Do you feed in viv on substrate?

[desertanimal]

So we all know that the conventional wisdom is not to feed in the viv and especially not to feed on undigestible substrate, lest a snake ingest some, not be able to pass it, and die. And I am pretty careful with my little ones, but once a snake gets to be around 150g, I stop worrying about it too much and I feed in the viv, and the snakes drag their prey through the aspen. Earlier this morning I read a post where Brent said he does the same. What about you?

 

[Bobo's Mama]

I guess I'm just used to feeding them in a separate tub. All the snakes have their own feeding tub. They even have their names written on them. That's how I learned when I had my first snake and it just stuck. I've never fed on the subtrate so I don't have any experience with it one way or another. I can see though that if you didn't dry off the mouse very well, it seems like aspen would be more likely to stick to a dripping wet mouse.

 

[Tula_Montage]

I don't believe for one second that a snake would be offered a warm pristine furry lab moose on a piece of newspaper so they don't ingest some dirt in the wild, Therefore I don't actually have any problems with feeding on substrate. However, I don't use any messy substrate, I use newspaper so everything is fed in their tubs regardless.

I feel its an unecessary stress to me and the snakes to pull them from their hides and shove them in a box with a "foreign object". I feel I get a much better feeding response by offering prey to my snakes from their hide enterance. Afterall, snakes are oppertunists and that sort of situation would occur in the wild all the time.

Im not trying to creatate a natural environment for my snakes, they are captive animals and will be treated as such. But I just feel feeding them in their enclosure gives them the confidence to go all out and strike for that meal and eat it in privacy. Plus I don't have to go back and disturb them after they have eaten to place them back in their boxes.

Thats my selfish human preferance.

 

[Snake Dave]

Good topic!

Well I feed my Corn in his tank, on paper towels since that's his substrate. I use it for peace of mind and it's easier to clean and replace. Obviously he's never had a problem with impaction and he's never refused or regurged, so it must be alright.

Just to add, I feed my Royal in her tank too, she's on Repti-Bark, sometimes I worry about impactions, but I thought that the stress involved with picking her up and immedietly expecting her to feed would be too great, especially since they're such finicky eaters! I was planning on moving her on to newspaper, for the same reasons as the paper towels for my Corn really. I suppose Repti-Bark would be a lot harder to pass than aspen, so I may put her on that instead of newspaper. Let me know what you think.

All the best

David

 

[ArpeggioAngel]

I started the same way - always feeding each snake in a separate container - and with me it has also stuck. Even though I am pushing 50snakes now - almost every one of them is fed in a separate container. It also gives me time to clean their sterlites, add fresh water and handle each snake and make sure they are in good health.

Two exceptions are my adult male grayband and adult male sinaloan - they only eat live and are kept on paper. Due to their size and the live mouse (which I at least stun) they eat in their "living" sterlites.

I also have my female transpecos that eats in her viv. She absolutely refuses to eat anything if taken out of her viv...so she gets fed her f/t mice in it. I watch her closely to make sure she does not ingest any aspen along the way.

 

[Duff]

I've always fed in a separate container/tub. Even my grouchy boa (that's a fun time picking him up to put back after he's done, lol). Partly it's to eliminate any impaction risk, but even if that wasn't an issue, I'd still move to feed as it gives me a good time to do some house-cleaning while they're busy elsewhere. It's just easier for me that way. I've never had any regurges or eating problems, so don't think they mind the routine too much.

 

[Snake Dave]

Oh and just to add. Even though I always heat up the mouse/rat (for my Royal) in hot water beforehand (in response to what Bobo's Mama said), I use a hairdryer to dry it and keep it warm at the same time, so even if substrate does stick to it, it's not an overwhelming amount.

 

[Nanci]

Maybe Janine's quote on cohabitating, if modified, would fit this situation.

"There's never a problem with feeding on aspen till there's a problem with feeding on aspen."

I like to clean and change water bowls while they are off in their feeding containers.

Nanci

 

[Nanci]

If I _did_ feed in the viv, I wonder how many stinky dead mice I'd find the next day. I've never forgotten a snake in a feeding container and any refused mice go to Jake while they are still edible.

Nanci

 

[jazzgeek]

I used to do the separate container thingy....but once my collection went over two dozen, I fed them in their tub - on paper plates.

"Saucer" sized for hatchlings to yearlings, full-sized for adults. About two-thirds of the time, the rodent is dragged off of the plate before it's completely ingested...and by that time, they usually have over half of it in their mouth.

I've never had a problem.


regards,
jazz

 

[jazzgeek]

Maybe Janine's quote on cohabitating, if modified, would fit this situation.

"There's never a problem with feeding on aspen till there's a problem with feeding on aspen."

Perhaps, but it's kind of tautological. "Today is Tuesday or today is not Tuesday".

"There's never a problem with contracting pancreatic cancer until you contract pancreatic cancer."

To me, it's a level of acceptable risk.

regards,
jazz

 

[Nanci]

I like that word.

You can influence, to an extent, your chances of contracting pancreatic cancer, but you may just be unlucky, too.

The snake, OTOH, will not swallow substrate if it is not fed on substrate.

The snake will not be consumed by another snake if it is not cohabitated.

Nanci

 

[Nanci]

Good thing I wasn't on the debate team. My previous post made sense at the time, but not on review. I'll leave it so you can laugh at me, though!

Nanci

 

[Roy Munson]

I like to clean tubs while the snakes are eating, so I usually feed in separate tubs. My dwarf bci will not eat in a feeding tub, so I don't have any choice but to feed her in her living enclosure, on aspen. I dry the mouse thoroughly, but I still worry. My first corn snake died of a corn-cob bedding impaction when I was about fifteen, so I'm a little paranoid.

 

[ghosthousecorns]

Nanci, I'll laugh at you when I'm done laughing at Snake Dave about the hair dryer!
I do the seperate tub thing and clean / change water while they eat. But I don't even towel-dry their food

 

[Bobo's Mama]

Nanci, I'll laugh at you when I'm done laughing at Snake Dave about the hair dryer!
I do the seperate tub thing and clean / change water while they eat. But I don't even towel-dry their food

My Anery-Lav is spoiled rotten! He WILL NOT eat a wet mouse. It has to be dry and warm..:bang:

 

[ladydragon]

I only have two corns, both have eco earth substrate in their tanks. As hatchlings I fed in a seperate container, but now I feed them in their vivs. Sometimes I take the yearling out to make sure he doesn't ingest too much substrate, and so far all is well. As for using their "feeding" time to clean out their vivs, they dont associate my hand with food because I go in there on a daily basis to change water, inspect and/or clean substrate and to pick up a hide or two to just peek and see how they are. when its close to feeding day, thats when they come out to investigate when I put my hand into the viv. No food smell, they go back into their hides and wait for food.

 

[Drizzt80]

Earlier this morning I read a post where Brent said he does the same. What about you?

Yes I do. Always have . . . but, I do keep my hatchlings on paper towels until they move up to fuzzies. In fact, just this week everyone got aspen put in their cages, and had their first fuzzy meal with no problems . . . on aspen! I've personally had no discernable issues or problems with the practice and I do recognize that there is the potential for a "first time for everything" and "I told you so" comments down the road.

After 20 years of keeping snakes, it hasn't proven to be a problem (so far) . . . In fact, believe it or not, conventional wisdom when I first started this hobby was that pine was THE only substrate to use. :shrugs:

D80

 

[toyah]

Those on paper towel/newspaper get fed in their boxes, but with my snakes on hemp substrate, I either move them into a feeding box, or leave them with the mouse on a bit of newspaper on top of the substrate.

The exception is one of my hognoses, who can be a bit shy and won't eat like that. She gets prekilled, as they're bone dry on the outside, rather than defrost which can be a bit wet (I'm not one for hairdrying rodents ... sorry). The substrate I use doesn't tend to stick to mice very easily, but I still worry about it. In the wild they'd probably end up swallowing some dirt, sand, or little bits of plants etc. with their food, but I doubt they get faced with multiple pieces of relatively sharp edged wood chip.

 

[Nanci]

Nanci, I'll laugh at you when I'm done laughing at Snake Dave about the hair dryer!
I do the seperate tub thing and clean / change water while they eat. But I don't even towel-dry their food

I used to use the hair dryer for Maizey when I was trying to switch him back from PK to FT. Then I went to vigorously paper towel-drying till the fur was fluffy. Then a few stomachs burst open, so now I only fluff the backs...For everyone. Then slit.

Nanci