feeding in viv

[Spider]

Hey ppl

Lately i have been feeding Kaine by holding the pinky infront of him till he strikes then i let it go.
Is this a bad thing feeding it out of my hand?
Also i have been feeding it in his viv and a friend told me that i should feed it in a separate container? Should i take him out and feed it in another container? Will he think that when i reach in to hold it that i am going to feed him and strike at me? Been hand feeding him for about a month now.
I just build him a new viv and he will be moving in, in about a week or so. Should i then feed him in the old viv?

Thanks so long

 

[Buzzard]

No its not bad to feed in the viv. I think the concern with it, is when the substrate sticks to the prey item and is ingested by the snake. It doesnt happened often but it can cause an impaction and lead to many problems including death. Many people feed there snakes on plates inside the viv. I do it like this...

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95146

but I also use a very fine aspen chip....

As fas as handfeeding, Your bound to get nipped if you keep it up from your hand. Many people use tongs to avoid getting nipped, but there is nothing wrong with feeding them like that.

 

[4riscorn]

I have a question about viv feeding too. I always take mine out and put them in feeding containers with lids since they tend to move around so much getting the mouse down that they almost pop out of the containers. My question is what do you guys who have more than like 25 snakes or new hatchlings do? We are up to 12 now and it is getting tougher to do them all. We have broken up the feeding schedules to different days but when they all keep going into blue and shedding like 3 at a time, how do you adjust the feeding schedules? We have hatchlings to adults.

 

[ceduke]

Feeding in or out of the viv is a personal choice, and there are good arguments on both sides. As long as your snake isn't swallowing pieces of bedding, I wouldn't worry about it. LOTS of keepers have been feeding BOTH ways for many years successfully.

...and I love to feed my corn out of my hand! I'd never try it with my others, they're too enthusiastic!

 

[Buzzard]

4riscorn,
I pick 2 days a week for feeding(I am sure others do differently). Every Wed, Sunday for me. The hatchlings usually get feed on these days and I have most hatchlings set up like the above link. This way if I am in a hurry I can flip the hide over the next day. I keep a log book with everyones name on it and what they ate or didnt eat. I also log poo. I know that sounds strange, but If I havent logged a poo then hatchling has to wait until the next feeding day.
On Sundays I feed the adults (every Sunday during breeding season and every other Sunday after the females are back to weight). I place a container (little larger than a shoe box) in the viv and feed that way. There is still plenty of room at the top for them to crawl out of, if I dont get the chance to get back to them right away. This cuts down on a lot of waiting time for them to finish. Plus, when I place the snake in the container, I give them a good check over. I log everything.

It may sound like a lot but my average feeding time takes about 20-25 minutes, including log book(19 snakes). Then when I come back another 15-20 mins including washing containers out...Hope that helps

 

[4riscorn]

Buzzard..we kind of do it the same way. Usually Sun for the "biggins" and Wed for the "littlens". But when they go blue or shed, it throws the whole schedule off since u aren't supposed to feed during blue. We also keep a log-2 actually...one in an index card file, a card for each item, each snake..temps, feeding, shedding, weight/length and recently added the poo card! We also keep a record on iHerp which is awesome.
Thanks for the flip the hide tip..we may have to try that one if we get too out of hand..got #12 today..trying to work on the next 5 or so!!

 

[Buzzard]

If a shed happens I just skip to the next feeding day. I often offer food while in shed but usually a smaller item. I do have some that refuse. I just document it. missing 1-2 feeding due to a shed won't hurt the snakes if they are healthy.
To save on wasted thawed food, I usually try the shedding ones first and by the time I get to the last few snakes, if they havent started eating it, I give it to someone else.


WOOOO HOOOO 1000 post mark...sorry had to...

 

[windowswisher]

I, too, see nothing wrong with feeding in the viv as long as it's done on a paper plate or something. However, I personally love to feed outside the viv on the floor or something as it allows me to get up close and personal as they eat, and closely monitor the process. I love feeding days.

 

[Buzzard]

I, too, see nothing wrong with feeding in the viv as long as it's done on a paper plate or something. However, I personally love to feed outside the viv on the floor or something as it allows me to get up close and personal as they eat, and closely monitor the process. I love feeding days.

Just use a little caution. Feed on a tub top or something, if the floor is carpeted. Many carpets are made of synethic fibers which are not digestable. This can lead to the fibers actually getting caught on the snakes teeth and in there system. I have feed mine on the tile floor when I only had one. Just use a little caution when doing it (I am sure you do, mostly talking for the newbies).

 

[Spider]

Thanks for the replies ppl

Will keep feeding the way i am. Like to see him strike at pinkys.

Hope you all enjoy the day/night

 

[diamondlil]

I generally feed in a tub when I want to clean out the snake's tub, or weigh it to look at it's progress, but for the adults I generally dangle the f/t mouse by the tail and watch 'em strike. While they are busy I can spot clean any visible poops and clean their waterbowls. I'd like to split my adult group (19 snakes) to different feeding days so the feeding/cleaning sessions didn't take so long, but as soon as I pull out the first couple of tubs all the rest are excited and cruising for food. I generally don't find the corns mistake my hand for food, the recognise the difference between dangled prey and my hands reaching in to pick them up. My king is another matter, I have to give him plenty of cues that I'm not a food item and he still tends to try to constrict my arm!

 

[requin]

Honestly I don't think it's much of a problem to feed in the viv as long as you make sure to change the surroundings before feeding so the snake doesn't assume that your hand reaching in always means food. I used to feed both my snakes in separate containers but one of them is a really slowwww eater who stops eating and stares at you for 10 minutes if you look at him the wrong way, so I started feeding him in his viv to save time. Eventually I started feeding my other snake in her viv too because it's easier. Neither of them has mistaken my hand for food yet, and I doubt they will. I take the snake out as if I was just going to handle it, and with my free hand I remove all of the hides. Then I weigh the snake (they each have their own weighing bowl), put the whole bowl in the viv, and feed in the bowl. Easy cleanup, no risk of ingesting substrate, and I don't have to spend half an hour waiting for the one to finish his meal. Once the snake is done eating I wait for it to climb out of the bowl and then replace the furniture.

As for feeding by hand, I think it depends on your snake. My fussy one I wouldn't feed by hand because I'm sure he would just drop the mouse as soon as he saw my hand move away anyway. Plus he tends to get really excited and mis-strike a few times before actually connecting with the mouse. I would probably feel safe feeding my other snake by hand because she's as calm as can be, but I doubt I'll ever try because touching squishy dead mice is not something I particularly enjoy.