Feeding question

Hi, my little corn snake is coming up to a year old! He’s been doing well, just moved into young adult / hopper mice and is shedding more often (I’m guessing as he’s moving onto the larger mice) I know there’s been conflicting advice on where to feed and we have all ways fed him in his enclosure. We do try and food him ontop of his large black hide but he’s starting to drag it into his bedding which is the habistat snake bedding which I believe is aspen shavings. Tonight he’s done a massive poo which shocked me. (Very dark brown lumpy) but after googling could make sense as he’s just gone through a shed. Was also handled today and he is on his 2nd week of hopper mice (fed on Friday)

But again did make me wonder if feeding him in his enclosure is the best thing. Those that do do you use a lid or tray to put his food on to stop him dragging his food? ( he has a lot of things in his enclosure so not sure if we’ve got the space)

Those that feed outside the enclosure, how long do you leave him in there? (As I know they say not to handle after) do you put anything else in the separate container? Basically we just use a separate carry case type container that we put him in whilst we are cleaning his enclosure

At the minute he is a good eater (seems to like food every 7 days regardless of size) I don’t want to upset that pattern by starting to change where he’s fed but then I want it to be as safe as possible for him


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I feed my little ones in deli cups, but as they grow they're sometimes fed in a container outside their enclosures, sometimes fed inside the enclosures. It depends on how busy I am at the moment. It also depends a bit on the individual. I've got a couple who are highly likely to drag their food around. Those I either feed outside their enclosure or I stare at them during the whole time n

Substrate ingestion can be quite serious, as you apparently know. When I am feeding in the vivs, I put the prey item on newspaper or something similar as a liner between the meal and the substrate. The liner material used is fairly large. The key is making sure that the snake doesn't just take off back into the substrate. If they do, it's all right to gently lift the snake and put it back on the liner.

It's also perfectly fine to feed outside the enclosure in whatever works for you. With a single pet snake, this may be the easiest. You can put him in a container which seals or just a cardboard box. (If you go with a box and want to reuse it, you'll want to line it.) There isn't any danger in gently picking up and placing your snake back in his home after a meal. You won't hurt him. The recommendations against handling after a meal don't mean that you literally shouldn't touch him. It's better to err on the side of caution, no harm done there, but don't be afraid to pick him up gently after a meal.

If you're uncomfortable picking him up after a feeding in a separate container, you can use a container small enough to place inside his viv. After he eats, just open the lid and let him come out.

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I feed in a separate container. Impaction is just something I do not want to mess around with. The no handling after feeding rule is more about excessive, recreational handling. The few seconds it takes to pick him up and set him in his enclosure will not cause a regurge. I put them back as soon as the mouse is in the stomach.

Thanks both

I think I’m going to try and take him out next time and see how we go


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Good luck to you and your boy. PS - we love pictures!

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Thanks. Just fed him and I think it went well! He didn’t seem too bothered and I slowly tipped him back into his enclosure after. Thanks again


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Glad to hear it went well. Good job!

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Corns are typically such good eaters that they'll eat wherever you want. I have one baby that will launch himself out of his container in his enthusiasm for food and he'll end up eating in my hands sometimes. Very silly, but he obviously isn't bothered by it! Glad to hear it went well!