feeding inside tank

[THEPETER]

I know that you shouldn't feed inside of your tank/Viv. My wife was asked me why and I coulden't give a good answer. My wife thinks that because she is in a 55 gal. tank that it shouldn't matter. Is this true?

 

[RedRaydin]

I'll be the first

Well, I guess I'll be the first to support this habit and I will have plenty of critics follow I'm sure... I feed my corn inside his viv. Mostly because I had not joined the site before the first feeding and was not told about it. However, my corn seems to have no problem, nor does this cause any problems as far as I'm concerned. While there are plenty of threads on this site condoning the habit I almost swear by it. I put the mouse in with tongs (and not my hand), so the snake isn't confused and doesn't mix up feeding time with holding time. I wiggle it in front of his hide then place it on his rock in the front of the viv. He comes out and eats and then digests a little, gets a drink of water and then goes right back to his hide to continue the digestive process. It may be a bad habit, but again I haven't seen any repercusions so far. As long as you have a way of seperating feeding from holding and make the two distinct practices among the snake it should be able to differentiate between the two. I think the main concern from many snake enthusiasts is that the feeding in the cage can lead to biting, striking, etc. But again if you are careful I think it's fine. Read up more before you trust one person's practices though. Hope this is semi-helpful.

 

[TWGarland]

Apart from the reinforcing of possible bad behaviour (that may come from a snake being conditioned to think its being fed everytime and not a handling session) there is also the risk of impaction ( a snake taking in some of its substrate with its food, which may possibly lead to digestive tract problems. This wouldn't happen however if you fed your corn in its viv on a plate or something, but theres alwasys the risk your corn will take the prey off the plate and dunk it into the substrate whilst eating. Someone more knowledgable will be able to expand on this im sure.

I feed mine out of the tank, completely removing the risk of impaction and goes someway to ensuring a calmer dispostion. Only my opinion.

 

[Leandrae]

I'm still a newbie, but I think the biggest problem with feeding inside the viv is ingestion of substrate which can cause life threatening impaction. All it takes is one piece of aspen, papertowel, or whatever is used sticking to the food to cause potentially serious problems.

-Janel

 

[RedRaydin]

Also a very good point. So yes, if you use any of that substrate I highly recommend not feeding in the viv as well. However, I use newspaper and astroturf (mix up between the two), this would be why I actually feed in cage. Back when I used aspen (for the first feeding only), I used a deli-cup for the feed. But yes this can be a serious prob. Thanks for pointing that out Leandrae. Rep points worthy!

 

[Flagg]

I feed all my corns outside the tank in a separate feeding tub. Mainly to avoid impaction risk, but also to make sure they all get handled and it gives me a good opportunity to weigh them when I'm fairly sure they have defecated and thus provide an accurate weight.

 

[Weebonilass]

I'm still a newbie, but I think the biggest problem with feeding inside the viv is ingestion of substrate which can cause life threatening impaction. All it takes is one piece of aspen, papertowel, or whatever is used sticking to the food to cause potentially serious problems.

-Janel

Exactly Janel. I believe when I first joined the site here, there was a long thread on a snake that had swallowed papertowel, so anything is possible.

 

[Nanci]

It _is_ a good opportunity to weigh- except some of my guys have been getting impatient and BITING! Not complaining though- gotta love a good feeding response!

Nanci

 

[bill38112]

I feed all my snakes in their vivs. I place the prey in a container large enough for the snake to crawl into and place the container in the viv. This minimizes the chances of substrate ingestion and avoids the stressing the snake by chasing it down to take it out of the viv. I believe that the overhandling of young snakes is the single largest danger to their health. Many young snakes will be too stressed to eat after being removed from the security of their viv.

Feeding in the viv also minimizes the chance of escape while feeding. AND contrary to popular belief, if you feed your snake in its viv, then it will not associate handling with feeding. If everytime you take the snake out of its viv it expects to be fed, you're much more likely to get bitten when handling your snake than by feeding as described above.

 

[RedRaydin]

Preach Bill! Lol, no both make very valid claims. It's just that if you feed in the viv you need to take precautions and considerations into effect such as the substrate and not using your hands, etc. That's a good point about overhandling and escaping though, never quite thought of that. I mean I wouldn't want my snake to be outside the cage in a small deli cup. He's fast, if he got out I don't know if I could grab him. He can reach the top of his viv, let alone the size of a deli cup. But hey, I'm not hating. The people who feed outside the cage obviously have done it for a while and are more experienced snake handlers and such.

 

[Weebonilass]

Yup, this little girl was much too stressed too eat and this was after a photoshoot...

And it was her choice to not wait until she was in the container. And she ate the whole thing in that position.

If I had 50 snakes or more, heck 25, I might have to re-think my thoughts, but I think it's an excellent idea for them to get out of those cages for some additional exercise. They would certainly get more in the wild.

 

[RedRaydin]

The reds on that snake are intense. Very nice looking. And yes, as we see by many more experienced snake owners, the feeding outside the cage is a very very common practice and one more tried than the latter. those of us who don't were just explaining our approaches and techniques as to how we feed in the viv. The choice is up to the owner after research and such. Good luck in whatever you may chose.

 

[Weebonilass]

The reds on that snake are intense. Very nice looking. And yes, as we see by many more experienced snake owners, the feeding outside the cage is a very very common practice and one more tried than the latter. those of us who don't were just explaining our approaches and techniques as to how we feed in the viv. The choice is up to the owner after research and such. Good luck in whatever you may chose.

Jason,

My biggest concern is that if, esp. inexperience folks, feed in their viv, they may find themselves taking less time with their snakes and missing potential health problems as they won't necessary have the eye to see something while the snake is in the tank. I find that with the horses all the time. I've pointed out a lot of scraps and swellings to other owners who were in a rush and didn't notice something.

Taking my guys out of the containers gives me a chance to run my hands over their bodies, makes me notice their weight. I look for scrapes on their noses, on their bodies and I notice the temperature of their little bodies.

My eye was developed by a vet who managed a very large, expensive Arabian farm. She understood horses got scrapes and skin problems, but you had been know about it and be able to tell her what you were doing about it. Being surprised by her would bring a lecture that would take welts off your virtual side.

Until a person develops that eye, they are most like to discover it while handling an animal.

Yup, its up to the individual, but there are a lot of pros to feeding outside.

 

[bill38112]

If I had 50 snakes or more, heck 25, I might have to re-think my thoughts, but I think it's an excellent idea for them to get out of those cages for some additional exercise. They would certainly get more in the wild.

I'm not advocating that one never handle their snakes and I'm certainly not advocating neglect. I just think that most hatchlings are overhandled. I think if you count the posts in this forum concerning problem eaters vice the ones concerning snakes ingesting foreign objects, you'll find that problem eaters are a far larger problem to the community.

Cute snake, by the way.

 

[RedRaydin]

I do agree with your points

While I do agree with a lot of your points, my ways will by my ways and yours will be yours. Everyone makes a choice by what best suits their snake. I also believe that handling also allows you to check to see if their may be any mites or bugs on the snake, so I definately agree that handling is important. I just also agreed with Bills point about over handling or excessive handling as a hatchling and its ability to cause stress issues in the snake. But I understand you have a very good eye for your herps and thats very important as a snake owner. The most important thing is that our snakes our healthy and we all utilize all the tools to find the right ways to handle potential problems. I was never bashing either.

 

[Weebonilass]

I'm not advocating that one never handle their snakes and I'm certainly not advocating neglect. I just think that most hatchlings are overhandled. I think if you count the posts in this forum concerning problem eaters vice the ones concerning snakes ingesting foreign objects, you'll find that problem eaters are a far larger problem to the community.

Cute snake, by the way.

Thanks, I think she's pretty cute myself

I don't think you can use what you see here on the forum to make a case for poor eaters vs good eaters... The folks eating good eaters arent' going to running to post numerous posts begging for help getting their snakes to eat. They are going to read them and think "Thank goodness, Cindy Lou eats like a champ." No reason to post.

In my experience, if a person sends out surveys, the people with a negative experience are much more likely to respond than the person who had a good experience.

 

[Infinite]

Feeding in the viv also minimizes the chance of escape while feeding. AND contrary to popular belief, if you feed your snake in its viv, then it will not associate handling with feeding. If everytime you take the snake out of its viv it expects to be fed, you're much more likely to get bitten when handling your snake than by feeding as described above.

If someone feeds there snake in a seperate container without a lid and leaves them un-supervised then yes, an escape could happen but this is highly unlikely to happen.
Almost everyone (and I know I do) who feeds outside the viv uses a critter keeper with a secure lid. Normally I'll put the keeper on the table and stay and watch to make sure she eats (has never turned down a meal yet) but if she takes a while I knwo I can safely walk around the house and do whatever and return to find her hanging in the middle of the lid waiting to get out.

Also, if owners handle their snakes regulary then they won't be fed EVERY time they are taken out so I completely disagree with that last part of your post

 

[DaGiant]

Mine are handled DAILY except the 48 hrs after feeding
and they have never tried to strike, my newest one "rattled"
at me when transferring to new home after feeding, but didn't
try to strike.. My yearling crawls onto my hand and curls the end
of his tail around my finger for the walk to the chair..
I feed outside of viv also and haven't had a feeding problem yet
(knock on wood) So it comes down to care and personal options..

 

[BeckyG]

The most important reason not to feed in the viv is the potential for impaction if you have a substrate that can be swallowed. If you use something like newspaper, there is minimal risk of that. If you use tongs to feed, or handle your snake at times other than feeding time, he is unlikely to develop a feeding response. However, there are some advantages to feeding in a separate container as well. First off, it gives you a chance to handle the snake at least once a week, to check his health, measure him, check for parasites, and such. Also, it is a great time to clean the tank without having to constantly watch the snake to make sure it doesn't escape.

Personally, I've done both. My ball pythons both get fed in their vivs, because they won't eat anywhere else. My corns have been fed both in and out of their vivs, and both methods have worked for me.

 

[Shade]

My main reason for feeding outside of the viv is so that the snake learns that me opening the viv doesn't always = food. Impaction is always a risk as well, though.