the fun of feeding

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.
[addsig]

#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]
[addsig]

Bettina · #3 (**permalink**) 03-14-2002, 02:57 AM

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

Bettina
[addsig]

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]
[addsig]

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.
[addsig]

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!
[addsig]

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.
[addsig]

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!!!
[addsig]

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".
[addsig]

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
[addsig]

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...

_________________
I am you, searching to be free...

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

....or maybe Im just a moron.

_________________
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 maybe Im just a moron. </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

NAHHH.. I dont need to reply to this one.LOL.....J/k

I would say ask around and see what others have to say but I saw where you already read other peoples post on this subject. You choose to feed the way you do. We cant change your mind for you. We can only suggest to people what we all have observed and by this we have decided it is safer to feed in totes outside their tanks. It may never happen to you but if it ever does... well lets hope not.

_________________
If rabbits feet are so lucky.....
What happened to the rabbit?

DianeOr · #15 (**permalink**) 03-24-2002, 08:33 AM

Bo, give it to your Son.....HEHE! White socks, hum, never thought of that as a hazzard! I give blood at the blood bank, thank you very much! HEHE [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]
[addsig]

Constrictor_BO · #16 (**permalink**) 03-24-2002, 08:39 AM

Hey Diane.. Yeah the white sock thing is funny. She will only do this when it gets close to time for feeding and she is hungry. I dont have any problems taking her out of the tank or anything. She just tracks the white sock as I walk by
[addsig]

DianeOr · #17 (**permalink**) 03-24-2002, 08:44 AM

Does this mean I will need to get rid of my Mice slippers?
[addsig]

Constrictor_BO · #18 (**permalink**) 03-24-2002, 09:27 AM

NO... Dont get rid of the mice slippers.. That just makes it more interesting hehe...make sure you wiggle your toes in the slippers right in front of the cage.
I dont know if anyone else has noticed this or not. But This snake has done it on a couple occations. It is like I said... quite comical.
[addsig]

Jack_Daniels · #19 (**permalink**) 03-24-2002, 08:49 PM

Check it out.. from a physical point of view.. who puts their flesh in the danger zone more...the person who opens the cage door at a 45 degree angle... .puts his/her arm half way in, and plops a rabbit in the cage.... then withdraws his/her arm, and shuts the cage.............or..............the one who pulls out a big boa, actually carries it to a designated "feeding tote", puts it in.... grabs a rat thats been thawing somewhere but most likely has had time to spread its scent within the area of the boa....and drops it in.... then....after the boa is already in "feeding mode"....picks the boa back up, with his/her hands...carries it back to its regular cage....and puts it in, and shuts the door?.... who is likely to become the statistic in that situation??

As far as having 51 boas, I dont have that many, although Im on my way.... I was refering to one cage in that statment... I open any one boas cage 50 times (just a random number, i havnt actually counted) to the one time I feed a rabbit or rat... Boas can be come programed to expect food if all it knows is that "door open.... rabbit".... If you're in its cage as often as Im in mine...it thinks "door open...annoying guy poking and prodding...ignore him, he'll go away"....

I mean, if opening the door to feed a rabbit would lead a boa to strike you....wouldnt picking it up to carry it to its "feeding tote" do the same?... Only you'd have the boa on you when it happens this time...

The only time my boas have ever become "expectant" is when the smell of a rat or rabbit is in the air... or, the times I seperate the little ones to feed them individually... which is in a small 20 or 30 gallon "all glass aquarium".. I can put those snakes in the cage.... and automaticly they're "stalking" any movement..and striking anything within range....not good..

The ones I keep and feed in one single cage, are peaceful 24/7... except when food is smelled..

As far as "hand feeding"... I dont feed a snake a rabbit, like Id feed a horse a carrot.. I dont drive him to denver, to make sure he doesnt strike me here in Virginia either [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[addsig]

Constrictor_BO · #20 (**permalink**) 03-25-2002, 09:57 AM

<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> I mean, if opening the door to feed a rabbit would lead a boa to strike you....wouldnt picking it up to carry it to its "feeding tote" do the same?... Only you'd have the boa on you when it happens this time... </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

1st off. If a snake becomes costom to feeding in it's tank, it will lash out and strike at whatever comes into the tank. Mainly speaking "your hand". It does not relate you taking it out of the tank to feeding "until" you put it in the tote. Therefore.... No striking in the tank.
Yes.. the snake is in feed mode while in the tote, when you get it out you have to be careful. Once it is out it no longer in feed mode. Key word here is "no longer" in feed mode. What does all this mean?.... No worries about it striking next time you put your hand in it's tank.
When I get this particular snake out of the feed tote, I usually turn the tote over and let her come out of the tote. Once out, there is no more smell of rat becuse the smell is in the tote and the tote is gone. THUS the feeding response is gone and I can pick her up just like any normal day with absolutely NO WORRIES.

The only way I am gonna become a statistic is if I get a little lax while dropping in the rats, which wont happen because of the devider I put in to separate her from the rats AND My hands, or if I am trying to lift her out of the tote which is why this snake is allowed to crawl out when the tote is turned over so I am not reaching in.
You on the other hand, you still have to reach into it's feed container since you feed in their tanks that they live in.

[addsig]

Advertisement