feeding in the tank - Page 2

Little Wise Owl · 03-15-13, 05:32 PM

Nothing wrong with feeding in the enclosure but I would caution against feeding live. Baby mice and rats don't pose much of a threat but adults do. Plus, it's more expensive and much more of a hassle (at least in my opinion). If the snake goes off feed, you'll either have to house the rat or kill it.

Buying frozen in bulk is just so much easier and safer.

Kratos · 03-15-13, 05:35 PM

I my self dont like to feed live in tank for 2 reasons. 1 being you dont want The snake to start thinking everytime you stick your hand in tank its feeding time. 2 if u feed live food to your snake you want to be able to get to the rats mouth or feet if it starts to bite or kick and stop it till it dies. What I do is remove snake from viv place him in a good size cardbord box and drop the rat in an watch to make sure rat is not biting or kicking. While snake is still in coil and rat is pretty much dead, I pick up snake with rat and place in area where it will eat rat without ingesting the bedding.

Squirtle · 03-15-13, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kratos

I my self dont like to feed live in tank for 2 reasons. 1 being you dont want The snake to start thinking everytime you stick your hand in tank its feeding time.

I seriously don't even know where that came from. If you don't smell like food, then I wouldn't know why a snake would think it's feeding time. They're usually just curious every time you stick your hand inside the enclosure, that's why they flick their tongues faster than usual and might even strike. This is where hook training, this is where hook training is needed.

Lankyrob · 03-15-13, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kratos

I my self dont like to feed live in tank for 2 reasons. 1 being you dont want The snake to start thinking everytime you stick your hand in tank its feeding time. 2 if u feed live food to your snake you want to be able to get to the rats mouth or feet if it starts to bite or kick and stop it till it dies. What I do is remove snake from viv place him in a good size cardbord box and drop the rat in an watch to make sure rat is not biting or kicking. While snake is still in coil and rat is pretty much dead, I pick up snake with rat and place in area where it will eat rat without ingesting the bedding.

Using the same logic, everytime you take the snake out of the viv it will think it is feeding time.

Squirtle · 03-15-13, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

Using the same logic, everytime you take the snake out of the viv it will think it is feeding time.

I love this guy, ALWAYS gives good advice.

KORBIN5895 · 03-15-13, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by valid

A love feeding ? XD that must have been pretty intense. ( I assume you mean live )

Jokes aside - I fed my king live for 17 years. Never had any problems. I found that breeding myself saved me a lot of money and hastle. I would never leave unattended as the others have pointed out.

Lol! See kids? That is why you should never text and drive!

@Kratos

So you're telling me you pick your snake up while it's coiled in the rat?

TeaNinja · 03-16-13, 04:20 AM

all these comments are almost too much for my brain. you cannot seriously justify that nothing bad will happen because you are "watching it" i've personally seen a rat being constricted to death take a few good chomps on a snake before. yeah, its not going to skin your snake down like that picture of someone who clearly left a prey item with it all night long, but it can still bite the hell out of your snake in no time flat. in fact, what kratos described sounds to me like someone who is pointlessly rousting a snake out of its comfortable zone (viv), rousting it again mid feeding which is an extra uncomfortable time for them, and then putting it back into a comfortable zone that you never should have bothered to take it from. lol

Kratos · 03-16-13, 07:14 AM

So you are telling me that taking the snake out of viv is a bad idea because im taking him out of its comfert zone. So that means everytime you take your snake out to let it streach out and run around for a while isnt taking it out of its comfert zone?

Now i can understand feeding F/T food in cage but not live. The snake can simply injure itself with the decor while stiking and if the rat starts to kick and bite and its in the hardist corner toget to it will be to late because the damage has been done while your trying to get to him to see what the rat is doing. Then their is the blood which I know isn't that easy to find in eco earth bedding.

I see what you are saying about moving him around but to say the least the snake does fine and dosnt seem rousted, after the feed he moves around get his water and hangs out with no issue and let him be till I take him out a few days later.

Sorry if I take steps to make sure my snake dosent get hurt or cuts that can lead to infection later down the road.

**Pareeeee** · 03-16-13, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephanbakir

I've seen this photo tons of times, and it still gives me the willies. Poor thing!! Why never to leave live rodents with your snake unsupervised.

My Rosy Boa will only eat live mice, I wish he'd eat f/t...anyway he's been bitten a couple times, and they can still bite while they were being squeezed to death. The one time I had to grab the mouse's jaw and un-hook its teeth from his side. It can happen very fast, and if you have to feed live, you MUST supervise and be ready to help your snake out.

Mice are nothing compared to rats for viciousness. My cousin who's a farmer told me the rats in his barn sometimes kill full grown ducks...

KORBIN5895 · 03-16-13, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kratos

So you are telling me that taking the snake out of viv is a bad idea because im taking him out of its comfert zone. So that means everytime you take your snake out to let it streach out and run around for a while isnt taking it out of its comfert zone?

Now i can understand feeding F/T food in cage but not live. The snake can simply injure itself with the decor while stiking and if the rat starts to kick and bite and its in the hardist corner toget to it will be to late because the damage has been done while your trying to get to him to see what the rat is doing. Then their is the blood which I know isn't that easy to find in eco earth bedding.

I see what you are saying about moving him around but to say the least the snake does fine and dosnt seem rousted, after the feed he moves around get his water and hangs out with no issue and let him be till I take him out a few days later.

Sorry if I take steps to make sure my snake dosent get hurt or cuts that can lead to infection later down the road.

If you want to feed live that's fine by me. If you want to feed in a separate enclosure fill your boots. That doesn't matter to me because it won't be my snake that is risking injury or not feeding because of being moved. What I do think is crazy is that you are moving him while he is coiled. Your snake is completely defenseless and you decide to move it? That seems poorly thought out and extremely stressful for the snake.

**Aaron_S** · 03-16-13, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pareeeee

...Mice are nothing compared to rats for viciousness. My cousin who's a farmer told me the rats in his barn sometimes kill full grown ducks...

Actually from my experience it's the opposite in captivity.

Mice just suck. Rats honestly sit there in a tub and just wait to be eaten. Mice are evil little things.

I can pretty much guarantee that a mouse did that to that snake in the picture and not a rat.

KORBIN5895 · 03-16-13, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

Actually from my experience it's the opposite in captivity.

Mice just suck. Rats honestly sit there in a tub and just wait to be eaten. Mice are evil little things.

I can pretty much guarantee that a mouse did that to that snake in the picture and not a rat.

When I was breeding rodents I got bit by mice way more often than my rats. Hence why I use a paint scraper to kill rodents.

Kratos · 03-16-13, 12:34 PM

Ok so snake feeding 101 learned. I will start to leave sank till it is done eating. But i have a qustion while i do this. Wouldnt it be more stressful for the snake if i move him after he eats? Wouldnt that make him regurgitate and be even more stressfull than a quick 5 second move.

Im just trying to do it right. When i got this BRB from a friend it was in almost a desert like enviroment and skinny for being 3ft. Now hes is in a DIY terarium with proper temp, and humidity, and cleaness. Eats every 10 days and has grown just about a foot and has gotten thicker and wounderfull colors unlike befor.

I don't mean to sound like you know what, but its what has worked in the past for me with no issue or any signs of stress

**Aaron_S** · 03-16-13, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kratos

Ok so snake feeding 101 learned. I will start to leave sank till it is done eating. But i have a qustion while i do this. Wouldnt it be more stressful for the snake if i move him after he eats? Wouldnt that make him regurgitate and be even more stressfull than a quick 5 second move.

Im just trying to do it right. When i got this BRB from a friend it was in almost a desert like enviroment and skinny for being 3ft. Now hes is in a DIY terarium with proper temp, and humidity, and cleaness. Eats every 10 days and has grown just about a foot and has gotten thicker and wounderfull colors unlike befor.

I don't mean to sound like you know what, but its what has worked in the past for me with no issue or any signs of stress

When people refer to handling after eating that causes a regurge is handling the snake for amusement as some people do.

If you're just going to move it from one bin to the next it isn't a big deal and the snake should not regurge at all.

Squirtle · 03-16-13, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kratos

So you are telling me that taking the snake out of viv is a bad idea because im taking him out of its comfert zone. So that means everytime you take your snake out to let it streach out and run around for a while isnt taking it out of its comfert zone?

Now i can understand feeding F/T food in cage but not live. The snake can simply injure itself with the decor while stiking and if the rat starts to kick and bite and its in the hardist corner toget to it will be to late because the damage has been done while your trying to get to him to see what the rat is doing. Then their is the blood which I know isn't that easy to find in eco earth bedding.

I see what you are saying about moving him around but to say the least the snake does fine and dosnt seem rousted, after the feed he moves around get his water and hangs out with no issue and let him be till I take him out a few days later.

Sorry if I take steps to make sure my snake dosent get hurt or cuts that can lead to infection later down the road.

How can a snake get injured by decor? I've seen snakes strike glass with their full force and not have anything happen to them, with glass being the most dangerous thing in most snakes enclosure as it can shatter and create all kinds of bad cuts and what not. I just don't see how feeding outside the enclosure and inside the enclosure comes to mind when comparing how much more the rat is willing to inflict damage onto the snake, why is feeding outside the enclosure more easier for you to prevent rat bites than feeding inside the enclosure, if you don't mind me asking?