Feeding advice please

[Jaksar]

Hope I don't make too much of a tool of myself here but here goes anyway =)

It's time for my little coastal's first feed (by me anyway, he had been fed just before I got him a week ago) and was wondering exactly how I go about feeding him properly.

I assume I just thaw the food and put it somewhere in his enclosure for him to find and eat in his own time right?

I have a bark substrate and didn't want to put the food in that to be soiled so I left it sitting on top of his hide box, is this ok?

If how long should I leave it there for before assuming that he is no going to take it and removing it?

[Gregory]

I'd wiggle it in front of him a bit instead of just leaving it in the enclosure. Wiggling it seems to stimulate them into striking. He should strike at it and constrict it even though it's dead already. If that doesn't work and he ignores the wiggling then yes, leave it in the enclosure and he may find it himself. You can leave it there overnight at least.

[Jaksar]

I wiggled it at first, he struck and got my fingers a few times (hehe bad aim ) then finally grabbed it but then didn't seem interested.

Actually I wont be too surprised if he does refuse as he still hasn't properly settled into his enclosure yet (which is my fault, too much handling)

If the food is still there tomorrow morning I'll wait another week for him to settle (no handling ) and try again

[Alexahnder]

try using tweezers next attempt. My coastla won't eat if you place the food near him, he only eats if you wiggle it.

[Gregory]

Sometimes too much activity outside the enclosure is off-putting for the snake. One of mine I have to cover the enclosure after he's grabbed the rat so he can eat it by himself. If I don't cover it he will just hold the rat and strike out at any movement outside the enclosure.

[sobrien]

Mine sometimes grabs them, constricts and then fogets about it and thinks that I'm gonna give him a second while the other one is is in his coils. I usually grab some tongs and try and pull the mouse/rat out. The movement is usually enough to get him to eat it.
Good luck, Simon

[python_guy44]

if mine doesnt take it i sort of piss it off with the rat/mouse and she will bite it and realise its food and start eating.

[Pinkie]

Or buy some plastic feeding tongs!! I bought extra extra long

[Hawkeye]

He he.....there are many versions of what you can do to get snakes feeding and there are as many opinions as there are snakes and each has their own merits and works for different people. So I will just tell you what I do and why (although my snake is a total guts and I could wave a mousepad in its direction and he'd try and eat it).

Ok
1) I feed outside the cage for a couple of reasons a) I don't want the snake to associate feeding behaviour with its cage and when I put my hands in I want to pretend I feel safe b) I don't want to cover the food with breeders choice and the snake accidently ingesting floor covering

2) I feed with tongs to avoid my hands getting associated with food and I wiggle the food in front of the snake to make it strike with interest (I don't leave food on the floor for the snake to pick it up but then again if you had more than a few snakes this technique is a bit impractical).

3) I fast thaw in hot water to try and get the feeds temp up a bit so that the snake thinks its semi alive.

Anyway thats what I do and soon you will find the technique that works for you and your new pal.
Good luck

Cheers Hawkeye

[Fangs]

I've gone down both tracks with regard to feeding inside their enclosures and feeding them in tubs.
What I do now is place a sheet of newspaper on the substrate and feed all the snakes in their enclosures by grabbing the prey item by the scruff of the neck with a pair of forceps and waving it around slowly in front of the snake(dont hit the snake on the nose with the prey).
Reason I feed in their enclosures is that if you get a fussy/finicky eater then moving into a seperate feeding container can tend to stress them off a bit whereas if feeding in their usual enclosure they tend to feed a lot better.
You are right in saying that you will let him settle for a week or so with no handling before trying to feed him again.If he doesn't eat next time you try leave him be for another week.You can continue like that for quite a while before getting too worried.
Once he gets into a good feeding routine then you can start handling once a day or second day for a few minutes at a time to tame him down,with the exception of not handling for at least 2 days after a feed.


cheers M...........