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handling after eating

G

guitrage

Ophidiophile
Hi all. My snake just ate for the first time tonight with no problems! It was so exciting to witness! She took the pinkie after avoiding it for about 10 minutes, but then gulped it down quickly. I'm really glad that she's an eater; I was mighty worried before tonight. My question is: how long should I wait after she eats to pick her up and put her back in the cage? I want to minimize the risk of her regurgitating (I know about the 48 hour no handling rule).

Also, I noticed that she went straight to the cool side and burrowed in the aspen, and she's been there for a few hours now. Should I move her to the warm side, or will she ALWAYS move there on her own when she needs it? Is this a legitimate concern?

Hmmm... there was something else I was worried about, but I forget what it was. Have to be another post....

I'll be watching to make sure she doesn't toss her cookies, and if she does, trust me, you'll all know about it!

Thanks,
Ari
 
I feed most of my snakes out of their enclosures...
Usually in a tupperware with no lid...but sometimes off a plate in the middle of the living room.

As soon as they have swallowed the last of their meal...and are ready to start moving away...I put them back in the enclosure.

I wait about 48 hours to handle them after that...but I have handled some of my daily handlers after a day and had no problems...but they don't stress when being held so it has never been an issue.
 
If you want my advice

... I'd wait until he or she poops... Even when it's good to be handled (like 48 hours after its meal) you'll notice that the bowls are still working... and nothing is gross and more rank than snake poop... Esp when it ends up in your hands.

Some one made a comment that stuck with me. If your snake poops on you DON'T put it down, it will learn that it can away from you by pooping on you. Not a lesson you wanna teach. Personally, I would put him the in the sink (with luke warm water) for a little bath in calm water.

Which brings me to my question, does everyone else's snakes hate bathes with a passion? Hell, if I could swim like a snake I doubt I would be doing anything else. 8-P

That's my advice.
 
I have a normal that is SO nice and tame...unless you put him in water.

He suddenly thinks he is a Cobra.

Flattens his head, coils, hisses and strikes...WITH FULL INTENT to HURT me.
He will even strike at me through the glass after a dip.
 
:laugh: My normal freaks out in water ONLY if I let him go. If he's curled up in my hand and I dunk him in, he's fine... but even if he's out of the water and I put just his tail in, he'll freak out a little. And FORGET about letting him go. You can almost hear him screaming out "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!". Poor little guy... But I have to bath him (or at least soak the tail) before I handle him or he poops all over me! Most frustrating thing EVER.

Good advice on the feeding thing.

Reagarding the heat regulation... snakes WILL move to a cooler spot if they're too hot (or reverse if too cold), but if they're on a UTH (for example) and the UTH is too hot, the snake could stay there for hours before realizing it's too hot and result in burning the underbelly. Remember they tend to hide in one spot for hours... takes some time to realize "hey, I'm cold", I guess. Always a good idea to make sure the temps are coorect on both the hot and the cold side, to prevent such accidents.
 
For the snakes I feed outside their cage- I put them back after I see "the lump" has moved well down- usually 5-10 minutes depending on the snake. I let them decide what part (warm/ cold) of the cage they prefer. I usually feed them in ventilated but closed container. hope this helps! :wavey:
 
I just put the pinkie in a small tupperware, put that in the viv, and put the snake in the container, then close it up and leave for 30 mins. When I return, the snake is gone to a hide, and the pinkie is gone to the snake.
I know some others do it in a paper bag, same idea. This way, you completely avoid any stress for as long as needed.
I go for 48 hrs. or first poop, whichever is first.
 
guitrage said:
Hi all. My snake just ate for the first time tonight with no problems! It was so exciting to witness! She took the pinkie after avoiding it for about 10 minutes, but then gulped it down quickly. I'm really glad that she's an eater; I was mighty worried before tonight. My question is: how long should I wait after she eats to pick her up and put her back in the cage? I want to minimize the risk of her regurgitating (I know about the 48 hour no handling rule).

Also, I noticed that she went straight to the cool side and burrowed in the aspen, and she's been there for a few hours now. Should I move her to the warm side, or will she ALWAYS move there on her own when she needs it? Is this a legitimate concern?

Hmmm... there was something else I was worried about, but I forget what it was. Have to be another post....

I'll be watching to make sure she doesn't toss her cookies, and if she does, trust me, you'll all know about it!

Thanks,
Ari
Click to expand...
all you have two do is at least leave the snake by himself for abou a day and it won't get harmed. Any more ?s e-mail me [email protected]
 
have 2 cages

WhiteLips said:
For the snakes I feed outside their cage- I put them back after I see "the lump" has moved well down- usually 5-10 minutes depending on the snake. I let them decide what part (warm/ cold) of the cage they prefer. I usually feed them in ventilated but closed container. hope this helps! :wavey:
Click to expand...
It will help of the snake being nicer and most likely won't think your food anymore. [email protected]
 
I always wait 2 days or so before handling mine. and it's best to feed them in another cage, I have some critter keeper cages that I use for feeding the snakes.
Hope this helps
Pen
 
Thanks for all the replies. I must not have written clearly, but I do feed my snake in another temporary container, and my question was how long should I wait after the food goes down before I put her back in her normal cage?
 
I don't wait. He'll start to move around "normally" (I use that word loosely as he's now a big tubby snake) as soon as the food is down. As soon as he seems full, I put my hand in and he'll slither right onto it. I then support the area where the food is, and gently put him back in the tank.

I should probably add that he's always eaten the SECOND I put the food near him, so the whole feeding process (from the time I take him out of his tank, to the time I put him back in) is about 5 minutes. If that.
 
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