• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Handlingand Feeding ?'s

R

Red-Scorpion

New member
Will it be ok to feed Bubba in his viv? I really don't want to take him out until I'm sure he is ok with handling. Plus would I just put him in a box to feed him?

If I do take Bubba out what are the chances that he could get away? Are they good at getting out of your hands?
 
Depends on the hatchling, but yes they can be very fast and determined! If you want to use a feeding tub inside the viv at this point, just use the deli he was shipped in and remember to shut the viv lid. Most escapes happen from feeding tubs, so you are right to be cautious. I'd shut the cats out of the room any time you're opening the viv for now, just in case. Hope that helps :)
 
I thing I may just try to find a pvc pipe, put it into the viv at feeding and drop a f/t mouse down onto a rock so Bubba doesn't eat any aspen then remove the pipe. What do you all think?
 
I'd not recommend that, personally, because hatchlings can drag their food about. There'd be a risk of substrate sticking to the pink and being ingested, then a risk of impaction.
Putting a hatchling in a deli cup with it's food makes it more likely to actually find it and get on with eating!
 
Really the easiest way I've found to feed squirmy hatchlings is to thaw the food, place it in the feeding container, pick up the hatchling, dangle it near the food, let it eat while you are dangling it (letting it rest on the edge once it taked the pink). Then you don't have to worry about it flying out of the container when you put it in or closing its tiny tail in the lid. They eat in seconds, unlike an adult, and totally forget you are even there.
 
I think I will just take it out to feed. I'm just concerned that it will slither outta my hands or outta the cup before I can put the lid on the cup.
 
I fed Bubba for the first time today. Picking him and and removing him wasn't difficult at all. Well trying to grab him was a bit as he kept moving, but once he was in my hands he was very calm. We then put him in a seperate container and dropped the pinky in. He noticed it immediatly and scarfed it down. We let him kinda work the pinky down in his body and when he seemed done with that put him back in his viv. He seemed ok with handling him after he just eaten as well. I am very proud of my Bubba.
 
vivarium I believe.

We always put our corn in a small box and dangle the pinkie in front of her with a pair of feeding tweezers. I was so excited the last time we fed her she actually grabbed a hold of it and constricted! (well it LOOKED like she did at least!) :p
 
yes, viv means vivarium. which is the tank they are kept in.

And my corn would never, ever constrict at first. So i came up with a method that works nearly every time now. Firstly brain the mouse (insert a sharp instrument through the top of the head until juice comes out) and dangle infront of the snake. once he has it he may constrict. if not, keep twitching the mouse with tweezers as if the mouse were still alive. if it hasn't constricted, that will usually do the trick.
 
To me, it's not worth the risk of spooking the snake and getting a refusal just to get a constriction. I'm more impressed by watching their eyes as they eat and watching them swallow something many times the size of their heads. Curling up in a ball before eating just doesn't impress me that much. YMMV
 
I've never had a refusal from my snake and I just give it to her.
Different strokes for different folks, but new users need to realize that there is absolutly nothing wrong with the snake not constricting.
 
You could look at the beyond your own entertainment.

In the wild a baby corn will find a nest of mice. The baby mice don't run away. They don't fight back. They really don't need to be killed quickly. An adult mouse with an adult corn has quite a different situation. That mouse needs to be killed quickly before he can do any damage.

I don't think baby snakes really constrict as a rule. I watched one eat a live pinky butt first the other day. That poor little mouse was kicking and screaming until he disappeared.

I think with larger snakes, getting them to constrict is good a practice. It gives the a stronger feeding response and is good exercise.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top