Because it serves no purpose, and once it feeds, the last thing you should be doing it handling it to get it back in the cage.  Feed in the cage and let it eat in peace.

Do they recognize where they are and prefer one place to another?  Absolutely!  In captivity as well as in the wild.  Do you think they just wander aimlessly their entire lives?

Oops I sent you a private message on it :)

Here's my PM, didn't realize there was a question here :)

My take on feeding bins is this. Basically, snakes stress a lot more than we can actually see usually, especially ball pythons. There was a study actually done on stress on captive reptiles a few years back in a book I'd love to get, but it's about $175 for the book. In the study it basically says reptiles have the hardest time mentally in dealing with being "domesticated". Feeding bins, is just one more stressor. I actually own quite a few ball pythons that would NEVER eat for me again if I tried to remove them for feeding.

On top of that, even in animals with a low risk of regurgitation, removing them after eating can trigger a regurgitation. Plus, the whole supposed point of removing a snake for feeding is to avoid this mythical association with food and the enclosure. This doesn't happen, as people percieve defensive striking as feeding responses. If I reach in and get tagged real quick, that doesn't correlate with the fact that I feed in the enclosure, because it wasn't a feeding response, it was defensive. You're more likely to get bit while entering or removing the snake from the feeding bin because the smell of rat is still in the air, and they could still be in that feeding mode.

Also, unless you smell like a rat, you normally will NOT get a feeding repsonse bite. Snakes eye sight is one of the last senses they use during feeding time. They use the Jacobson's organ first, which is their insanely accurate sense of smell, then their heat pits/sensors, then their eye sight. So, seeing a hand enter the enclosure doesn't scream "FOOD" unless you smell like a rat, since the smell is the first thing they'd actually notice.

Sorry for the novel. I personally think it's rediculous to feed outside the enclosure simply because stress is high anyways, even if we don't see it. Why cause more stress than necessary? But, it works for some people I guess. :)

I've always fed mine in their own enclosures and never had a problem. I'm curious as to how the practice of feeding outside the enclosure got started. I've heard people say that it helps to cut down on feeding aggression, but you'd still be conditioning the snake to associate opening the door with meal time, so I don't get the logic behind that.

I believe they do know.  When I put my BP's in their feed tote they "S" up and start "looking".  I started feeding in feed tote because it was told to me that was best, being new to owning snakes, I listened.  I am not going to say it is right for all snakes at all, most should not be moved around.  But the only reason I continue to feed my BP's in separate tote is because I feed live, I have not been successful in switching them and I am not putting a live rat in their house that I will have to chase around to catch if they refuse to eat.  More likely to get bit that way than moving them from tote to their house.  And I don't want a live rat pooing in their house.  Mine have no issue at all with being moved after they have eaten.  I am slow and gentle and support their body.  If they were on F/T then I would feed in their house.  I feed my Red Blood Python in her house but she is on F/T.  I believe they can recognize my scent.  They act differently when I have them than when someone else does.  They do not mind my hands around their head but will pull back from someone elses hands.  They say not to get your scent on their food, there has to be a reason for that.  They are not as "mindless" as people think.  lol  And the fact that the behavior of my BP's is different says something as well.  They process and respond to their surroundings differently, so their little brains do something...lol  If whatever you are doing works, the snake is not freaked when feeding time comes, then it's all good.  What one calls right, another calls wrong when the truth is not "everything" is absolute. 

I think snakes can recognize owners scent, and they can know where they are. However i deffiantly condone feeding outside of the bin. Some snakes yes I am sure it would be to stressful, but my chondro has never missed a feed inside of his bin, unless going to shed. And i believe they do become less aggressive, they dont associate opening with feeding, i regularly take them out to handle them. They dont think everytime to cage opens food is coming. As for the stress factor, possibly i dont know are we doing a psych evaluation on them to figure out if they are stressed? I dont think that picking them up and placing them in the enclosure is a big stressor. Another reason is my snakes are messy they get blood everywhere, and i dont want that mess in the enclosure. I work hard on my enclosures because i want to look nice and not just be paper towels, a deli cup for water and box to hid in.

sorry for spelling i did not reread

Era  feeding ouitside the cage is added stress  your not suposed to handle a snake for at least 2 days after it eats  .. so why would moving it  into its enclosure  be any different ??  It's a ppractice  thak makes no sence to me  .. It never did  and never will

I feed most of mine in bins, but not all of them.  I started with my biggest carpet because he had too much folliage in his original enclosure to feed him in it.  Now, he doesn't eat the rat if I try to feed him in there.  But he also seems to like to be outside of his tank.  He cruises the top edges and comes right out of he gets a chance.  This may be due to him being bored in his tank, but I don't know for sure.  My ball python has also refused food in her tank.  The rat snake & the 2 other carpets all eat in their tanks.  The boas don't seem to mind either way and will eat most of the time (tho they have refused the last few meals both inside & outside their enclosures).  The newest snake I have is VERY picky about where it eats, and will only take prey off of one spot on it's branch.  I had tried feeding from the floor of the cage, but the rat kept getting thrown out.  One day I happened to put the rat on the branch, hoping he'd see it before it got cold, and he actually took it that night.  I juess he's part jaguar, lol (the mammal). :)

Here is the book with the study done on the impact mentally and phychologically on captive reptiles, next time you guys have $119 to spare ;)

http://www.amazon.com/Health-Welfare-Captive-Reptiles-ebook/dp/B000PC6CWI/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2XS4VV6FHBSJF&colid=CSUHPMPOJ1CY

I used to move my snakes into feeding bins. This was when I had about 5-8 of them. It was do-able when I didn't have so many mouths to feed. I've also gotten bit doing it. When I would take them out of the feeding tank, they were typically still in feeding mode. Which means that your hand may be another rat for them. 

Now I feed in their cages (with 28 snakes, I could never feed them all in one night if I moved them). I use the practice of feeding them at night. After dark, I go into the snake room, turn on the lights and all of them know it's feeding time. If I were to try to handle most of them at night, I  would probably get bit. But when I go to work with them in normal day-time hours, no striking, no feeding response at all. I took what my noctoural snakes do in the wild and make it my practice. I think this helps them being kept in captivity. 

A lot of people think feeding in the animals cage causes them to bite when they are not being fed. Where I can see this as probable, is when some one feeds at random times (day, night, whenever) and there is nothing for the snake to know if it is feeding time or not.

But it also brings me back to my feeding-mode point. If they just ate, and you go to touch or handle them (putting the stress and regurge problems aside) they very well may bite you. Snakes are opportunistic feeders. If the eat one rat in the wild and another one comes along shortly after, they will probably eat it because they have no idea when their next meal will be. This instinct has stayed with them through captivity. 

With my collection.... ummm... even if I wanted to feed in a separate bin, it would be ridiculous with my #s ranging from 100 - 200 depending on the time of the year. 

In addition to the stress of the animal... for my own safety, I will NOT be messing with one of my 6 - 9 foot animals that I have now put into feeding mode outside of its enclosure.... and what sort of feeding bin would work for such an animal?

I know a person that tried to continue to do it with a Burm that had reached 8+ feet inside of a kiddie pool placed in his living room... it worked for awhile, but was an accident waiting to happen... luckily, he had a live in girlfriend there to help him get out of the situation.

I currently have 12 snakes, I used to have a larger number, and it is a pain in the ass moving them.  I have always fed most of mine in seperate containers.  I actually base it of of the species, and the individual snakes tendencies.  There are snakes, that will be in feeding mode when you open the enclosure if they are hungry, and they are used to being fed in there.  Those I try to move.  Which can be difficult if it is a larger adult boa.  Some don't have that problem at all, only go into feeding mode if they smell or see dinner.  Those I will feed in thier enclosure.  And I prefer to now, as it is just easier, and less stress.  But they definitely know.  The ones that go to a tub, are typically the ones with the stronger feeding responses, and they definitely know what that means.  And there is never confusion with those when I open thier "home".  That said, the worst bite I have ever gotten from one of my own animals was from  BRB years ago.  I had him in the tub, and had new frozen rodents from a different supplier.  When I opened the bag i had the rats thawing in to feed him, they smelled horrible, I didn't like them at all, so i threw them out and decided to get new rats the next day.  when I opened the tub to get him out, it was obvious it wasn't going to be easy, he knew that I should be coming with food.  So, there is definitely an upside and a downside to both techniques. 

I still don't see any benefit for the animal, only potential negatives.

I have western hognose, kings and milks.  I do both.  It just depends on the snake.  Some feed better in a smaller enclosure and I can more readily see when they have eaten.  Most of my hogs eat out of my hand...I just dangle their food in front of their face and they snatch it.  The ones that don't go into a feeding tub.  I have NEVER had any problems moving them back into their habitat.  For that matter. I cannot recall ever having a hognose regurge.   I just do what works for me.  Not saying it is right, wrong or indifferent.  It just works for me.

I never do it, just causes problems as far as I'm concerned.  There's no reason for me to risk a regurge so I always feed in their cages, if I have to feed live, I watch them very carefully, but I haven't had to feed live in around 6 months.

I do both: the chondros are all fed inside their enclosures, but my ball is fed outside. This is because I use cypress mulch in my enclosures instead of newspaper or paper towels. Though it's not a problem for the chondros since they're perched, I don't want my ball to ingest any substrate. IMO, any risk of regurge from the two seconds of handling it takes to take her out of or put her back into her cage (assuming she doesn't come out or go back in of her own accord) is far preferable to the risk of her ingesting the mulch.

I do supervise my snakes as they eat, which is why I made the decision to the feed the ball outside of her enclosure--seeing substrate stick to the rodent. Wild snakes don't have anyone helping them, but they aren't eating F/T (I thaw directly in the water, and a dried-off rodent is still somewhat damp, making the substrate more likely to stick). I'd rather keep the substrate from ever getting on the rodent in the first place than trying to make sure all of it gets off. 

I'm not saying "feeding in the cage is bad"--as I said, I feed most of my animals in their cages. Feeding in the cage is obviously easiest, and as long as that's working there's no reason to do otherwise. I'm saying that, due to issues with substrate at feeding time, I feed this particular snake outside of her cage, and it's what works for us both. If I had a large collection where this was impractical, or a snake that was reluctant to eat in this arrangement, I'd change my methods to find something to suit the situation and animal(s) involved.

Is there a right answer here folks? Seriously? Have our egos gotten so big that we're sure "our way" is the only way? I'm of the opinion, keepers should do what works best for them AND their animals. Period. 

I have also fed outside of the cage with no issues, but it's not my common practice. I understand the arguments for both sides, but do agree with Melanie's post.

I am not an expert and will never try to act like one, but these are my thoughts. Mine notice when I change their tank accesories around, if I move a tree in a different position or put in a new hideaway, they notice. I also think they kind of get to know who their owners are. My red tail loves me,but when my boyfriend, who also has red tails, handles him, he gets nervous and it takes him a while to warm up to him. I do not feed mine in their enclosure and have never had any problem, they have always eaten just fine. I think it depends on the size of the tank and how many accessories are in their way when they are trying to eat. Just my humble opinion.

Hey I just met you. And this is crazy. But award some points. Close this question, maybe?

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