Retic Feeding question - thoughts please :)

[Lankyrob]

Our SD retic is totally psycho when it comes to feeding time, it has gotten to the point where we have had to refrain from using the plastic plate that we used to feed him on (in his viv) as when he saw it he would start striking at it (and us).

The last few feeds we have resorted to throwing the rat onto a large piece of bark that is on his viv in order to reduce any risk of substrate ingestion - the problem being because he doesnt see the rat enter the viv he strikes at anything hot - the hottest thing in the viv being his heatbulb.

Tonight he caught his teeth in the heat guard :( before we had a chance to try to help him he did get himself free but obviously we dont want this happening again.

Can anyone that has a larger snake (or one with the retic mentality :)) share how you feed yours - the whole process please not just "in their viv" :)

One idea we have come up with so far is to get feeding tongs that are half as long again as the ones we currently use - the new ones will be 16inches - with the hope that we can start to strike feed him again without him coming at us ;)

Any thoughts i would be very happy to hear them!!!

[Norm66]

My friend who has large burms uses the kind of grabber or gripper device that has a trigger you pull on one end and arms that close on the other. My mother in law uses a similar device to get her paper off the front stoop in the morning. They're 3' or so long an should make it safe for you.

[Lankyrob]

Does he have any issue actually getting it into the viv tho? Doc literally strikes through the door gap as soon as it opens :)

[stevenrudge]

Our SD retic is totally psycho when it comes to feeding time, it has gotten to the point where we have had to refrain from using the plastic plate that we used to feed him on (in his viv) as when he saw it he would start striking at it (and us).

The last few feeds we have resorted to throwing the rat onto a large piece of bark that is on his viv in order to reduce any risk of substrate ingestion - the problem being because he doesnt see the rat enter the viv he strikes at anything hot - the hottest thing in the viv being his heatbulb.

Tonight he caught his teeth in the heat guard :( before we had a chance to try to help him he did get himself free but obviously we dont want this happening again.

Can anyone that has a larger snake (or one with the retic mentality :)) share how you feed yours - the whole process please not just "in their viv" :)

One idea we have come up with so far is to get feeding tongs that are half as long again as the ones we currently use - the new ones will be 16inches - with the hope that we can start to strike feed him again without him coming at us ;)

Any thoughts i would be very happy to hear them!!!So your Retic's got a good feeding response then!in the past l've turned the lights off and the heat and fed them over night,what size is the snake and how old?

[Norm66]

No, burms aren't quite as hyper as you describe. Lol. Im sure someon will be along with more ideas, that was just he first thing I thought of.

[Lankyrob]

He is about three yrs old and about 6.5foot long and yes his feeding response is awesome which is so weird because he is a total pussycat when there is no food about - i use him for educational talks at schools as he is so placid :)

[alessia55]

How about a big flat rock or something similar as a permanent part of his enclosure that can act as a permanent plate to put the prey on? That way you can open and throw the prey onto that rock at feeding time. Just a thought :hmm:

[shaunyboy]

my mate feeds his burm's with 3ft long feeding tongs Rob

his male burm has an incredable feeding response,as soon as the door opens ( when theres rat odour in the room)

don't take this the wrong way,but could he be hungry and needing his prey size upped mate ?

cheers shaun

P.S.you probally just have a food insane retic mate;)

[alessia55]

My friend who has large burms uses the kind of grabber or gripper device that has a trigger you pull on one end and arms that close on the other. My mother in law uses a similar device to get her paper off the front stoop in the morning. They're 3' or so long an should make it safe for you.

is this what you're talking about?
These are snake tongs... you squeeze one end, and it grabs on the other end.
http://tongs.com/images/products/detail/118.jpg

[Lankyrob]

How about a big flat rock or something similar as a permanent part of his enclosure that can act as a permanent plate to put the prey on? That way you can open and throw the prey onto that rock at feeding time. Just a thought :hmm:

Thats why we were using the huge piece of bark, trouble is you literally cant open the door to his viv! At present i stand one end and open the door slightly so that he heads at me and wife quickly opens other end and tosses rat in - its just that he is focussed on the rat as it enters the viv and then goes crazy striking at everything

[Lankyrob]

my mate feeds his burm's with 3ft long feeding tongs Rob

his male burm has an incredable feeding response,as soon as the door opens ( when theres rat odour in the room)

don't take this the wrong way,but could he be hungry and needing his prey size upped mate ?

cheers shaun

P.S.you probally just have a food insane retic mate;)


We did think that it could be food size but the last three feeds have been rats roughly 4 times his girth - he takes about 20 minutes to swallow them once he stops launching himself around the viv :)

[shaunyboy]

He is about three yrs old and about 6.5foot long and yes his feeding response is awesome which is so weird because he is a total pussycat when there is no food about - i use him for educational talks at schools as he is so placid :)

just a thought mate.....

if one of the kids smells of cat,hamster,guinea pig,etc

he may go into feeding mode

i've seen my carpets strike and hold my vet,after he has seen a cat before my snake

cheers shaun

[KD35WIN.AS.ONE]

is this what you're talking about?
These are snake tongs... you squeeze one end, and it grabs on the other end.
http://tongs.com/images/products/detail/118.jpg


midwest M1 tongs, there may not be a better tool for feeding 6ft aggressive feeding naja kaouthia. I recommend them to anyone, care must be taken if used as a handling tool i must add.

[shaunyboy]

We did think that it could be food size but the last three feeds have been rats roughly 4 times his girth - he takes about 20 minutes to swallow them once he stops launching himself around the viv :)

sounds like he may just be an aggresive feeder mate

i have carpets that get frenzied when they smell prey,i have a jag who strikes his heat guard,or anything else that moves ( just like your retic),yet he's placid at all other times

i hope someone with retic experience can help mate

cheers shaun

[Lankyrob]

just a thought mate.....

if one of the kids smells of cat,hamster,guinea pig,etc

he may go into feeding mode

i've seen my carpets strike and hold my vet,after he has seen a cat before my snake

cheers shaun

We never let the kids touch/hold the snakes at the talks, in our home we always make them wash their hands first - but i would never let them hold Doc anyways as he is too powerful for a child :)

[shaunyboy]

We never let the kids touch/hold the snakes at the talks, in our home we always make them wash their hands first - but i would never let them hold Doc anyways as he is too powerful for a child :)

i knew you would have the safety side covered mate

i was just thinking out loud;)

the tongs my mate uses for his burm's,are made of half inch square steel.just over 3ft in length

i'll try and find out where he got them from,as they are really good for big agressive feeders mate

cheers shaun

[KORBIN5895]

Instal a piece of PVC pipe into the top of his cage. Put a clean out cap on the outside . When feeding time comes around just unscrew the cap and drop the rat down the pipe.. he won't be able to see when the cap is opened. You may also be able to find a one way valve for the bottom of the pipe.

[jaleely]

i haven't had a snake that big. my biggest is my 4.25 foot male ball python...he has a huge head...but we're able to feed him outside of his enclosure. He's pretty docile though, unless he's truly hungry and his strike is right on.
My dumeril's boa female is supposed to get about 8 feet or so...she's still a baby now though.
I guess i'm trying to figure out in my mind how much bigger your snake is, to know if it's possible to hook him out and place him somewhere else...THEN get the food thawed or whatever ready to present it to him.
Or, turn off the heat stuff for about a half hour before feeding, so when the warm food goes in, he may only strike at the warm spot?
maybe that would help? I would worry he's going to hurt himself, too!

[jaleely]

i wondered something like that korbin, but i wasn't sure how the set up is and it may not work that way. Maybe they can figure something out like that. like a food slide. he'd probably hang out under the opening all the time waiting for food *lol*

[UwabamiReptiles]

I have a female carpet that has started striking at me through the door everytime she thinks its feeding time. I just open her cage with a hook and feed with long tongs. She's not as crazy as your retic sounds but this works for me.

[marvelfreak]

Rob i am having the same issue with my Yellow Anaconda. Have a question when you open the cage door does it go up, down, or to the side?

[Terranaut]

My take.
I have a super aggressive feeder in my house here. My king is brutal. When we feed him we thaw his food in another room. Bring the thawed food into his room ,open his viv and stick it right in his face. By the time the scent hits him and he goes wild the only thing to strike at is the rat. So the above takes 20 seconds from hot water to in snakes mouth. No time to be in feed mode before prey is introduced. Before this he has jumped right out the viv door to get at prey. Now picking up a hungry king is much safer than a hungry retic but I still don't wanna do that again. Good luck.

[Lankyrob]

Will try to answer a string of questions in one post ;)

The viv doors slide sideways. He goes into feeding mode LITERALLY as soon as the prey comes out of the freezer - i walk past his viv to head to the kitchen and he is docile, get rats out of the freezer and leave them in the kitchen, walk back into the living room and he is at the glass waiting :)

Feeding out of his viv is in no way possible, opening the door wide enough to slip a rat through the gap has him with his mouth wide open striking through the gap :) - i would never attempt to touch a retic in feed mode, and it takes him roughly 72 hours to come out of feed mode after he has eaten.

Keep the ideas coming please :)

[KORBIN5895]

Mount the pipe on the side of the viv.

[Lankyrob]

He is in the middle of a three viv stack and i have ZERO diy skills, no idea where i would even start ;)

[MoreliAddict]

Rob, have you seen viperkeeper feed his Palestine Viper called "the weasel"? He stands to the side as he slides the door open with a pair of tongs to keep extra distance, then, still standing to the side (rather than directly in front) offers the rat.

At least your retic is a good eater!

[KORBIN5895]

Post a picture of the set up.

[Lankyrob]

Post a picture of the set up.

He is in the middle of the centre stack
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo200/Lankyrob1975/Animals/Reptiles/Photo0180.jpg

[jaleely]

hmm so we need to think about it all differently here. He's reacting to the smell...but maybe we can also get him to learn to react to not only the smell, but something else.

when we were silly with snakes...back when we only had our first baby ball python, we used to take her out and let her slither through some pvc pipes...at the end of the pipes would be the food item on a plate. She learned really quickly about this and it was totally cute. She'd be out, and chill...but when we brought out the pipes she'd get all excited and eventually soar through them flicking her tongue to get to the food at the end.

I know it may be hard to feed him in a sperate environment. I also haven't had a snake continue with feeding mode after it's eaten, but that's also because i try to change conditions so that they know when "feeding time" has been completed. Just a story...maybe someone else could think of how to make something happen for you.

[KORBIN5895]

Are those doors glass or acrylic?

[Lankyrob]

I can switch his feed mode off at any time i want except for from when i take the food from the freezer until 72 hours afterwards, he is very very intelligent. An example is that we cant handle him on ANY Monday cos he knows Mondays are feeding days even tho we dont feed every week.

[Lankyrob]

Are those doors glass or acrylic?

They are toughend safety glass. The reptile store has an 18ft retic in a tank with the same glass, that retic regularly strikes the glass at people walking by and has never damaged it.

[KORBIN5895]

What is above him?

[Freebody]

i will record the next time i feed bella my retic, she is a freak as well. i have the same bouble door which is great, what i do is get he attension facing the other side of the cage, with her possitioning herself waiting for the rat, i open the other glass just enouph to get the rat in, i got it by the tail and with a swing i plop its body throught the opening, by this time bella is grabbing it in mid air almost everytime. she got it timed for her strike when she paying attension to me. and bella Will fly out all teeth everytime you open her cage, this is why i make sure her head is not on and angle where she can fly out at me, and just enouph for the rat to fly through, because she has missed her mark, flown out the small opening then the she out of the cage with her nasty feeding responce and me lol, her feeding responce sounds like what your describing yours in like. I would suggest putting some news paper covered with paper towel infront of one door, so the rat you toss in lands their.

[Xanafein]

I heat the prey items head and belly with a blowdryer, and used a 2 foot caliper/tong/grabber looking thing works pretty well

[SpOoKy]

Could you possibly thaw the food further away from the room she is being kept in? If she is going on smell, putting some distance between her and what she want's may may calm her down a little. If she is smelling the food as you pull it from the freezer then waiting a few hours for it to thaw, could be driving her nuts. I am sure we all have been hungry at one time smelling our mom's home cooking for hours just driving you nuts waiting to dig in.

[millertime89]

I think using the tongs is going to be your best bet. He's a retic, he's gonna be a monster eater. I think my girl is gonna be the same way once she gets some more size to her.

[Lankyrob]

Right - try to answer all the questoins again :)

Above him in the pic WAS my Ackie, shortly it will be my GTP as we had to sell the lizards :(.

The prey items thaw out on the opposite side of the house to where he is, they literally couldnt get further away unless i put them in the garden :)

We had to stop putting a plate in the viv to feed him on as he was reacting to seeing the plate the same way as he reacts when he sees the rats.

I am thinking for now longer tongs will be the way to go, if they are long enough then we will get some snake tongs or the disability grabber :)

Thank you all for your help and i am still open to more ideas :)

[KORBIN5895]

You could move him to the top enclosure. You could also instal the feed pipe n the top down through both enclosures. It wouldn't be very pretty though.

[Lankyrob]

He needs to stay at that level to be safe to pull him out for my wife, if he was in the top she would have to reach above her head to get to him and it wouldnt be safe.

Having the GTP in there is easier as he obviously wont be handled anywhere near as often :)

[Will0W783]

Rob, you seem to have the retic at a good level- when dealing with a larger animal, especially a crazy feeder, you don't want him above eye level or all the way on the floor. You want him where you can see him every second.

My big retic, George, is a bit nuts about food. Here's what I do for him. I thaw my rats upstairs and bring the buckets down to the snake room once they are thawed. I crack the door just enough to toss the rat in and use 16" feeding tongs. When George is calm, I just toss it in. But on days when he is a bit too alert for my comfort, here's what I do.

If George is at the right side of the cage, staring intently, I wave the rat around outside the cage on the left side (Door still closed). He will go to the side looking for it. While he is motion, I have my fiance quickly crack open the door on the right side and I poke the rat in there, quickly close the door so just the tongs fit through the crack and tap him. He will turn back around and nail the rat. It keeps my hands out of his range.

My old SD retic, Baby, would fly out of the cage every time. There really wasn't a way to stop it, so we'd have to both feed her. My fiance would crack open the door and I'd have the rat in the crack immediately for her to nail.

I don't know if either of these methods will help you at all, but hopefully they'll give you at least a few ideas. :)

[KORBIN5895]

Get a one way flap door and affix it to a piece of acrylic. Make the acrylic the same size as the door so you can open the glass and secure the acrylic in place. If you make it secure enough you could set it up the night before feeding. The when the rat is thawed fire it through the flap. This idea needs a little polishing but could really work.

[stephanbakir]

With any animal with a big feeding response, or a defensive personality (normally retics for feed response and scrubs for the defensive personality) we open the enclosures with a snake hook, from outside "the line of fire" then we hold the rat/rabbit using hemostats (again, from outside the line of sight/fire) and then put the rat into view. There is very little risk using this method.

As for the snake striking at the heat bulb, I would treat it the same as an animal with a pacing disorder, all you need to do is place a vine (the object doesn't matter, as long as it acts like a barrier) between the snake and the heat source. That way he can't strike at it.

Hope this helps rob, I've been working long hours and couldn't respond till now.

[Lankyrob]

Thanks Stephan, we have much longer "tongs" now so will report back after next feeding attempt :)

We are hoping that now we can tong feed again he will strike the rat at the end away from the heat bulb and solve "issues" in one fell swoop :)

[Lankyrob]

Just thought i would let you all know, fed him tonight with long tongs and he took the prey with no sign of him striking at us or his heat bulb :)

All happy now, thanks for all the advice :)

[millertime89]

Woot woot!