Anyone else deal with super aggressive eaters? It’s insane lately. I have to dodge open mouths coming at my face with almost every tub I open on feed day. My big girls are at the edge of the tub waiting to fly out their full length for a meal. And it’s a small room I have no where to go. I got tagged a few weeks ago and it took about 15 minutes to get this girl off me. I’ve had my snakes forever but they just seem to be getting ravenous lately for some reason. I’m not mad. Better than they don’t eat. I have to have a few whiskeys before I feed lately just to get my balls in order. How do you guys deal with super high feeding response? My only success is having a spray bottle to corral the more enthusiastic ones back into their tubs.
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I suggest getting a snake hook and working on tap training with your animals. You need to indicate to them that you yourself are not the target food item. If it’s a small room, don’t bring all the feeders in with you at once to keep the smell down (if you keep feeders in the room, that may be part of your problem). Also I really don’t suggest drinking before working with your animals, makes the situation even more precarious.
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Yes in balls and other snakes like red tailed racers. gonosimer/
I wouldn’t advise that, don’t kill a good feeding response by spraying them, even if the feeding response is temporary, it may change later then you will miss the good feeding response.
If your scared, tonges, and if you need more security, then also gloves. whats the worst that could happen? You get a little bite and a little splinter sized cut, my cat can do much worse than a ball pythons and has done so when I try to cut her nails.
Also I have never needed a hook with any snake under 8 foot, Know your animal…
Dude, bad take.
To the OP: Hooks are an incredibly useful tool for snakes of all sizes. You can use a hook to open the bin without your hands in the way, reposition the animal, and touch them gently to show you’re not the food. I highly recommend any keeper have a hook handy, not because they’re “necessary” but because they’re good tools to have on hand if you work with snakes.
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I was being a bit hyperbolic in an effort to be funny but the hook idea is a probably a good one. I should use it to open the tubs. The tub close or the floor is where I got hit because she was ready to fly out. My snakes are all very friendly but I think you hit the nail on the head with the feeders being in the same room. I defrost my rats close to my racks. It’s probably why they’re so goddamn fired up. It’s good they all eat but I guess what the hell should I expect. Also, I’m a professional when it comes to whiskey. We’ve been working together for a long time.
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Sounds like you’ve got a good idea of what to switch around, you should have an easier time even with just defrosting outside of the room. I learned that one the hard way myself with a very food motivated corn, though he’ll still get me from time to time even if there’s food nowhere near. 
Enjoy your whiskey sippin’, hopefully this time with less teeth involved and more for the whiskey itself!
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With my “enthusiatic eaters” I make sure I open tubs with my fingers tucked below the tubs opening and my face back. I also make sure I have a hoodie on. Allows me to give a gentle bump without any heat/skin exposed to get one to back up once they smell me. A paper towel roll or hook also works well like some others have mentioned. I did have a real mad girl on eggs this year that I had to use a paper towel roll to gently move her head away to be able to remove her off the eggs. She was not giving them up wihtout a fight and I was not going to entertain her with that idea. So those do work well and are cheap to have a spare one sitting around on a rack for feeding night.
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