Should i feed my snake/lizard/gecko in a separate container?

[ssjsmits]

Here's a neat little article that I read from Proexotics.com. Good food for thought.

No. Nope. Nyet. Good grief, NO.

There are some pieces of "advice" that continually float around, and never go away. They are constantly recycled, often regurgitated without actual thought to new keepers struggling to separate good advice from bad.

There is no sensible or logical reason to feed your reptile in a separate container. The most common reasoning is that it "trains" the animal not to bite when you go in the cage.

There are two basic reasons your animal strikes when you go in the cage. Most likely it is a defensive strike, as you have startled the animal (perhaps woken it up), and it is defending itself. Learn how to approach your animal better, don't grab it by the head, or from in front of the nose. "Wake it up" before snatching it out.

The other common strike is due to the fact that you SMELL LIKE FOOD. Don't wear "rat cologne" and don't feed by hand. Use a hemostat for goodness sakes! Again, this is not the fault of the animal, this is due to the ignorance of the keeper, and it is easily remedied.

Feeding in a separate container does not "train" the animal to be tamer when you go in the cage (you still "go in the cage" to inititiate feeding). And in itself it does not prevent impactions of particulate substrates like soil or mulch.

You know what DOES prevent impactions? Proper husbandry! We have kept thousands of reptiles, snakes and lizards, on MANY different substrates, and feeding doesn't cause impactions. Bad choices do.

Impactions are most often caused by low hydration levels. When an animal is dehydrated, nothing is going flow as smoothly as it should. When an animal is kept too cool, metabolism is not going to run well enough to pass substrates and other non-digestibles.

I suppose if you kept your gecko on a substrate of crushed glass, then any glass consumed while feeding would cause a problem. But that is because you chose CRUSHED GLASS (or walnut shells, or some other poor substrate). Pick an appropriate substrate. Don't chronically dehydrate your animals (a SUPER common problem and misunderstanding in reptile husbandry) and give your animals the necessary range of temperatures to accomplish life events (like pooping!).

And stop feeding in a separate container. That is just dopey.

[sirens5]

I feed in a seperate container but this is an interesting article none the less. I think if I had my boys in bigger enclosures I would be more apt to feed them there. I just feel like they need the room. Also there is a scent that the snake puts off or the rat smell or whatever that I don't really want in their enclosure.. the rubbermaid I can wash out with dish soap and the scent is gone. I am definately going to be more careful of humidity requirements. Dehydration would definetly not be good and takes constant attention here in Arizona where conditions are so dry anyway. Thanks for the information it was great!

[sgrdolphin]

That is a good point. I don't know how many times I have talked to people that cannot get their snake to feed. The stress out being put in another container and then wont eat. So then I suggest feeding in their enclosure and guess what? They eat! Silly little snakies. That said, my good feeders do sometimes get fed in another container so I can multi task.

[danktat]

I have never fed in a separate enclosure and have never really understood the logic behind it. I don't really give advice on it as I haven't tried both methods to find out. The train of thought in that article however is just about what I thought to begin with.

[ssjsmits]

This is how I see it. If feeding out of the cage "trains" your boa not to strike while your hand is in the cage, wouldn't you think that you are "training" your boa to strike while out of the cage. When you take it out, perhaps it will associate that with food, just like people think that feeding in the cage makes the snake think that opening the door is associated with food. Get my drift?
.
Also, and the main reason, I think it's too much stress on their stomachs moving them around so much after a meal.

[trendkill]

Just my input... I used to feed in bins. I noticed a big difference with many snakes. Meaning no in-cage feeding responses. I'm not talking about a "startled" bite, but a "I think you're food, I'm following your every movement, and I'm going to eat you bite." Now that I feed in the snakes in their cages, most have to be calmed with a hook before I can stick any fingers anywhere within their reach.

However, I've had bite issues with bin feeding too. I had a python take a swipe at me while he was on the hook, being transfered back to his cage after feeding, and a few other similar incidents.

Either way, be safe.

[danktat]

I just don't really want to get tagged putting a boid in feed mode BACK in the original cage. I used to own retics and burms. Can you imagine a 14 ft retic in feed mode. Good luck getting him back in the cage....lol....

[ssjsmits]

Originally Posted by danktat

I just don't really want to get tagged putting a boid in feed mode BACK in the original cage. I used to own retics and burms. Can you imagine a 14 ft retic in feed mode. Good luck getting him back in the cage....lol....

Yeah, that too!

[owen]

i dont even have a real reason to feed in bins, I accepted this along time ago. I just do...I dont really know why, but they are all eating good so i dont worry