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Do you feed in viv on substrate?

Do you feed in viv on substrate?

  • Never

    Votes: 58 55.2%

  • I feed on paper towels/newspaper

    Votes: 26 24.8%

  • I feed on aspen

    Votes: 14 13.3%

  • It depends on the size of the snake

    Votes: 14 13.3%
  • Total voters
    105
Oh and when outside the viv they get into an empty container. I once had one that got a piny piece of paper stuck to the prey and he was happy to swallow the paper with the mouse. So i keep absolutely nothing in the container. There just in there for a few minuted anyway.
 
I feed my hatchlings in deli cups and my 3 year olds in separate Sterilite containers. My adult king gets fed in his tank on aspen. My BP gets fed on Repti-bark in his tank. My mice are dry. When I thaw them they are under a lamp, not in hot water so they don't get wet.
 
Tula_Montage said:
... a warm pristine furry lab moose...
Click to expand...

I would like to see the snake that can eat that !!!!! :laugh01:

Not to make light of the subject but I couldn't resist.

Right now I have been feeding my hatchling Corns in the deli cups that they came in, not sure what I will do when they get too big.
My baby Fl King is fed in his viv, I use newspaper for the substrate.
My Ball eats in a separate container on newspaper because I have crushed walnut for the substrate.
I do want to change my King and Corns to aspen so was thinking about separate feeding container vs putting paper down over the aspen.
 
I went with the "never" /feed on paper towel option. Something happened today that may change my mind though.

I went to check on my smallest snake to make sure she was doing well and had taken her meal. What I found was a snake with paper towel down her throat. The pinkie had gotten caught on the corner and after eating it she just kept on going, pulling in the paper towel with her. I freaked out and ended up pulling the section of the paper towel and pink out of her.

Paper plates and newspaper sound like a better idea to me...
 
I remove my hatchlings paper towels (or napkins) and water dish and feed them in their containers, typically overnight.

Everyone else gets fed on the lid of their enclosure. I open it up, flip it over and place the snake and the prey there. I spot clean and change water at the same time. I have to pay careful attention so snakes don't wander off, but almost all of them eat this way. Some want privacy and those go into containers. My feed schedules about 20 feeds in one evening, I'd say 3 or less are fed in a non-traditional way. I feed about 4 nights a week.

It works for me. :D

Enjoy!

-Tonya
 
Jessicat said:
I went with the "never" /feed on paper towel option. Something happened today that may change my mind though.

I went to check on my smallest snake to make sure she was doing well and had taken her meal. What I found was a snake with paper towel down her throat. The pinkie had gotten caught on the corner and after eating it she just kept on going, pulling in the paper towel with her. I freaked out and ended up pulling the section of the paper towel and pink out of her.

Paper plates and newspaper sound like a better idea to me...
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Yes. I will not feed on papertowels ever again. That's why the babies get empty tubs and the grown-up snakes get fed in tub on a plate. The adults usually drag their prey off, but they're big enough that I'm not worried about them not being able to pass a few pieces of substrate. But I would be worried about them not being able to pass a paper towel!

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40200&highlight=paper+towel
 
I stole JoeJr' idea of leaving the mice in a plant pot saucer to feed in tubs. Works out great as long as you flip it over when their done eating. Otherwise the snakes leave me a surprise in the saucer at a later date.:grin01:
 
All my snakes are fed in vivs. My larger ones who have aspen, get a seperate box with a hole cut out, placed in the viv. They know there's gonna be a mouse inside. Generally they eat it in the box and don't come in contact with substrate, occasionally one will drag it's mouse out halfway down if I make a move or something which startles them.
My smaller ones are on paper towel and also eat in the viv.
 
I feed out of her viv in seperate container, as soon as she goes in she starts searching for her supper.
 
hmmm.. i missed this thread originally.

Well I am like Dean, feed and clean tubs and cages. I place all my manageable snakes into tubs and feed them. This is Corns, Balls, Rats, Rosy Boas, MBKs and Milks and they all go into tubs. I even have a special tub for my 6 foot black milk. I learned my lesson with him when he didn't eat a rat in his cage and we thought he did. Three days later damn did something stink in the back of his cage. I no longer have this problem. He is fed in a tub and I know he has eaten.

Now what do I do with in cage feeders like my larger more aggressive snakes? I am glad you asked. I actually lay newspaper on top of their aspen. It acts as hide and dinner plate for the snakes. I cover the entire cage with newspaper.
This what I did with my milk and he just dragged it underneath. I've learned my lesson well on that one and check the cages right after they eat. But I have never had to worry with my kings, gophers, or large Boids. I know they are eaters.
 
ALL of mine come out and are put in seperate containers on
paper towels to feed.. clean viv while they eat...
no worries that way...
 
When I started almost 30 years ago...

you used sand from outside. And you changed it allot. Cedar was your other choice. Then pine along. A trip to Reptile World and good advice from George Van Horn and Robert Levendusky I went to newspaper.
Snakes kept together were split during feeding of course and a few would, after a period of time, only eat in a sperate container. Before I get bar-b-qued todays wisdom says no to cohabitation and I don't do it. Although I've never had one snake eat another.

I used bark for awhile when I got back into snakes but as the collection grew, so did the cost. A Sunday paper in Lakeland is .75 and lasts two months.

I saw some paper towel talk considering perfect fit sizing. In the small shoe boxes I use the sandwich size towels, they are a perfect fit.
 
I too have had a baby suffer from impaction, only I wasn't aware of it until I received the the necropsy report and it was too late. This was a very very dear baby as well (Sharpe Sunglow). It happened to be my boa, not a corn... however the difference in size should tell you that just because they are bigger does not mean there is less risk. This baby was a 120g newborn BCI on aspen bedding, however she ingested just enough to cause impaction.

With a young corn, I would imagine that the risk is even greater, given their size. Therefore, I don't even try. They all get moved to smaller seperate bins for feeding... even the adults. I see it as more of a temperment conditioner for the adults though, just to make sure they don't up their feeding response and lose their manners. I don't see this as a disturbance to them, as they are handled very often. They are taught this routine from the 1st feeding, and as I see it, even receive a reward (food).

As was said earlier, it also gives me the opportunity to clean their bins thoroughly. Its much easier and more efficient to do this with an empty bin. In my opinion, shoving around the poor guys just to spot clean would be more of a disturbance with none of the reward of food.

This has also proven to help with dissassociating hand & food. I have bought many established corns that would strike 1st and ask questions later, only to find out that they were fed in their bins. Though I'm sure this wasn't the sole cause of their nippiness, I believe you can attribute quite a large percentage to it. When it comes to the larger species, particularly the "monster" snakes, I think this is a vital routine to be learned very early in life (and small in size). I would rather not have a 15ft long retic lunge for me just for opening the cage, thats for sure.

Now, there are exceptions to every rule, and many people will do what they have always done regardless. I had always known what the "advised" method was, but having a large collection, I decided to cut corners. Losing the Sunglow was definitely a kick in the gut. Not only was I out a very favored snake, but my wallet felt the drop too. It took something so horrible to make me realize that cutting corners can just be shooting yourself in the foot. In my case, it was a devastating limb lost.
 
Nanci said:
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
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I do the same. It makes it a lot easier for me that way.
 
I try really hard not to feed in the tank because I've noticed it makes my snakes meaner(just when I initially reach into the tank). I have one snake, a Sonoran Gopher, that will not eat(seriously, she starves herself) unless it's alive and bouncing around in her tank. Hopefully I can break her of at least the "alive" part before she moves up to a size mouse that can actually hurt her!
 
So while the snake is in the container, how will it stay warm?

How long do you keep it in the container for? Until it has completely eaten it?
 
The poll did not include my choice, I have Reptibark. Our snake has always been fed live mice in her viv, that's the way we got her, that's the way I always have done it. She is handled regularly(we kinda like her), so she does not equate hands with feeding. When she is fed I remove hides and she knows what's up. Only one time a piece of bark was stuck to the mouse, I reached in and plucked it off. She's a real good killer and eater.
 
Prophecy said:
So while the snake is in the container, how will it stay warm?

How long do you keep it in the container for? Until it has completely eaten it?
Click to expand...
For the short amount of time they are in the feeding container you don't have to worry about the temp. After all, they need heat to help digest their food so before they actually eat its not a problem. Some people even keep their snakes at room temp all the time. ;)

---Kenny
 
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