Separate feeding tub?

[mpgt]

I know this is very debatable, but I think it should be discussed. I've never seen the need for it. None of my snakes have ever shown any aggression (except the one time my 15' burm had a bad day ), let alone cage aggression, and I feed them in their enclosures. I did the same for my 2 large burms I had long ago. I'm actually concerned that moving the snake before and after feeding can stress the snake and possibly lead to a bite for the owner.

For those who do feed outside of the enclosure, is it to be safe and avoid aggression problems, or to avoid accidental swallowing of substrate???...or just out of habit?

[danktat]

I feed in the cage

[razeraze]

I can tell you cage aggression can be a problem for hungry snakes. Our retic would strike at her door any time someone walked by. To eliminate this we put in a feeding door in back. I just can't see pulling out a hungry 20+ foot snake and putting it into a feeding bin. Yes the reptiles are smart enough to learn when and where they get fed but sometimes hunger instinct might over run classical conditioning and not worth the chance in my opinion.

[brooksie2]

I feed out of the cage. That what we do at the pet store so I guess its out of habit. Its also because I'd be worried about him swallowing the substrate. AND because I've been taught to we weary of cage aggression. So I figured to avoid those problems giving him a seperate feeder tank would be ideal.

But I can see how with plenty of handling you COULD feed in a tank without worrying about aggression but I would still be worried about the substrate. I supose there is no right or wrong, just prefference of the owner.

If guinness started showing more signs of stress becuase of the moving from tank to tank before and after meals like he did last week I would consider switching out his substrate for carpet and feeding him in his tank. He deffinately gets handled enough....

[razeraze]

brooksie2, Do you have any large snakes (9+ feet)?

[trendkill]

I used to feed most of my small boas in seperate containers. 8 out of 10 of them had no issues, as long as I gave them a good 5-10 minutes to relax after swallowing before moving them back to their cage. Still used a hook though, which usually shuts off the feeding response immediately. And I saw no feeding response when they were inside of their cage.

A couple, on the other hand, would stay in feeding mode. Personally I think it had to do with being in a small area, where they know they get fed, and being surrounded by the lingering smell of rodent. So I just fed them in their cages.

Eventually I started feeding all of my boas inside their cages, simply because it's much less time consuming. Lots of boas to feed, not much time to do it. Most of them all now have in-cage feeding responses. They think any movement, even a day (even hours) after their last meal, is more food.

But touch them on the head, even just once, with a hook, and they say "Ok, she's doing something or taking me out. No rat here."

Hooks are wonderful things.

[brooksie2]

Originally Posted by razeraze

brooksie2, Do you have any large snakes (9+ feet)?

No, I have one 3 1/2 foot long hogg island. Hes almost 1 year old.. So hes just a babe..... No big boys

[ReptileMan27]

I have experimented with both and find it much more of a personal prefrence then anything. It is important to note that if you are using bark,mulch, or other loose substrate that contains large pieces, you need to put newspaper down or something to prevent the snake from ingesting it.

[rocknrolldoll]

I used to use a feeding cage but decided it wasn't worth the stress on the animal especially when I got my blood boas - they are worth to much to risk stressing out plus I'd rather get bitten than have a sick or regurgitating snake. I have not been having any issues with my boas on cage aggression, or feeding response. The only one that will strike at anything is my green tree, but I think that is typical, plus she calms down outside the cage. If your snake is just a pet and you don't have to worry about him/her breeding then I'd say go ahead and use a feeding tub, I agree its a personal choice. I always make sure to feed on something like newspaper or put a piece of plastic down so the animal doesn't ingest any substrate

[david]

i feed in the cage a couple retics come flying across the cage mouth open when the door opens but after that initial strike i can get them out just fine the bigys stay in feeding mode for a while i cant imagian trying to get them from a tot back in the cage