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advice please

C

charlotte86

New member
In my snakes Viv she has aspen substrate, I have done alot of reading and keep getting totally mixed results so I wanted to ask... Is it ok to feed her in the Viv on this substrate as a few people say the aspen is dangerous if she ends up accidentally eating this aswell, others have said (including the pet store I bought her from) say its fine as moving her for a feed can cause her stress and she may regurge?? She keeps a corner empty by choice and everytime she is cleaned she will clear the same corner and she likes to eat here but she also eats holding just under half of her body upright, she doesn't even seem to 'wind' her body to push down her food she will stay up until the pinkie is most of the way down and then she will settle back down and push the mouse the rest of the way 'normaly'


I would just like some advice/ opinions from you guys here

Thankyou for reading
Charlotte x
 
Although any time you're feeding on the substrate, there's a chance of ingestion and possible impaction of the aspen, it's not a huge risk.

Feeding on the substrate is usually OK, just try to make sure the mouse is dry so that the aspen doesn't want to stick to it.

Some folks put in a plate or plastic lid into the viv to set the mouse on to minimize contact with the aspen.

I prefer moving our snakes to thier feeding boxes (just an empty cardboard box -- each snake has his own) for a couple of reasons:
1) no chance of substrate ingestion
2) the snake learns to associate his feeding box with feeding
3) our snakes get fed with forceps/dangling rather than dropping/leaving the mouse

After feeding, we just gently put the feeding box down into the viv and they crawl right out and over into thier warm hides.

Moving the snakes to feeding boxes and hand-feeding does take more time though, so I know that at least some (if not most) of the folks with larger collections just put the mouse directly into each snake's viv.
 
Thankyou for the fast reply I really appreciate your advice, as she's young and im aware they can be scares by large spaces she is still in a small setup and I don't think I could fit a box inside it also, I do feed her with tongs and never just put the mouse into her setup, she takes them slowy nose first and rarely lets her head down when she is eating so a mouse has never touched the aspen, but it has been worrying me a little just as I want her to have the best quality of life and be with us for as long as snakely possible :D

Thankyou again
 
Well, we don't actually put the feeding boxes in the viv's.

We move the snake to his feeding box, feed him, then gently hold the box in the viv space tilted slightly so he crawls out.

But it certainly sounds like you're not having any issues feeding as you are, so no reason to change unless you just wanted to. I'd just make sure the mice are dry before offering them.
 
This is just my 2 cents on this subject.... Even with all the snakes I have, I have never and will never feed inside the viv. Reason being? I dont want any to get the idea that when something comes into the viv, it might be food. I get chonked on enough from a couple brats I have without encourageing them to think my dangleing fingers are something yummy :)
 
I feed mine in their vivs. Babies don't get to be on aspen until they are over 2 feet, because if a baby were to swallow a piece it would be more dangerous than an adult swallowing a piece. I don't believe that feeding them in the viv will cause them to bite more, I actually believe opposite. It's not a huge thing with corns, but with big snakes like boas, trust me- you don't want to have to deal with getting an 8+ foot snake in feed mode back to its viv. I fed in tubs before and never noticed a difference with corns, but it is far easier for me to feed all my snakes in their houses, other wise feeding would probably take two hours.
 
Alicat The shop sold her 2 me on aspen and told me to put her on that she's only small, there are some photos in the photo section, should I change her substrate then and if so what to, I really want what's best for her and for her to grow up dig and healthy thankyou for all the replies

She has never tried to bite atall and always feeds perfectly for me I was told live feed would encourage her to bite so she only has F/T
 
Until my snakes are yearlings I feed them in a small tub (about lunchbox size), then let them slither back into their tubs. After that it varies as to whether I'm cleaning them out that day, in which case putting them in a tub to eat means I can clean out their homes, or if I'm not I just feed on the substrate.
 
charlotte86 said:
Alicat The shop sold her 2 me on aspen and told me to put her on that she's only small, there are some photos in the photo section, should I change her substrate then and if so what to, I really want what's best for her and for her to grow up dig and healthy thankyou for all the replies

She has never tried to bite atall and always feeds perfectly for me I was told live feed would encourage her to bite so she only has F/T
Click to expand...

Oh, you can keep her on aspen, I just don't put mine on it until they are older because I feed in the viv and I don't want my babies to swallow a piece. I dry off my mice really well too so that the aspen doesn't stick to them.
 
thankyou everyone, Janine i have a box about that size that she came in and sometimes if were not holding her when we clean her out she goes in that do you think it would be best if i put her in there and feed her in there whilst cleaning her out?

Alicat i will definitely be drying them off really well from now on thankyou so much for the advice
 
Also using a feed box gives you time to clean and tidy up their normal viv as well. That what I typically do, put the snake in the feed box, dangle food item, then I clean tier tubs out, take out any debris, clean and refill the water, pick through the substrate or anything that needs to come out, wipe down their hide boxes, etc..
 
I have never used a feeding tub. I use Aspen substrate, and line the entire cage with magazine paper (on top of the Aspen) before feeding. I layer it so that the Aspen is completely covered. I used to only line half the viv, but he started dragging his food as he got older.

Ive never been comfortable with picking up after he has just eaten. I know that its perfectly fine to do just while transferring, but im still shaky about it, so i keep my method of feeding. Its a lot easier, in my opinion.
 
charlotte86 said:
thankyou everyone, Janine i have a box about that size that she came in and sometimes if were not holding her when we clean her out she goes in that do you think it would be best if i put her in there and feed her in there whilst cleaning her out?
Click to expand...
I'd say that would be perfect!
 
Thankyou everyone,
Janine I think I will be feeding her like that from now on she's due a feed Sunday so we will see how she deals with the change but she's a very good girl so I doubt she will have any issues with the change, thankyou again for your advice

Also woke up to a perfect first shed this morning a little gutted I missed her in action but she did so well complete with eye caps and tail so im very pleased :)
 
In all honesty, feeding outside the viv, still makes snakes associate you coming over to them to put them in the box as much as you feeding them in the cage. Same risks....
 
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