I would think if you remove them for feeding and thats the most common time they are handled, they are definitely going to associate handling with food. Before I got snakes what seemed logical to me was remove them from their cage for feeding so a hand coming in is not associated with food. Having owned snakes for a very short time now, I now know they are very quick to pick up a routine... and very quick to make associations. I decided the more obvious I make each event, the better my animals will handle. I think whether you leave them in or take them out, the most important thing would be to make it an obviously separate event. Using a different door, using tongs etc. I feed inside, but I am still slightly debating this with myself. I use tongs, I feed them on the same day every week and on that day I dont handle them. I dont know if this is a good routine to establish, but so far I have accomplished two things... on nonfeeding days everything is good, no one wants to eat me... on feeding day, I better not put my hand in there. LOL