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Constrictor_BO · #1 (**permalink**) 03-14-2002, 01:45 AM

I feed my 8ft female boa in a cardboard box(48 in x 24 in) and I put in a devider that I remove once the rats are dropped in. Now every time I feed her she strikes at me when I remove the devider. This snake has a GOOD strike range and she gives it her best to hit her mark. Well would'nt you know, today while dropping in the rats, the devider fell over. Here I am facing a very agressive feeder with a handfull of rats wondering how to get the devider out without getting nailed. Gee... talking about fun.
Oh yeah.. my dues for the bleeders club is not due yet. I managed to keep all my blood for another day.
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#2 (**permalink**) 03-14-2002, 02:56 AM

Ok You really need to start paying up on your dues here ya know [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img] Your dues is actually overdue AND The bank is getting low on it's funds [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img] So ya'll need to grab a nice juicy rat and roll it around in your hands and then place your hand into your snake's cage to pick it up so that the banking can grow some here. NOW for those of you with multiple snakes..please make sure that you use your largest specimen for this please [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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Bettina · #3 (**permalink**) 03-14-2002, 02:57 AM

Why not put the snake in the box after the rats are already there?

Bettina
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faze · #4 (**permalink**) 03-14-2002, 03:12 AM

hmm i pay my dues regularly but not always by snakes....sugargliders,lizards,frogs,ferrets,.....and whatever else feels like biting me oh ya dont forget birds [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]
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Constrictor_BO · #5 (**permalink**) 03-14-2002, 03:28 AM

Bettina, I have tried that route. If the rats are already there the smell is a lot stronger and that just gets her worked up even more. She would turn and strike at me before I can get her in the box and let go. Her being 8ft and me holding her by the back end and almost mid body kinda shortens the striking range. Either way I do it, she is gonna take a shot and try to nail me so I'd rather keep a little distance between us. So far I have managed to be just a tad quicker but you know what the say... Practice makes perfect, and she is getting plenty of practice.
Anyway.. the devider is already there when she goes in. today it just happened to fall over making it a little more challenging. If she ever gets me, I'll have whoever comes over to help me to take some pics for all the morbid and sickminded here to see. Hopefully that will never happen.
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Shadrach · #6 (**permalink**) 03-14-2002, 03:45 AM

I'm feel for ya dude she'd be on her own if that happened to me! She's a monster of a size 100% snake! But I still say stop running around the house in a rat costume!
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Constrictor_BO · #7 (**permalink**) 03-14-2002, 04:33 AM

Mouse costume hehe... listen at ya.
One thing for sure.. when she is hungry, dont go walking by her tank in your white socks. She watches your feet real close.
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Shadrach · #8 (**permalink**) 03-14-2002, 05:34 AM

Hey don't worry if she does get ya man she'll spit ya out she don't like Terd's! Hehe had to get ya on that one!!!
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Constrictor_BO · #9 (**permalink**) 03-15-2002, 06:24 AM

Well.. for everyone here. I dont dislike feeding her cause of this, I think it is very challenging. She is like this when I put her in the box until I get her out. Sometimes I have to turn the box over and dump her out because she strikes. Once I get her out she is fine. I find it rather fun "so to speak".
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Reticu-Lady · #10 (**permalink**) 03-21-2002, 09:54 AM

hehehe, I agree with you on the fun/challenge part. It is such a rush at times feeding Murray and Merci. Except Merci is getting quite gentle about snatching the rats from me, amazing from a retic, huh?

Ummm, Lori, about my dues, I am good for a least a year, right? I mean, darn it, Murray did tendon damage and I took pics and everything. Next year, could I please allow a different snake to bite me? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssssssseeeeeeeee? [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] Anybody but Murray, please, with sugar on top. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]
lol
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Jack_Daniels · #11 (**permalink**) 03-24-2002, 06:49 AM

Whats the big deal with feeding?.. Im about to hand feed a 9 foot boa a rabbit... HAND feed, litterally.. Yes she constricts it, yes she strikes it.. and yes I can offer it by hand safely... My little boas, I put in a smaller tank to seperate them, and let them be by themselves while they digest...but, I mean, my huge boas, I feed them in the cage they live in...by HAND... Im in their, giving them fresh water...checking the temp... getting them out and letting them exercise... cleaning the cage...etc etc... my big boas dont expect food unless they smell it... Its no big challenge feeding an 8 foot boa... if you're smart about it.. I open the cage fifty times...and number fifty one gets a rabbit thrown in... then.. fifty more... number one hundred and two.. a rabbit... so unless you're ignorant of your boa, it SHOULD NOT associate the door opening with food... how many times do REAL keepers open the door to feed as compared to the times they open the door to maintain the health of the boa.. I mean, just keep him in the cage.. unless you have two big boas in a cage... and give it a rabbit...period... use clamps if you're scared.. respectfully, I understand if youd be a little sketcy of handing a boa a rabbit, but regardless dont get your arm taken...

Its just I hear all the time how its soooo dangerous to feed a snake in its daily enclosure, and I laugh.. its only dangerous if the only time you lift the lid is to feed... hand a dog a steak and you'll get bit... hand him a comb and he's your best friend.. regardless of the room you have him in...

Literally, the only time my boas strike, is when a small one is in the "feeding enclosure" because it expects to get fed... so it strikes at warmth... understandably...

My big ones, that dont see any sort of "feeding tank"....NEVER.... literally....NEVER strike at me..because I am always in its tank.. doing various things... rarely is the door opening a rabbit dropping in..... Boas arent stupid, they have minds... learn to "direct" them...

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I am you, searching to be free...

Jack_Daniels · #12 (**permalink**) 03-24-2002, 07:07 AM

....or maybe Im just a moron.

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I am you, searching to be free...

JuliusSqueezer · #13 (**permalink**) 03-24-2002, 07:38 AM

Hey Jack...You gotta understand that every snake has his/her own personality. What works for some may not work for others...that's why we have backup plans and look to many for advice.

Personally, I don't worry so much about being bitten because it's an everyday occurance in this house....but I can understand why others avoid it. If I have a snake that isn't laying on loose substrate....I will feed him/her where ever they may be. I have one that likes to lay in my lap and eat outta the palm of my hand. If there is any type of loose substrate in the enclosure that they may swallow then you are risking impaction...but even that isn't the biggest worry depending on the substrate...impaction is not all that common...although it does happen. What is common is mouth rot and/or abcesses caused by the tiny little fragments of wood chips that lodge between the teeth and embed into the gums... wood+mucous=rotten wood. Rotten wood in a snakes mouth=nasty bacteria. Nasty bacteria= infection.

Constrictor_BO · #14 (**permalink**) 03-24-2002, 08:00 AM

Well Jack.. I guess you are just one of the special ones that have such well behaved boas. Ask the majority of people here and they too will tell you that feeding them in their enclosures will eventually lead to feed response when you go into the tank. I also used to feed mine in the tank until this response happened with mine. That all changed real quick, now they get fed in a different tank or tote. Yeah.. I also handfeed all mine except this 8' female. She is just so aggressive in feeding, I now feed her the way I do.

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE>...but, I mean, my huge boas, I feed them in the cage they live in...by HAND... Im in their, giving them fresh water...checking the temp... getting them out and letting them exercise... cleaning the cage...etc etc... my big boas dont expect food unless they smell it... Its no big challenge feeding an 8 foot boa... if you're smart about it.. I open the cage fifty times.. </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah.. keep it up and you will probably be made a fool and you will then become one of those statistics that will end up in the papers.

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE>... Its no big challenge feeding an 8 foot boa... if you're smart about it..</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

Thats right... I am being smart about it. Maybe you should be too. **see reply above**

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE> ...and number fifty one gets a rabbit thrown in... then.. fifty more... number one hundred and two.. a rabbit... </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

SO your telling us all that you have 51 snakes????? Unless your a petstore owner or a breeder, I very seriously doubt you have that many. Although I could be wrong, I doubt it. Even the bigger petstore owners dont have that many. And there are not many breeders that have that many either. Well maybe the bigger breeders but I dont see where you fit that profile.
Oh yeah.. number 51 gets a rabbit thrown in??? I thought you said you hand fed them.

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE> Its just I hear all the time how its soooo dangerous to feed a snake in its daily enclosure, and I laugh.. its only dangerous if the only time you lift the lid is to feed... hand a dog a steak and you'll get bit... hand him a comb and he's your best friend.. regardless of the room you have him in... </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

All my snakes are great snakes. The one in question is one I take to do shows with. She is a sweet snake EXCEPT when fed. I can get her out of her tank just fine, the fun begins when she goes into her feed tote and especially when I go to take her out of that tote when done. I dont ever worry about when she is in her tank.. Never. Also, all my snakes are taken out for excersize and often taken out for many other things. INCLUDING feeding!

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE> Literally, the only time my boas strike, is when a small one is in the "feeding enclosure" because it expects to get fed... so it strikes at warmth... understandably... </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

Exactly.. Thats why mine get fed in the totes NOT their enclosures.

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE> ....or

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