Feeding seperately?

I hear a lot of people moving their snakes to a seperate container for feeding. Why is this? Should I feed mine in a different container?

Nick

If you have more than one snake, seperation is important for some obvious reasons (possible cannibalism, stress, and ability to record exactly who is eating what).
If you have one snake on aspen (or other flaky material other than newspaper), it is important to feed in a seperate place because they can accidentally swallow substrate while eating. This can cause an impaction and can potentially be deadly.
There is some debate over whether or not feeding in the tank can cause your snake to become agressive - some believe that reaching in with food sometimes will 'teach' the snake that your hand = food. I haven't personally experienced this - one of my snakes has always been fed in her viv (lined with newspaper) since it's the only place that she seems to happily take food.
If this third option is what you are dealing with, then the choice is yours. If you are housing together, or on a substrate, then you absolutely need to feed in a seperate container.
As an asside, many people find that while their snakes are feeding in a seperate container, this leaves the viv open and ready to clean

In my opinion, and in the opinions of many other keepers, the only time two corns should ever be together is if they are introduced for breeding purposes. Search for "cohabitation", and "separate feeding" in this forum, and see what people have to say about it.

Ive always fed my corn in his viv and ive never had a problem with him being aggressive.

I keep my amels separate and they always go into a "critter keeper" for thier food,and I leave them in thier containers for about half an hour to an hour afterwards so to let thier dinners go down.I don't fancy an expensive trip to the vet with impaction issues..I have been feeding this way since I got them and both Scylla and Medusa are very happy with this method,thanks to everyone on here with very good information I have two happy and well adjusted snakes which are easy to handle,feed,and have shed well.I don't generally bother them for two days after a feed,neither.I hope this helps somewhat,being a noob myself,all I can say is I followed the great advise given on here and am very happy with my babies!!!Cheers,V

first feeding

I tried it last night and put him in a little box to feed him. He wasted no time at all eating that pinkie, lol. That was his first feeding with me so I am glad he took to it so quickly

Nick

Yes,I know how it feels when they take thier first feed..I almost threw a party I was soooo glad I got it right!My two have never refused a meal,although I haven't had them that long,They settled in with my help and all the advice I got from here.

Well Done!!! All should be pretty straightforward from now on!!!! V

Snowcorn87 congrats on the first feed, it is always a relief when they eat.

I agree with what daisy said (dunno why she mentioned cohabitation tho :shrugs: ) But just to add to that is it (IMO) better to not risk accidental ingestion at all that to "possibly" have to deal with it. As well as previously mentioned it is a convenient time to clean the cage while the snake is eating and getting the meal down. I feed 10 at a time, place them in separate tubs with their meal then clean out their cages and water bowls. By the time I am done they have swallowed the meal down sufficiently to be put back "home". :cheers:

I clean mine out too when they are being fed.Handy!!V