Do you use a feed box?

[MouseKilla]

Hip,
Your system seems safe and well thought out enough so my question is: what are the benefits of doing the feedings outside of the enclosure? Do you believe you are avoiding the association between simple handling and feeding by doing it this way? In my experience my snakes don't seem to associate me with food necessarily, they do however react visibly to the scent of prey in the room whether live or thawing in hot water.

[hip]

It allows me to do cleaning disinfecting chores at the same time also it prevents from having a rodent smell linger in the enclosure. I am sure you have seen blood on the newspaper(if you use news print) this means I have to clean after feeding anyway. I do not like to touch them for3-4 days after feeding to prevent digestion or regurge problems. I also don't like the thought of bacteria growing in a warm moist enviroment(blood will do this rapidly I think) I just want to provide the best cleanest enviroment for my "kids"




Hip

[MouseKilla]

To be honest I have noticed occaisonally blood and nearly always rodent urine and feces left on the newspaper afterward. I also leave my snakes in privacy for several days after feeding (usually till some of the meal has passed through them). I know that those things aren't good to have in the enclosure but I always thought it being there for a few days till the snake is ok to be handled again wasn't a big deal, maybe I'm wrong though. Best arguement yet in favour of using feed boxes.

[hip]

I am a nut when it comes to clean enclosures for my boas(it really does pay dividends in the long haul) At the last vet check(6 month span) both of my 2-1/2 year olds have doubled their body weight and have gained 13" female and 12-1/4" in length male. these are not modest gains to say the least. I atribute this to proper feeding, supplementation clean pathogen free living area and 6 month check up's with an excellent reptile vet. i am also a firm believer in keeping notes for reference.


Hip

[MouseKilla]

Hip,
If that's nuts... That's some really impressive growth, wish I could claim the same for my BCI. I mean he (? not sexed yet) is beautiful and certainly growing, but not like that. I was keeping feeding and molting records for all my snakes for a few months but then I ended up having to rush some feedings on my way through the house between overtime shifts and lost track of the who-ate-how-many-of-what stuff and never started again. For this reason I have no idea of rate of growth or any of that stuff. I just sort of feed them as often as seems appropriate and let them eat pretty well until contented. It's hard to tell if I'm over feeding but it sounds like you must feed yours a lot more than I do to get that kind of growth. How much and how often for your BCI's at around a year old?

[Lisa]

We use feed boxes for animals that are housed together or problem feeders.

[hip]

I do not over feed( I do feed properly though) Mine are currently on a 2 week feeding schedule (Jumbo rats) I have a rule of thumb for feeding from birth to 2 years of age one proper sized food item once per week.At 2 years one proper sized food item every 2 weeks or so. At 3 years of age males go to 3 weeks while females stay at 2 weeks(if you are breeding the female on a regular basis) females who are pets and not being bred can also be on the 3 week schedule as well. I am a firm believer in supplementation as well(every other feeding) as insurance.Don't forget that freezing kills off a lot of water based vitamins (c. b complexes) Currently this practice is paying huge dividends with mine. Don't forget no two boas are alike and will grow differently in the same situation that is why notes are so important.





Hip

[MouseKilla]

Well if you aren't a supplement salesman now then you should look into it. I'm on my way to the pet store now. It seems it makes all the difference in the world, even when compared to feeding like I do: F/K or live. I'm sure I feed more food overall than that but not necessarily at such regular intervals, maybe that makes a difference too. I guess you just can't say enough about being well organized and maybe just plain fussing over them. Sounds like you know what you're doing, thanks.

[Linds]

Originally posted by MouseKilla
Do you not use ingestable sand for the Kenyans? Or is that stuff maybe less ingestable than the package claims?

That stuff is crap and causes even more problems than regular sand. It is not fully digestable as it claims, in addition it also prevents the absorption of necessary nutrients, etc (the active ingredient is an antacid... exact same thing thats in tums, calcium carbonate... know how it says not to take within a certain timespan around other drugs because it will reduce the effectiveness?) Its also dehydrating on many types of herps, tortoises do not fare well as well as sandboas. Not exactly sure what the reasoning behind that is though

Originally posted by MouseKilla
To be honest I have noticed occaisonally blood... I always thought it being there for a few days till the snake is ok to be handled again wasn't a big deal, maybe I'm wrong though.

I never clean clean the little blood spots off the newspaper. I also don't keep my animals in sterile surroundings. They are kept clean (substrate changed as needed, wiped down with peroxide as needed), but I don't believe they should be kept in sterile environments. They need a certain amount of germ to buildup their resistance to everything, as do all living things. LOL... something I have been taught from before I could even walk thanks to my dad

[MouseKilla]

So you're saying I SHOULD lick that mould on the rubber seal for the fridge door? I knew it! Stupid wife said I'd get sick, I'll show her.

[liltattyprinces]

LMAO ..When i feed in the tank i'll leave them for a couple days then do a cleaning My guys are deffinatly not in a sterial environment as their all in my livingroom. It's clean but hey i have 2 kids

the only time I use feed boxes is breeding season when things are housed together and feeding f/t there isn't any prey feces or urine released. I find my animals never react to me with a feeding response unless I am accompanied with a prey item, then again I feed my animals well and on a pretty regular schedule so it could be they aren't all that hungry.

[hip]

Hey mouse killa as you can see by lind's post that we all have different methods of cleaning and housing our snakes. If you have not seen the pics of lind's snakes you should it is proof that they are all heathy and well cared for. So the choice is yours from person to person husbandry is different but we all strive to achieve the same results healthy animals.



Hip

[MouseKilla]

I agree with that. The one thing everyone seems to share is a desire to provide what we feel is best for our specimens. We often have strong feelings about our chosen methods and that makes for some good, passionate debate. I figure that as long as the keeper is this interested the animal will always do well despite any differences in specific practices. The only animals that we need to worry about, as I see it, are the neglected impulse purchase type. I think most people on this site take husbandry seriously and most likely have beautiful, healthy animals.

[hip]

Man that is so true we all strive to aquire the same means to and end. Thusly we can always learn something new I have beeen keeping for a long long time and I am still learning and i would not have it anyother way Here is a tip Flukers liquid vitamin with beta carrotine I have found is the best of the best for supplements.




Hip