Feeding in your tank...

[Brently]

So I have only had my RTB for a few months and have established a fairly decent routine with her. How does everyone feel about feeding in the enclosure? I currently need to feed Athena in her enclosure due to the kids wanting to get too close. Aside from the possibility of impaction which I watch for pretty closely what other lagitimate down sides are there to this type of feeding? I don't believe that she will learn to strike everytime I open the cage door since I open it more often to handle her then to feed her, so that argument doesn't hold much ground to me. But is there actually other down falls?

[knox]

I feed in my tubs. I use Sani Chips. I dry the mice as best I can, but they do ingest some, and some gets caught in their teeth and they have to work to get it out - just as they would after eating in leaf litter and other types of environments they find themselves in out in the wild. Most of the chips, however, get scraped off as the mice pass through the mouth.

The reason I still feed in their enclosure? Because the guys at BHB do the exact same thing - feed on Sani Chips. And with THOUSANDS of healthy snakes and ZERO impaction, I don't worry.

BHB also did a semi-scientific test of feeding in and out of enclosures. They found no correlation between snakes biting and not biting.

[shaunyboy]

So I have only had my RTB for a few months and have established a fairly decent routine with her. How does everyone feel about feeding in the enclosure? I currently need to feed Athena in her enclosure due to the kids wanting to get too close. Aside from the possibility of impaction which I watch for pretty closely what other lagitimate down sides are there to this type of feeding? I don't believe that she will learn to strike everytime I open the cage door since I open it more often to handle her then to feed her, so that argument doesn't hold much ground to me. But is there actually other down falls?

i feed carpets pythons into double figures in their tanks.with no problems mate

i have never heard of any problems associated with feeding in their tanks

feeding in their own tanks is where i think the snake feels most secure

cheers shaun

[Aaron_S]

I agree with all comments above.

I believe Shaun said it best that these animals feel most secure in their own enclosures.

[SnakeyJay]

I've tried feeding out of the viv in a feeding tub but found that my brb was to scared to eat, she'd rather sit in there staring at it. Now I feed in the viv and she never misses a feed.

[alessia55]

We had a similar discussion not too long ago... Feeding tank or not? (http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/general-discussion/88698-feeding-tank-not.html)

[shaunyboy]

if you apply the SAME LOGIC to taking out the tank to feed,as you would for feeding in the tank,regards the biting theory

then surely everytime you took your snake out the tank,it would associate it with feeding and bite

alessia,the op has already said he don't think feeding in the tank makes them biters,he was asking about any percieved disadvatages other than that pal;)

cheers shaun

[Shmoges]

I feed all our snakes in there enclosures. The pesky ones get taken out and isolated with the food. Our snakes seem to focus on the food item faster in there enclosure rather than taking them out and scaring them. There is no way I could feed the Lucies out of there enclosure, they are just way to defensively aggressive. I see it this way If Barchek can feed a huge berm in a tub I can do it with a cornsnake lol. Theres nothing wrong with feeding in the snakes enclosure.

[youngster]

I feed in the viv on plates/ flat hides.
Then again all my snakes are generally ready eaters.

[Lankyrob]

I feed all seven of mine in their vivs - the little ones get an upturned hide to feed in and the larger ones get a plastic picnic plate to feed on - the two arboreal snakes just hang from their perch so i dont worry about them ingesting substrate.

[knox]

I feed all seven of mine in their vivs - the little ones get an upturned hide to feed in and the larger ones get a plastic picnic plate to feed on - the two arboreal snakes just hang from their perch so i dont worry about them ingesting substrate.

Too bad all snakes can't eat hanging from a perch!

[KORBIN5895]

I feed all our snakes in there enclosures. The pesky ones get taken out and isolated with the food. Our snakes seem to focus on the food item faster in there enclosure rather than taking them out and scaring them. There is no way I could feed the Lucies out of there enclosure, they are just way to defensively aggressive. I see it this way If Barchek can feed a huge berm in a tub I can do it with a cornsnake lol. Theres nothing wrong with feeding in the snakes enclosure.

Can I get a link to this burm feeding?

[EasternGirl]

We often have the same discussion on the garter forum about feeding in the enclosure vs. feeding tanks and the risk of impaction from substrate. My snakes get freaked out when I try to move them to feeding tanks so I feed them in their tanks and just take extra precautions...I put paper towels under their dishes, and I feed my female with tongs. I have been bitten a couple times and I do realize that this is a much bigger risk with a large snake. She only bites though if she gets over excited and if I am not careful to get my fingers out of the way in time...this is something that I have learned to be more careful about and I haven't been bitten by her in a while.

[Brently]

You know I am surprised that everyone so far agrees. I have fed out of the viv and she ate just fine. But I had a woman at petsmart (not experts I know) tell me that feeding in the viv was the biggest mistake you could make. Took that with a grain of salt and just wanted to see your opinions. Lankyrob, I have had my RTB feed from her climbing stick and eat without going to the ground but for most terrestrial snakes I imagine this isn't a common thing. I am happy to see all these responses and happier to see that I have apparently made good choices thus far.

[Shmoges]

Can I get a link to this burm feeding?

Sure SnakeBytes TV - All Episodes (http://snakebytes.tv/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=1&Itemid=14)

Start at the beginning and you will see many times they feed there huge monsters in there huge tubs.

I have seen him do it many times in many episodes I just can't pick which one lol, so if you haven't seen these grab a beverage and take a few hours and watch them all.


Brenty tell that lady the biggest mistake anyone could make is listening to petco employees. I can't say that its a mistake to get animals there though. Just yesterday I went to petco to get some krickets for our white lips and they had a bunch of decent sized dumpy tree frogs for $20 so I sayed hey how long have you had these "oh for awhile now", So i said, I will buy 4 if you can mark them down to $15. IT WORKED!!

[dshin963]

Too bad all snakes can't eat hanging from a perch!

Ill just leave this here...

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/196798_10150242646039832_512824831_9100748_5004113 _n.jpg

[knox]

Ill just leave this here...

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/196798_10150242646039832_512824831_9100748_5004113 _n.jpg

Nice! Now, if I can teach my Milks and Kings to do this :D

[EasternGirl]

I'm not saying it isn't risky...it is...we have members on the garter forum discussing problems with obstructions caused by substrate on a fairly regular basis. It is just really hard sometimes to find a way to get your snake to eat. My one snake will absolutely refuse to eat from tongs, and he refuses to eat if I take him out of his enclosure...so I really have no choice but to feed him in his enclosure...try to prevent him from ingesting substrate the best I can, and that is all I can really do if I want him to eat at all. My other snake will not eat if I move her to a feed tank...but she will eat from tongs...but even then...the other day, she dragged a piece of food through her wood chips and may have ingested some after taking it from the tongs. Luckily, it seems like she is okay. I have had my snakes refuse food for over a month when I tried to feed them in a feeding tank. I just do the best I can do for them.

[dshin963]

I use fairly large coco husk as substrate, I tend to find that while eating the cocohusk doesnt get in my snakes mouths even after the rat has been dragged in the stuff. The cocohusk is about 1cmX1cm on average

[Brently]

I agree that most of their advice on actual species related topics is to be taken with some skeptisism. But I have found that they have been able to help me with technical issues with substrates and equipment for both the RTB and my fish. I to think that alot of their animals are very nice though. Better quality then what we have here at the LPS. I am afraid that they just don't keep good quality animals, probably not a fast enough turn over rate...

[Shmoges]

Don't garters eat fish and shouldn't that be in a water dish? Arn't rodents to fatty of a food for garters on a regular basis?

[spots]

Ill just leave this here...

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/196798_10150242646039832_512824831_9100748_5004113 _n.jpg

This isn't a BP is it? if not what is it?

[KORBIN5895]

Looks like a BP to me......

[ZARADOZIA]

This isn't a BP is it? if not what is it?


Yes, it's a BP, Looks like a spider

[millertime89]

anyone feeding a giant out of their enclosure is asking for trouble, the giants have some of the most intense feeding responses out there and they stay in feed mode for a while. Jussayin.

[shaunyboy]

anyone feeding a giant out of their enclosure is asking for trouble, the giants have some of the most intense feeding responses out there and they stay in feed mode for a while. Jussayin.

^^^^^
i agree with you 100% mate

i wouldn't even like something as small as an adult carpet out their enclousure in feeding mode

a guy i used to visit had a big burm,roughly 14 feet,its feeding responce was very very fast and powerfull

it used to stay in feeding frenzy mode until the next day,just like my carpets.i won't even go in their tanks until the next day,i've been mistaken for food to many times

one female adult jungle i used to feed out the tank,due to her sharing with a male at the time.bit me with a feeding responce,she had the back of my right hand with her teeth sunk into the gums.

when i grabbed her head and jaws with my only free hand,her tail preceded to wrap round the wrist of my unbitten hand,in effect handcuffing me.:no:

i had to wait the best part of an hour on my wife coming home and unravelling the snake from my wrists.then i could get the jungle to let go the back of my hand,using my now freed hand.

my point being it would be very scary being in that position with an adult giant snake

cheers shaun

[red ink]

^^^^^

when i grabbed her head and jaws with my only free hand,her tail preceded to wrap round the wrist of my unbitten hand,in effect handcuffing me.:no:

i had to wait the best part of an hour on my wife coming home and unravelling the snake from my wrists.then i could get the jungle to let go the back of my hand,using my now freed hand.


cheers shaun

LOL sorry mate but had to laugh... me spotted python did that to me once, lucky it's just mini handcuffs.

On the subject of snakes that won't let go... listerine mouthwash on the tip of a cotton bud and a quick tap on the nose (theirs not yours) will make them let go quick smart, or if you have methylated spirits around the house it does the job quicker.

[Terranaut]

Whiskey works great. Took less than a second for our king to let go.
I always geed in viv. Never had a problem. Can't imagine trying to move my adult JCP's back in feed mode. Just not worth the risk.

[shaunyboy]

LOL sorry mate but had to laugh... me spotted python did that to me once, lucky it's just mini handcuffs.

On the subject of snakes that won't let go... listerine mouthwash on the tip of a cotton bud and a quick tap on the nose (theirs not yours) will make them let go quick smart, or if you have methylated spirits around the house it does the job quicker.

or a cold driping/trickling tap,the cold water i've found makes them let go fast

my wife was laughing her head off when she returned home from our oldest sons,to find me handcuffed by one of the jungles as well mate;)

ah the joys of snake keeping :yes:

cheers shaun

[C5Chris]

I have experience on BOTH sides of this argument. Currently I feed both my BP Lucy and my BRB Dio in seperate feeding tanks without issue. I do this mainly because I bought into the whole "could mistake you for food" and impaction arguments when I first got into snakes. Im more worried about impaction than anything else though.

My BRB eats in a little covered tub, sometimes strikes food off the tongues, and sometimes prefers me to leave it in the middle of the tub for him. Hes never taken more than 5 minutes to eat with the lid on the tub.

Lucy has a large tub with no lid that she can easily escape from, however I am always watching her with tongues and an emergency stick because I feed her live. She has only ever not eaten two rats in the feeding tank. Although before I had the tank and when I had her on frozen I would feed her in her tank but I had some issues with her not feeding, sometimes tossing the rat as soon as she struck it. Perhaps could have been too hot for her liking (still a newb at that point), so I switched her to live and havent really had any issues since.

Before the BRB, I had another BP that I was raising for a little while until my sister was ready to take care of him. He didnt eat for the first 5 months I had him, and one month prior to that. When he did finally start eating he would only do it in his cage, never in the feeding tank. Never did get to see him strike.. wish I had some pics cause he would stalk the mice from the branches and strike from above. Now he eats frozen inside his tank under my sisters care, but alas she has not even seen him eat yet! Must be a little gunshy when people are around.. I watched him for 20 minutes one time and he was literally inches away and was just patiently waiting.. five minutes after I walked away he struck :@

anyways sorry about the long post haha, its been awhile.

[Lankyrob]

Whiskey works great. Took less than a second for our king to let go.
I always geed in viv. Never had a problem. Can't imagine trying to move my adult JCP's back in feed mode. Just not worth the risk.


WHAT!!! Waste Whisky on a snake!!! Sacrilege!!!! :)

[Brently]

I agree. Save the whiskey for me. I have heard that rubbing alcohol works well though.

[Terranaut]

I heard you shouldn't use isopropyl on snakes even if they are being bad.
I can always spare a drop of Gibsons finest. Tried cold water and my king just looked at us like "what..??" He was on my youngest, trying to eat his finger. Didn't hurt him or anything but we did find out quick how to make a snake let go. Also I didn't put it on KJ I put it on our sons finger just ahead of his nose. He let go so fast I thought he was going to try my finger. That was months ago and we haven't had to give him any rye since ;)

[Swany]

WHAT!!! Waste Whisky on a snake!!! Sacrilege!!!! :)

Whisky works for me. By that I mean that id drink the whisky and wait for the snake to let go, if the snake has an ounce of decency she'll hang on untill at least your second glass ;-)

[Lankyrob]

Whisky works for me. By that I mean that id drink the whisky and wait for the snake to let go, if the snake has an ounce of decency she'll hang on untill at least your second glass ;-)

I love you more each day ;)

[Swany]

I love you more each day ;)

Cheers big guy ;-)

[red_tail_ale]

Typically I feed my RTB in her cage, with Cyprus mulch substrate, and I've never had any problems. Occasionally there will be a piece of substrate on the mouse, but I keep a close eye on her while she's feeding and brush off any shavings with a chopstick. I heat the mouse a little higher than usual so it can dry off without cooling off.

Some people discourage feeding in the tank because the snake associates it with feeding time, but I handle her enough that she doesn't make the association. Plus, if you're changing the water and doing spot checks daily (as you should), the snake will become accustomed to an open cage.

[millertime89]

I feed my BP in his tub, and there's really nothing I can do about keeping him from ingesting substrate, he won't feed out of his tub, and he thrases the dead rat around so much, once he finally settles down he pulls it into his hide to chow down.

[exwizard]

Almost all my snakes are fed in their tubs. I only use newspaper as substrate so theres no issue there. Most of the time when opening the tubs its to pull the snakes out and play with them or to clean the tubs so they dont necessarily equate pulling the tub open as feeding time.