Feeding In Separate Tub

[iddah]

Still a little concerned (and it was my only concern lol) about the substrate, but like a lot of ppl pointed out, there are definitely more cons than pros in feeding in a separate tub, and further research rly consolidated the fact of how counter-productive it seems. My original intent was to feed him in his tank, anyway, but now I'm 100% sure, and am going to offer him his f/t into his tank.

Again, thank you so much, everyone who contributed to this topic. <3

[bcr229]

I know cannibalism is a thing.
I'm not saying you should throw any animal in with any animal and just hope it works. I know of many cohab situations when a breeding pair will live together 24/7.
I also have seen clutches that are born and grow up together.

Breeding pairs are separated for feeding and kept separate for a while afterward to give them time to settle and digest. For instance, with ball pythons over the course of a week I'll pair on day 1, separate on day 4, feed on day 5, then re-introduce the male to another female on day 1 of the next week. Adult boas go a month between feedings and digest more slowly, plus they have a longer courtship, so they may be paired for three weeks, separated to feed, give them a week to digest, then reintroduce the male to the female.

Clutches are only kept together in the incubator until all the babies shed, then they are separated into tubs in a hatchling rack and fed a week after that.

Also I dare anyone to come over and move my female 15 foot retic to and from a feeding tub.

[RickyNY]

Excellent iddah, you've made the right choice! Feed in the tub

[hollowlaughter]

Still a little concerned (and it was my only concern lol) about the substrate, but like a lot of ppl pointed out, there are definitely more cons than pros in feeding in a separate tub, and further research rly consolidated the fact of how counter-productive it seems. My original intent was to feed him in his tank, anyway, but now I'm 100% sure, and am going to offer him his f/t into his tank.

Again, thank you so much, everyone who contributed to this topic. <3

Just bear in mind that the rodents you feed them often feed on similar materials, so the snake is disposed toward being able to digest plant material even if it doesn't gain much/any nutritional benefit from it (think of it like iceberg lettuce for humans).

If the substrate concerns you due to large/sharp pieces, giving your snake a dry prey item (thawed in water then heated with a blow dryer 'til the fur is fluffy) removes most of the risk, as does "plating" with cardboard. Seen someone on reddit with a cute plastic mat (it's pink with a mouse on it) for their BP.

[iddah]

Just bear in mind that the rodents you feed them often feed on similar materials, so the snake is disposed toward being able to digest plant material even if it doesn't gain much/any nutritional benefit from it (think of it like iceberg lettuce for humans).

If the substrate concerns you due to large/sharp pieces, giving your snake a dry prey item (thawed in water then heated with a blow dryer 'til the fur is fluffy) removes most of the risk, as does "plating" with cardboard. Seen someone on reddit with a cute plastic mat (it's pink with a mouse on it) for their BP.

I have a combo substrate, Komodo Coconut Terrain and Exo Terra Jungle Earth, the Coco Terrain should be safe enough because the chips are much smaller, Jungle Earth is chunkier and sharper, in the end I decided I can only reduce the risk by drying off the rats -- I'm gonna thaw them by putting them inside a plastic bag and the bag into a tupperware container, and fill it with warm water to keep the prey item as dry as possible, then use pt's to dry off any excess water/moisture. I'm also looking into plating like many ppl have already suggested, or just lay some pt's on top of the substrate to help minimize the risks I was concerned about.

I'll do what I can, and hopefully his feeds will go well and he doesn't get much substrate stuck on his rats.

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions guys.