Are snakes that smart?

[HisslersMommy]

I took my snake to the vet and was very surpised to find out a couple of things: He's a she (which I'm not too happy about.. but i made Hisler's middle name Hersler to balance things out) and he/she knows who I am... I didn't think this was true because I read someone's post on here saying that the snake will never recognize different people. But the vet is a snake specialist and says that the snake knows people by smell and can distinguish who is who and who he feels comfortable with, does not like, etc. But this same vet also told me that the snake had a nerve disorder and when I got a second opinion from my friend's dad who is a vet for animals including snakes at Gatorland, he said that my snake doesn't have a nerve disorder, and that he's not sure that the whole thing about snakes knowing people is true... so confused lol so my question is WHO IS RIGHT? can a snake know its owner?

[Adam_Wysocki]

can a snake know its owner?

A snake can certainly be less stressed around a person that it recognizes through frequent contact via smells and sounds.

-adam

[Shelby]

I think so. Snakes have a very powerful sense of smell and it would be easy for them to distinguish people on that alone.

Whenever I feed my snakes, they are much more shy if I have a visitor with me. They are more comfortable when it is just me. I believe they know me and are calmer when there is no one else.

[cassandra]

Even though Rick and I are still very new to snakes and have only had Carmen for 6 weeks and Cleo for um...3 months?, we both swear that Carmen is more comfortable with me and Cleo with him. =)

[HisslersMommy]

hmm, so i wonder why when they are shedding they strike at you if they can tell by your smell who you are? mine is shedding now and he didn't bite me but he was so nervous i felt bad and put him back... i know its not funny but i was reading that post about the shedding process and cracking up because those poor snakes must have been so mad lol and how did he get them to stay in those positions!?!?! mine woulda been like, "Believe that if you wanna!" and bounced...

[cassandra]

Snakes are always more nervous when in shed; just leave them be until after they shed. =)

[Boarder4l154]

This is a pretty interesting subject to me actually. I would say from my limited experiences that snakes can definatly recognize different people through smell and maybe even heat signatures. They seem to be more relaxed around people they know. It would also be safe to say that they can count days, since they know when feeding day is. I wonder what else they are capable of? I was talking to adam the other day wondering if a snake had the option of moving to a place cold enough to kill it, would it? say for instance, snow or a freezer. And since cooler is more comfortable they would. but this isn't exactly their fault, they have no natural ability to know what too cold is, since they could never move to a place too cold for them in the wild. I guess theres really no way of giving snakes an intelligence test, but I would be interested on any info on just how smart they are.

[frankykeno]

You're not happy to have a female? Most people are thrilled to find out a male or unsexed BP is actually a female. Hope this issue with a nerve disorder is sorted out soon.

I guess I'll never know how smart a snake is but I think like all creatures that have been surviving a long, long time they instinctively know what is what. If our snakes are used to us, over time they will sense that we are not a predator so not a danger to them, we are not prey for them and our scent is not related to anything that caused them problems...I would expect they'd come to "know us". Some of our snakes are consistently less stressed/more comfortable with one particular person or the other (Saoirse is a good example of this).

[wolfy-hound]

I have always asserted that my snake Bill and a few others do recognize me. Bill prefers to be held by me, and rarely if ever will he actively climb onto anyone else but me. Maybe it is because he recognizes me and trusts me. Maybe it is because I smell like his bedding and rats more than most people.. I don't know. I prefer to think he recognizes me as someone who has never mistreated him.
Most people I know who dislike snakes refuse outright to believe that he has ANY sort of preferances. Of course they also think he is just bideing his time until he kills me. Silly people.
JMO
Wolfy

[frankykeno]

Yep gotta stay constantly vigilent for those marauding bands (errr flocks? slithers? packs? herd?) of Wolfy killin ball pythons! Horrid, scarey things they are! LOL Amazing how anyone could be scared of a BP. Of all our snakes they are seriously the most shy, laid back, basically lazy snakes in the house. Hmmm well unless they are tucked in those hides plotting the downfall of Mike and I??? Nah, mostly likely having nice rat filled snakey type dreams tucked up in their clean, cosy hides.....what a life!