, etc on how to make the feeding process a relatively easy(depending on the snake) process/experience?

Many thanks to all the helpful herpers here! You've all been so helpful in my quest to learn everything I can. And the photos help too!

Thea

[jason221]

After you've thawed the mouse/rat, use tongs/hemostats/forceps/whatever to put it in the snake's cage. Also, shaking the rodent a little bit while still holding him with the tongs will simulate live movement for the snake and thus make him more likely to eat it.

Feeding the snake while he's still in his enclosure usually is the best option as it makes the entire experience less stressful on him (some won't eat if moved to another location to eat) and you. However, you must keep up a regular maintenance and handling schedule. If the only time you open his enclosure is to feed him, that myth about snakes associating you opening the cage with feeding time suddenly isn't a myth anymore.

[ThyTempest]

Watch Snakebytes and other youtube feeding clips.

Most of us here are major animal lovers in general, and a lot of us enjoy keeping the feeder rats/mice/ASF's as much or almost as much as our reptile collection, if not more.

[Texas Dan]

After you've thawed the mouse/rat, use tongs/hemostats/forceps/whatever to put it in the snake's cage. Also, shaking the rodent a little bit while still holding him with the tongs will simulate live movement for the snake and thus make him more likely to eat it.

Feeding the snake while he's still in his enclosure usually is the best option as it makes the entire experience less stressful on him (some won't eat if moved to another location to eat) and you. However, you must keep up a regular maintenance and handling schedule. If the only time you open his enclosure is to feed him, that myth about snakes associating you opening the cage with feeding time suddenly isn't a myth anymore.

Feeding is not really that big of a deal. My wife feeds her snake, but it took her a while before she would. Now she really likes to because it mainly will only eat when she feeds.

You'll get used to it though. At first it's a thrill, but once you star seeing your snake grow and become big and strong, you won't mind feeding.

[azpythons]

jus drop the rat in and watch it dissapear!!!! vouila, its magic!

[SGExotics]

Feeding snakes isn't that bad, and i think it's one of the more exciting parts about owning a snake. I would suggest you get frozen mice that stay in your freezer (in a bag obvioulsy)then you just take one out a week and defrost it in hot water for like 15 min, and dangle it with a pair of tongs in front of your snakes face, and he/she will strike, coil, then within a minute or two they will begin to swallow the mouse whole. I also suggest you feed in a seperate container (never in its enclosure), like put it in an empty shoe box, or cardboard box to feed. Heres a few feeding videos i have of my snakes:

YouTube - Weekly Feeding 12/20/08 - Weekly Feeding 12/20/08


YouTube - New years Eve 08 Dinner For The Spider! - New years Eve 08 Dinner For The Spider!

[Purrrfect9]

When my first BP was little, I used to take her out of her enclosure to feed her in a shoebox tub. Now that she's bigger, and I now have multiple snakes, I feed them all in their enclosures, and I have yet to be bit by any of my snakes. It really all depends on what you want to do. If you set up a routine and stick to it, feeding your BP in a separate enclosure wont cause any more stress than feeding in the enclosure because they have become accustomed to it. Just make sure to 'hook train', or pick them up the same way every week, at the same time, so they can get a schedule going. Just be aware that you are taking a higher risk of being bit by picking up and moving a hungry snake.

[anatess]

Hi Thea,
I'm not sure I understand if you're worried because you would feel too terrible for the rat or you're worried because you might get bit by the rat, the snake, or both.
We had pet hamsters before we had the snakes, so it was difficult for me to see our snakes eat a rat, especially since we feed ASFs which is as cute as a hamster! We've been feeding live because that's what our snakes ate before we got them. At first, my husband would "off" the rat before handing it to the snake because both of us had a hard time watching the rat struggle (feeding live, you have to watch them because the rat could possibly fight back and injure the snake). But, then we realized our ball pythons were very efficient predators so the rats didn't have to struggle for too long. Then we got the hognose who is not as efficient. I tell ya, I was crying when the hognose ate a live one... it took forever for the rat finally stop struggling. So, from then on, we started "offing" the rat ourselves before giving it to him. We hate to see the rat having to die, but then we're realistic. It's part of the natural circle of life and the snakes have to eat.
The way we do it, we take the snakes out of their enclosures, put them in a critter keeper, put the lid on (it has a small door on the top), then drop the rat through the small door. Safe for us. We have our snakes in glass tanks with thick substrate, so we just put them in the substrate free critter keeper just to make sure the snakes don't eat cypress mulch with their ASFs. Especially the hognose, since he's in a walnut sand-looking substrate. Also, I use feeding time to clean out the snake's tanks. If you're on newspaper or something, it's probably better to just go ahead and feed him right there in the enclosure because then the snake feels more secure.
Anyway, here is my favorite feeding video:
YouTube - 8 Ball Pythons - Feeding Lessons

[TheaN526]

Thanks everyone. I was just concerned I wouldn't be able to get used to it. And also just making a mistake like smelling of the rat and getting bitten. Small stuff like that kind of worry me. I'll be sure to see the feeding videos and learn as much as I can.

I really want to own one someday. I just hope I don't wimp out and decide to be scared of them again. haha.

[anatess]

Naaa... I think it's irreversible. Once you get the snake-bug, that's it. You're hooked!
I mean, we got 3 snakes in the house now and I can't believe we still go to the reptile store and look at "potential" additions...