Feeding snake (10 pts best answer)?

Question

do they really have to eat in a seperate tank. My snake is a corn snake and it is already 3yrs old and the person who gave him to me (he had to move and couldnt take his snake) fed him it his original tank and that is what i do. What is wrong with feeding it in its original tank?

Answer 1

There is absolutely NO GOOD REASON to feed your snakes in a separate tank than the one it lives in.

1) Myth: You will get bit because the snake thinks your hand is food.

Truth: You sure will. If you rub rodents all over your hands and don't bother to wash your hands prior to putting your hand in there to grab the snake. You'll get bit if you're stupid. Just like a dog will like your hand if it smells food, a snake will bite it. Common sense.

2) Myth: The snake will ingest substrate (bedding)

Truth: How many wild snakes do you know of that crawl into a pristine tub/tank to eat? That should tell you why that reasoning is so absurd.

3) Myth: It's not clean or hygienic

Truth: If it's not clean that's because you haven't done your job and cleaned up the snake's tank. Feeding it in the same place it lives has nothing to do with it. Unless of course you leave a rotting rodent in there for a week. Besides I bet you eat in the same place you live, right?

Those are 3 of the more common reasons given I've come across and not a one of them makes a bit of sense if you actually think about it. Just take some really basic safety precautions.

1) Always wash your hand immediately prior to handling your snakes no matter what you've handled.

2) Use forceps, tongs, or tweezers to feed your animals. When it comes time to feed I grab the rodent with the tongs, remove the lid and dangle it by the scruff of its neck and the snakes grab it. Simple, quick and clean.

Answer 2

if u feed it in its tank then eventually it might bite u.

Answer 3

okay i have a corn snake she is only about 2 months old and she eats pinky mice, but since your is like 4 feet maybe then is needs to eat bigger prey.  i feed sunni (my corn snake) in a seperate tank because as she gets older and i reach in to grab her she may think i am giving her food and she could bite.  so i move her into a seperate tank and give her two pinkies, and then when she is done i move her back into her original tank.  that is really the only reason i would move her into a different tank, so she won't bite me, and she hasn't yet, my friend's brother has a 7 foot snake and it is about 11 years old and he feeds is in a seperate tank and it has never EVER bitten him its whole life, (11 years) but if you aren't afriad of getting bitten then just keep doing what ever you are doing.  and REMEMBER: a corn snake bite hurts less then a shot.  in other words a shot from the doctors hurts more then a snake bite.

good luck.

Answer 4

I don't think it's wrong i do the same with mine.I just don't give him food in my hands i use a long tweezer that i bougth at a pet shop so he dont associate my hand with food.and i use paper towel for substrate so he wont eat it and its easy to clean.

Answer 5

when they defecate it can cause skin infections when it rots.

Answer 6

It's also a way to refresh your snakes cage.  When I feed my snakes I'll remove them both into a tote then take one into the feeding cage at a time.  While I'm feeding them I'll freshen up their living tank.  Change the bottom, give them new water, rearrange their stones and sleeping cover, etc.  Then they won't associate their living tank with food and mistake your finger as a mouse.  You'll also notice that they're eager to get back to their cage after they eat cause they know it's fresh.  And you'll probably be less likely to have a snake that has eating problems because they know once they eat they have a clean place to go.  You generally don't have to worry about them regurrgitating if you move them gently and it's not too big of a move so just have it close by.  When you pick them up support on either side of the food.

You know you really should worry a little more about your snakes preferences rather than what's convenient for you.  So there's not really a definetly line for this because I know my snakes would be uncomfortable eating in their tank.  I feed them live mice and it's kinda hard to catch in a tank that big and then the risk of the bedding getting into their mouth just isn't worth being lazy.

Answer 7

My husband and I have a total of eight snakes, we plan to start breeding this year, we feed all of our snakes in their own cage. We used to feed them in a seperate container but, though about it when our boas get ten feet I really don't want to have to haul it out back and fourth. All the "experts" and breeders we know feed in the same tank. It will not hurt them.

Answer 8

Unless you want to be bit every time you pet your snake you'll want to feed him in a separate tank. If you feed him in the main tank he'll think that every time you open the lid its time for food and will bite more likely.

Answer 9

people on here stick to the "rules" way to much lol....i have 15 different snakes including 6 corn snakes...my oldest one is 10 years old now and he has never bit me not once matter of fact i have only been bit once in 20 years of dealing with pet snakes!what i do is feed him in is housing or original tank its perfectly ok! then when i go to handle him i make sure he sniffs my hand and gets the sent to make sure he knows its me and just my hand not my hand with his dinner and hes fine and has never even struck at me..the only time i have ever put them in separate tanks is when im cleaning out their housing tank...so dont listen to all these worry worts its perfectly fine to feed and house him in the same tank just make sure you spot clean and do tank cleanups whenever needed! hope this helps and is good enough for best answer lol

Answer 10

Never place hands in tank your snake cant tell if its food or not so use a snake hook or tongs something so your snake wont mistake you for his dinner.Yes you need another place  to feed your snake--A card board box works well just be sure its big enough for your snake.This provides another hunting ground for your snake and a different environment as well.

This will also help the snake from not striking your hand. If he/she hunts at night place in a dark room  place food in box and leave the snake alone till done but stay in room so he/she does not get loose. When snake is finished with dinner re place back into its tank handle as little as possible  since over doing it will make the snake bring it all up again. If you feed live make sure its eaten if not remove since some can harm your snake...

Answer 11

It's not necessary. I have over 160 snakes and never move them into a separate container. How often do I get bit by a snake mistaking my hand for food? Never. I don't want to offend anyone, but feeding snakes in a seperate container is a beginner practice. No professional breeders, herpetologists, or zookeepers feed their snakes in a separate container. I just use long tongs, forceps, or tweezers so the snakes never even see my hand. The people who are getting bitten often aren't practicing good handling techniques. I see people reach in fast for their snake with their hand going right at its head and wondering why they get bitten. Going at a snake's head will scare a snake, causing it to bite out of fear, not hunger. However, I can reach in and grab any of my cornsnakes or ball pythons head on and they don't ever strike.

For my more aggressive snakes, such as blood pythons, yellow anacondas, and others, I just pull them out with a snake hook. Again, they're not biting because they think I have food, they're doing it as a defensive measure. I feed my Burmese pythons frozen/thawed rabbits in their cages, and I can just reach in there anytime and grab them with my bare hands with no problems ever, even if I approach them head on. Another thing I do with my snakes if they look like they're expecting food is just tap them on the head with something such as a snake hook. They realize it's me and not feeding time and instantly calm down so I can grab them.

Not to mention, some snakes which aren't great feeders aren't going to feed any better after being taken out of their home where they feel comfortable and put in unfamiliar surroundings.

Answer 12

Well what I usually do is leave them in their own vivs because if you were to put them in a separate enclosure just for feeding youd generally have to leave them because of regurgatation. So because I leave them in their own enclosure, before I take them out for a handling session (48 hours after feeding)  I use long tweezers or a snake hook just to see what the reaction is, if the snake is weary and quickly turns around I'll leave them for a little longer but generally they are usually okay and I can get them out as normal, I've never had any problems with my two boas biting me whilst feeding them in their own enclosures :)

This is what we do with the snakes in college aswell only separating the ones which are in the same enclosure, and no aggression problems with those snakes either :)

Answer 13

well rember that all thats goes in , must go out,

just keep hes cage clean, you shouldent have any problems , and if you do then start feeding him on a different cage,

Answer 14

Besides learning to associate your hand coming into the tank with food, there is always the danger of him eating some of the substrate if you are using anything other than newspaper or reptile carpet.  Check out the forums for great info:

http://cornsnakes.com/forums/

Answer 15

You don't "HAVE" to feed it in the same tank no matter what anyone says. Now if it's 3 yrs old, feeding it in another tank if it was fed in it's own it's whole life won't do a thing. People feed their snakes in seperate tanks so when they go into the tank to handle it, it won't mistake you for feeding time. Most of my snakes I feed in the same tank and i don't have a problem b/c i know how to handle them. Go right ahead, it's a 3 yr old snake.