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feeding!!

Amberjolly

Amberjolly

New member
Omg! I'm so confused because I have someone who thinks she knows everything about everything telling me about my snake.
So I have a few questions that I thought I knew the answer to before she talked to me.

So one do I have to feed my corn in a seperate container? Or can I feed it in its tank?

Two how do I defrost the mice I'm on hoppers now and I want to know how to properly defrost them.

Three if I touch there food will it get my scent and make the snake think I'm food?

And four do there bites hurt? Because from what I remember they don't but she says they hurt like crazy so I just wanna know what everyone else thinks.

Thankyou so much for any help.
 
Hi! Well I have kept snakes for 16 years, but I will be the first one to tell you that I DON'T know everything about everything, and I am always learning.

Here is my opinion based on my own experiances....ok?

First thing is, I do feed them in their tubs for the most part. I have alot of snakes and it is easier for me. However, I also use newspapers as bedding for them. When I run out of newspaper I use aspen (the same as I use for my pet rats bedding). When I use aspen I definately feed in a seperate tub, to avoid ingestion of the aspen. I do have a few snakes that HATE aspen, and only use it when I run out of newspaper.

Second I have used whipped cream tubs that I defrost the mice in, in warm water. You can defrost them in plastic bags but my snakes don't mind them a little bit wet.

Three, yup :)

Four, it does not hurt a whole lot, but you can use "wussy" gloves if you want. It will mask your scent, and give you confidence. I am really afraid of pulling back fast during a bite and hurting my snake, that's why I wear them.
 
Like starsevol this is my our experience and nothing I say is the snakey bible but it works for me.

1) I feed in separate tubs. Not because I am afraid of ingestion of bedding or getting cage aggressive but because (opposite of starevol) I find it easier for me. I clean their tubs while they are eating.

2) I have a designated cup to warm the mice in. I have to many snakes if I thawed out mice by letting them sit on the counter it would take forever. And I find it a waste of bags to thaw them out in a bag when non of my snakes care if they are a little wet. I do dab as much of the excess water with a paper towel.

3) Yep, it happens to me on a monthly basis. I just forget to wash my hands after I feed them and when I reach in and grab them to put them back in the tub someone tags me. You think I would learn. I blame it on my mental problems.

4) Nope, I find it itches right after it happens. But yes if your worried get a pair of wussy gloves.
 
I will also add the disclaimer that this is all just my experience/opinion. No bibles of the herpetological variety need be thumped.

1. I generally feed in the tank. No aggression problems, no impaction/substrate ingestion problems (though I also make sure they aren't eating directly on the aspen--instead on top of a hide). I'll sometimes pull them out and feed them in a separate container, if I'm wanting to get a weight or watch them eat for funsies... Whichever works for you. They don't really care either way. (... Usually, anyway.)

2. Remove mouse from bag, toss mouse in room temperature water, walk away for 10-15 minutes. Come back, replace now cold water with warm water, walk away again for a few minutes. Make sure mouse is thoroughly thawed, fetch hemostats, give to snakes. You can also put them in the fridge overnight, set them on the counter for a few hours or so, or, as has been stated, put them in a baggy and then into warm water. There's a dozen ways to thaw mice. Just don't try to thaw them in the microwave. Yuck! (Oh and I don't have a designated container. I usually use the old spaghetti sauce jars, which my brother uses as drinking glasses. I figure the dishwasher gets them clean enough. And there are a lot worse things to eat after than mouse juice.. Like raw chicken, or, well, my brother. I have yet to get salmonella or any other icky thing from this routine. Though I do understand and respect others' choice to not use their eating utensils for reptile chores.)

3. If you mean having the snake mistake your fingers for food because they smell like mice, yes, that is a big concern. That's actually why I finally started using hemostats/tongs to offer food. That and snakes don't always have great aim.
If you mean, though, that the snake will smell you on the food, associate your scent with the food, and later mistake you for food (what I originally thought you meant), not really. I've never, ever had a good snake turn "mean," much less in any way that can be associated with food, and my preferred method of checking to make sure the food is completely thawed is to "massage" it bare-handed and feel for cold spots.

4. Honestly, the worst part of a snake bite is the shock. My first bite was from a 6' rat snake. Once I got past the shock and horror of the whole event, the pain was actually pretty minimal. (It should be noted here that I'm a total sissy.) From a corn snake, you have quite literally nothing to worry about. (And, no offense to this friend of yours, but she must be an even bigger sissy than I am to think a corn bite hurts at all, much less "like crazy"!)
 
Amberjolly said:
Oh trust me that's ok I did mean the snake will smell my sent and think I'm food. ( your first thought) because that's why she said lol
Click to expand...

Cool, my interpretation of a comment is right for once... lol!

Yeah, that scenario isn't going to happen, at least not with a corn. Snakes (generally speaking, I should add--these animals love to prove us wrong) just aren't quite smart enough to make that association. Even if they were, in the ideal situation, you'd be handling the snake, or at least fussing around in its enclosure (water changes, poop-checks), often enough that your scent will be common enough to it that it's not going to associate it solely with food.
 
Hello i'm a new member here... I'm so interested to have snake but lately i don't know how to feeding...But now i want to try this idea thank you guys..
 
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