Ball python feeding

[Vakon]

I'm interested in getting a ball python in the near future, and I have a question concerning feeding. I have been reading up on a number of care sheets and sources and one in particular said that it's best to feed the snake in a separate container than it is being housed in. The justification for this was that if it becomes used to feeding within it's home enclosure, it may mistake the owner's hand for food and bite it, but if it grows used to eating in a separate place, it will not display such behaviour in it's home.

Asking any experienced ball python owner, is this good advice or is it more of an unnecessary precaution?

Thank you all in advance who respond

 

[Grimleo]

It's the same way with a very good number of snakes. Normally there really is ABSOLUTELY NO problem with feeding a snake inside it's own enclosure, as long as you don't let it associate you with JUST food. You're just as likely to get a feeding bite from a snake in another feeding bin/cage than you would when feeding it inside its enclosure. Let's say you feed your snake by use of tongs, and you wiggle a mouse IN FRONT OF your snakes favorite hide, and the next time you want to pull him out, you reach in front of and into its favorite hide to pull him out, that's when your snake is(possibly) going to mistake you for food. Also, IF you DO NOT socialize with your snake, and the only time you do interact with it is when you give it food, then you can expect it to think it will get food from you whenever you are around, and therefore bite your face(this happens a lot with monster snakes seeing as how they're too big to get out of their cage on a normal basis). xD Every snake is different, though, but as long as you let your snake know you're not food(i.e. dangling your hand in front of its face like you would a rat, startling it, washing your hands of the smell of mice/rat) then there really is no problem with feeding inside it's enclosure. You can't expect them to be perfect, though, and you have to learn to respect them.

Hope this helps..

 

[ReptiMama2]

"

Also, IF you DO NOT socialize with your snake, and the only time you do interact with it is when you give it food, then you can expect it to think it will get food from you whenever you are around, and therefore bite your face

" I completely agree with this! Socializing outside of feeding time is very important. I usually let my ball rest on my shoulders or around my wrist and just walk around with him. I really want him socialized because he is a class pet in my Biology class. I got him when he was about 1 year old and have been messing with him and socializing him for about 3 years now. I try to handle him AT LEAST a couple times a week for a few hours a time. I do feed him in a container other than his viv and I also feed live mice. I do this for a couple of reasons: 1. I put the mouse in first so he NEVER associates anythign coming INTO the tank with food, the food is there first and he goes to it 2. I don't want to be associated AT ALL with his food. I don't even touch the mice usually. I just dump it into the tank. I feed him in an empty 10 gal. tank. Another reason I do this instead of in the viv is because I don't want the viv to get messed up during the feeding process. I have plants, and bedding, and logs that I don't want to have to continusoulsy rearrange and fix. I have only had my Ball bite once. That was my hubby and it was at feeding time. I think my hubby grabbed him wrong though. I have never had him strike at me when I reach in to take him out to feed or when I take him out of the feeding container. *Knock on wood* I will usually leave him in the feeding container for a few min. after he has fully eaten the mouse before I attempt to take him out.

 

[Floof]

Unnecessary precaution.

If you're getting in and out of the tank for other reasons (even just to spot-clean and change water, but especially if you're handling it as you would any pet), the snake isn't going to associate every opening of the enclosure with feeding.

The only reason you would feed a snake in a separate enclosure would be to prevent substrate ingestion and as a personal preference thing--some people like to be able to do a health check and get a weight on the snake right before feeding. (Others do this other times of the week; you're checking its health every time you handle it and you don't have to weigh a snake right before it eats.)

With ball pythons, definitely, feeding in a separate enclosure is overrated and extremely unnecessary. In fact, it's possibly detrimental. Ball pythons tend to be picky feeders, and are easily knocked off feeding. The slightest excess stress can trigger a feeding strike, and being transferred to a separate, unfamiliar, and stark empty (no hides) tub for feeding is definitely a stressful situation. Though your average corn snake or other, more hardy species can get over that with ease, ball pythons are infamous for taking a small move like that and turning it into a 6-month feeding strike.

It's best to avoid unnecessary stress and feed the snake in its enclosure. If you're worried about substrate ingestion, that's easily solved by placing the prey on a plate, out of the substrate, or at least drying it off so substrate won't stick to its surface. If you're worried about your snake being "mean," well... Aside from that being largely a myth, your normal activities in and out of the tank the rest of the week (and some common sense--i.e. wash your hands after touching rats and mice) will prevent any or most cases of mistaken identity.

On another note... Since the previous post mentioned live-feeding, let me say that that is NOT NECESSARY. You can feed a snake pre-killed prey. You can purchase frozen rats and mice that are just as nutritious and even safer (won't bite back, won't transfer parasites) than live prey that you can simply thaw out in water (hence the comment of drying the prey earlier) prior to feeding. Some snakes refuse to take anything but live prey, but even that is extremely rare. The previous poster's feeding live is strictly their own decision, as I highly doubt their snake can't be switched to f/t (or that the person has tried especially hard, if at all). The best thing for your animal's safety is to feed frozen/thaw or at least pre-killed prey... There have been far too many cases of snakes being bitten, and even eaten alive, by their rodent prey. Even supervised live feeding isn't safe, as a mouse can bite a LOT faster than you can reach in and stop it.

Good luck with your ball! They can be great pets.

 

[Aleu]

Wefeed all 200 of our snakes frozen-thawed, in their enclosures. Some of them are breeders, some of them are rescues that were rehabbed and given a permanent home here. The ones that can be handled outside of feeding have not had any issues with striking, biting or aggression. Some snakes we have were never handled and were complete biters, but they were tamed down regardless of us feeding them in their enclosures. Some of those rescues are even part of our reptile show now at the zoo There are also snakes that just couldn't be tamed down, but we love them anyway! lol

Unnecessary precaution.

If you're getting in and out of the tank for other reasons (even just to spot-clean and change water, but especially if you're handling it as you would any pet), the snake isn't going to associate every opening of the enclosure with feeding.

The only reason you would feed a snake in a separate enclosure would be to prevent substrate ingestion and as a personal preference thing--some people like to be able to do a health check and get a weight on the snake right before feeding. (Others do this other times of the week; you're checking its health every time you handle it and you don't have to weigh a snake right before it eats.)

With ball pythons, definitely, feeding in a separate enclosure is overrated and extremely unnecessary. In fact, it's possibly detrimental. Ball pythons tend to be picky feeders, and are easily knocked off feeding. The slightest excess stress can trigger a feeding strike, and being transferred to a separate, unfamiliar, and stark empty (no hides) tub for feeding is definitely a stressful situation. Though your average corn snake or other, more hardy species can get over that with ease, ball pythons are infamous for taking a small move like that and turning it into a 6-month feeding strike.

It's best to avoid unnecessary stress and feed the snake in its enclosure. If you're worried about substrate ingestion, that's easily solved by placing the prey on a plate, out of the substrate, or at least drying it off so substrate won't stick to its surface. If you're worried about your snake being "mean," well... Aside from that being largely a myth, your normal activities in and out of the tank the rest of the week (and some common sense--i.e. wash your hands after touching rats and mice) will prevent any or most cases of mistaken identity.

On another note... Since the previous post mentioned live-feeding, let me say that that is NOT NECESSARY. You can feed a snake pre-killed prey. You can purchase frozen rats and mice that are just as nutritious and even safer (won't bite back, won't transfer parasites) than live prey that you can simply thaw out in water (hence the comment of drying the prey earlier) prior to feeding. Some snakes refuse to take anything but live prey, but even that is extremely rare. The previous poster's feeding live is strictly their own decision, as I highly doubt their snake can't be switched to f/t (or that the person has tried especially hard, if at all). The best thing for your animal's safety is to feed frozen/thaw or at least pre-killed prey... There have been far too many cases of snakes being bitten, and even eaten alive, by their rodent prey. Even supervised live feeding isn't safe, as a mouse can bite a LOT faster than you can reach in and stop it.

Good luck with your ball! They can be great pets.

Well said! I completely agree with everything this poster said on all subjects.

Also...because snakes do not close their eyes to sleep or have eye-lids, many people will just reach in and try to pick it up, and then act surprised when the snake strikes. If someone woke you out of a dead sleep, you'd strike too, so always make sure to move you snake a bit and touch it to let it know you're there before just grabbing it.

 

[Vakon]

Thank you everybody for your input, it's been a great help