food bowls

[greene]

Would a snake take food from a food bowl because the worms I use always end up having substrate on them

[guidofatherof5]

Absolutely. Make the pieces small enough or they'll just drag it out of the bowl into the substrate.;)

[kueluck]

Mine will, also from fingers, tweezers or anything else that smells like pinkies, worms or fish. But what's to stop him or her from dragging it out of the bowl onto the substrate? Suggest to either feed outside the tank or remove the substrate and change to reptile carpet. Or find a substrate that cannot be ingested by the snake. I'm pretty new at this so you might want to wait to see what the experts have to say.

[greene]

That's great now ive finnaly use for it and I don't have to worry about impaction

[kueluck]

and there ya go, the expert has spoken. Thanks Steve.:D

[greene]

I cant feed from fingers or tweezers cause my snake always confuses my finger with the worm!

[guidofatherof5]

Just monitor the entire feed time and your worries be much less.

[EasternGirl]

There really isn't a substrate that is absolutely safe. Your best bet is to feed in a feed tank, or to feed with hemostats, or to put a paper towel down covering the substrate and then monitor closely to make sure the snake does not drag the food off the dish and off the paper towel into the substrate. I use feed tanks with paper towels and reptile carpet...or I put paper towels down under the dish...or I use hemostats...and as Steve said...I always monitor during feed time.

[Didymus20X6]

Tiny will eat from a food bowl. In fact, I can't seem to get him to eat much any other way.

[Light of Dae]

Both my guys LOVE stuffing their faces in to the dish, I just cut up works n pinkies and or salmon and add some water to make it like a thick thick stew. I find Bite size pieces and water work perfect! Small pieces so they are more inclined to stay by the dish n swallow it fast cause it is small enough. And water to help lubricate the food n help it stay moist if isn't eaten right a ways n stills out for a while.

[guidofatherof5]

If the Gilfillan's ever come a visiting. I think we'll pass of your "Surprise Stew" at dinner time.:D

[Selkielass]

I use plastic food container lids and dispose when they get scratched up. Peanut butter jarlids and snap on lids from coffee tins & cottage cheese containers are good 'platters'.

[greene]

EasternGirl- doesn't the snake get stressed from getting moved from tank to tank?

[chris-uk]

I use plastic food container lids and dispose when they get scratched up. Peanut butter jarlids and snap on lids from coffee tins & cottage cheese containers are good 'platters'.

I do exactly the same. Use tops from food containers and throw them when periodically when I have some new lids to use.


EasternGirl- doesn't the snake get stressed from getting moved from tank to tank?

I don't know about Marnie's snakes, but some of mine will eat anywhere (including in my hand if I hold them over a bowl of food) but others will only eat from the security of their viv. Our male radix is a mix, he feeds at the front of his viv and will pop his head out through the door and help himself to food from the bowl if I'm too slow giving the next piece to him.

[Didymus20X6]

EasternGirl- doesn't the snake get stressed from getting moved from tank to tank?
I think the answer to that question is, it depends on the the attitude of the snake. I bet I could do that with Little Dude - she's been with me for nearly three years and for the most part trusts me. But for a fresh-caught snake like Tiny, it's best not to.

[guidofatherof5]

My snakes know that there is a good chance they are going to get some food if I take them out.
They get used to seeing me and being handled. It just becomes part of their lives.
I only have a few snakes that would just a soon be left alone.
I think there is a real benefit to handling them a lot.
Just my opinion.

[EasternGirl]

Yes...as some other members have said...it depends on the snake. I have snakes that pretty much each have there own feeding rituals. Possum will eat anywhere...so I move him to a feed tank, Seeley is a bit skiddish and a very picky eater...so I feed him in his enclosure but I always put a paper towel under his dish and watch carefully to make sure he doesn't drag food off of the paper towel, Hermes will not eat unless you put his food under his hide and stick him under the hide with the food...I put his dish on a paper towel on the substrate in his enclosure, and then put his hide over the dish, and then stick him in the hide....he never leaves the hide while eating. Cee Cee will pretty much eat anything anywhere...so I could move her to a feed tank, but she prefers to be fed by hemostats while sticking her head out of the front of her enclosure. The babies all get fed in their enclosure...with a dish of food on a paper towel on top of the substrate...I very, very carefully monitor them eating to make sure they do not take the food off of the dish and into the substrate...but they are also fine to be moved into a feed tank if needed. The new radixes like to be fed by hand or by hemostats....Sadie will even let you feed her while holding her. The new baby, Joe Peachbottom, will let me move him to a feed tank. It does stress some snakes to be moved back and forth...others do not seem to mind at all.

[Steveo]

My wild caught garter gets fed in her water bowl and I change the water afterward. She won't eat when I'm watching (or when my cat is watching) so I drop the food in and slide the tub back into the rack, checking on her every 10 minutes or so. She's a good eater and doesn't take very long, but she probably still feels vulnerable when she has half a rat pup haning out of her mouth. The only thing I have that is big enough to use as a feed box for her is a glass viv, and I'm worried the sliding screen lid would make her uneasy.

My 3 constrictors will eat any time, any place so I handle them for a while (individually), then put them in separate feeding boxes. When I had the milk snakes in a glass viv they would flip out every time I opened or closed the screen so handling them pre-meal was to calm them down, but now it's more a habit than anything else. I try to minimize the friction on their tub by lifting as I pull it out and they handle it better, so I handle them more now that they aren't breathing heavily when I pick them up.

[EasternGirl]

All of my snakes are in glass enclosures with screen slide top lids except for one who has sliding front doors. None of them seem to be bothered by the slide lock screen tops.

[InsanePirateDragon]

Marley was jumpy about the sliding top at first but he did got use to it over time.

But Marley either eats from a food bowl or under his hide and will take fish chunks from the hemostats when he feels like it.

[katach]

We use a little 3in flower pot coaster, 99¢ at Joann Fabric. They have an even smaller one for 79¢. It works very well, and very cheap to replace.

[guidofatherof5]

I buy ceramic plant coasters at Walmart at the end of the season.
The ceramic material makes them easy to clean and the heavier weight keeps the snake from getting under them.

[Didymus20X6]

They can also be converted easily into hides for small snakes - just turn them upside down.

Or reach for the actual flower pots right next to them

[d_virginiana]

My snakes have lovely (IMO), handcrafted hides... And whenever a flat, plastic lid gets put into their container, they immediately think they're in heaven and crawl up under it. Even if all they can fit under it is their head.

And after they crawl under the lid and knock their food into the substrate, they get angry because the humans are poking around their new hiding spot grabbing bits of mouse out of the dirt.

[kibakiba]

Derpy used to have a little log with 2 holes that connected and he would sleep in it as a baby... Once he started growing, the only thing he could fit was the first 1/4th of his body... even though he tried cramming himself in there. He'd try putting his head in first, and sometimes he tried going tail in first. Poor little guys.. Haha.