SEPERATE FEEDING CAGE?

[Larry]

Re: SEPERATE FEEDING CAGE?

I usually leave my boa in the feeding box about an hour after feeding. Then I'll open the lid and let her start to make her way out herself. I started doing this after she struck at me the first time I tried to get her out after feeding. She hasn't tried to strike since doing it this way.

Larry

[Snakewife]

Re: SEPERATE FEEDING CAGE?

I changed to feeding in a separate container after getting struck at twice, and have never had this problem since. And I have also noticed that as soon as my snakes get into the tub they go into this hunting mode, so I already have the food in the tub.
And also, keep in mind, after the snake is done eating, he may still be in hunt mode when you reach in to get him out.
I have been struck at a couple of times due to my lack of paying attention to the snakes posture. :-/
And if you feed more than one, as I do, I always clean/disinfect the tub between snakes.

Lisa aka Snakewife b29.gif

[eViL_KaRoT]

Re: SEPERATE FEEDING CAGE?

I don't know, I usually put mine back in their tank about 10 minutes after they finish eating. I figure as long as they are not handle too much, they should be OK. I usually put them back in, right on the heating pad, so that if they want, they can sit there and start to digest. But I have 3 snakes that I have to take out of the tank and only 1 feeding box, a pretty large tupperware container. I'd say, play it by ear. If you only have the one snake to feed and then put back in the tank, you could probably wait a bit longer, but I'd be sure that the tank has some sort of heater on it, to help with digestion. I have one side of the feed box real close to the heating vents in my house to help with warmth while they are in the box eating.

[LucyABCC]

Re: SEPERATE FEEDING CAGE?

well, finally lucy ate. thanks to everyone who offered help in this matter. i took a little of everyones advise and she ate a nice little rat pup. but, now how long do i wait to put her back in her enclosure? i've heard suri's are bad for regurgitating and don't want to cause any problems. immediate help would be great since she's in her feeding enclosure now.

[SaKSTa]

Re: SEPERATE FEEDING CAGE?

When it comes time to feed my boa, I take her out of her cage on put her on the floor. I place the food item right in front of her and she hits it right away. She is a great eater, never had problems. Ohh but I do put news paper over the carpet, already had her get her front teeth stuck and tangled in the carpet.. it was pretty bad.

[LORI]

Re: SEPERATE FEEDING CAGE?

Ok..Good points. For those that are trying to figure out why a feeding in separate container thread is turning into a "when I feed my snake in it's cage" type thing now.... FYI>>> Arboreal species are best fed inside their enclosures and NOT in a separate feeding tote. The tree boas and the GTP are ss of arboreal snakes Oh and arboreal = tree dwellers basically hehe.

come over to my house and try to feed my green tree python with your hands, lol!!!!!!!!!! trust me you will become a firm believer in using something besides your hand to offer prey to your snake.

NP.. I have a HUGE Carpet that I hand feed inside her enclosure most of the time. She definately has a feeding STRIKE np also ! She doesn't get me in a tag when feeding..she gets plenty of tags in at other times when she is in PMS mode. :'( ??? UGH.
Dan.. You offered feed just now.. So wait another 7 days and then offer her prey again. Might want to try the in the dark thing also. I have a guyana that feeds in a tote..BUT it has to be one of the dark colored ones, placed under a blanket and she has to be undisturbed for like 4 hours before she will even attempt to eat...ARGHHH She's a PITA at times ! lol

in general like you have stated tree boas and pythons are eager biters

Dunno if I agree with the python part of that at all myself. I find that most of my boas are more eager biters than my pythons..EVEN my HUGE pythons. Of the 5 HUGE burms that own me...only 1 is actually an eager biter...and that is at feeding time also. The others I not only have to entice them to take the prey, BUT also play "tug o war" with them and their dang rabbit prey for about 3-5 minutes to get their feeding thing to really get going on them. I only have a couple of boas that I do that with though. In the occasional strike/bite that is not a feeding responce, my boas can and do carry that out more often than any ofthe pythons do here on the average [ excluding my Carpet that is]

[Damian]

Re: SEPERATE FEEDING CAGE?

just to add i also have a solomon island tree boa who is also a very aggressive eater. feeding him with your hand would also have the same result as feeding my gtp with your hand. all in all though, they are awesome snakes to own. ;D ;D ;D

[Damian]

Re: SEPERATE FEEDING CAGE?

in general like you have stated tree boas and pythons are eager biters. green tree pythons and especially emerald tree boas are extremely sensitive to heat. in fact emeralds have been known to strike at heat sources that were kept in their cage. my gtp is generally relatively calm until feeding time. i can barely get the rat in the cage before he is lashing out to get it. this is why feeding him with your extremely warm hand would be a very bad idea.

[eViL_KaRoT]

Re: SEPERATE FEEDING CAGE?

I've heard they are a bit more agressive. But if you think about it, it makes sense. I mean they live their lives in trees, and they have to be able to snatch birds out of the air and rodents off the forrest floor, before the prey knows what hit them. They can't surive if they become docile and lazy in the wild. cwm15.gif

[Damian]

Re: SEPERATE FEEDING CAGE?

come over to my house and try to feed my green tree python with your hands, lol!!!!!!!!!! trust me you will become a firm believer in using something besides your hand to offer prey to your snake.

[mltc78]

Re: SEPERATE FEEDING CAGE?

I'm with you guys on the hand-feeding. Thongs? We don't need no stinkin' thongs ;D

[LucyABCC]

Re: SEPERATE FEEDING CAGE?

quite a few people have recommended either feeding in a dark enclosure or in a dark room. i'm going to try feeding in the dark the next time i try to feed her in a couple of weeks.

[eViL_KaRoT]

Re: SEPERATE FEEDING CAGE?

Most of my feeding tags were due to the stupid mistake of rushing about and not washing the scent off of my hands from a prey item when switching over snakes that have been fed with snakes that have not been fed. I don't make that mistake too often either.. It sort of stays fresh in your mind when it is a large 8' boa that tags ya in a feeding responce

Very good point Lori. Trust me, I feed all of my girls by hand and only once by making the mistake of playing with the pet rats before reaching in to play with the snake, have I been tagged. A 6.5 ft boa leaves just as good of an empression as your 8 ftr.

[SnakeDan]

Re: SEPERATE FEEDING CAGE?

One question for ya . Have you tried feeding in a darkened feeding box ? It might be a little more comfortable for her .Also it needs to be at least as the same temp. as the cool end of your normal enclosure .
Hope this can help .
Later,
Dan

ps. this is what I learned from experience . It may not be what all the other more seasoned keepers do . feedback would be welcomed.

[LucyABCC]

Re: SEPERATE FEEDING CAGE?

thanks so much LORI. ;D i wish i had read this an hour ago. i tried to feed her again (i waited 5 days when i normally feed her every 7) because she hasn't eaten in two weeks. i'm guessing she is still getting adjusted to her new enclosure. also, i'm building her a much bigger enclosure this weekend, does this mean i should wait even longer to try and feed her to give her time to get accustomed to her 3rd home in a month? ???