Are ball pythons a domesticated species?

It kinda depends on what definition you think is right.. Here is a list of definitions off google I would say they fit some but not others. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&r...e&ved=0CAoQkAE

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

This is from wikipedia



The last one is the reason reptiles will never be concidered "Domestic".

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A skunk breeder told me some time ago that domestication also meant the animal had been bred in captivity and so many generations removed. I cant remember how many generations she said but it was somewhere around 7 to 10 years i think. then those final offspring could be considered domesticated.

She was fighting for a change in the law where IL is one of the few states that doesnt allow domestic skunks as pets.

I believe this may be true for most mammels but i dont think its possible to actually domesticate a reptile. They can be conditioned to expect certain things or to be comfortable with being handled but I think aside from them learning you are not a threat, they are not actually domesticated.

Many animals may legally fall into the domestic catagory if they fit all the classifications but there are also some that will naturally fit all those same classifications after only being in captivity a very short time.

I think the classification of "Exotic" applies to snakes. When you own an exotic you become tuned to their natural behaviors and respond to them, if you are smart about it. You learn their body language and preferences and tailor your reactions and care to that. In doing so, they react in a "tame" way as long as you respect them for who they are and what they want and don't want. They can 'bond' to you in a similar way than any exotic can. You provide food when they're hungry and don't bother them when you shouldn't. They will learn to trust you and recognise you. I was very interested in exotic cats for awhile and learned a lot from that. Even tigers can form a strong bond with their owners and be very tame with them. But you can never lose respect for what they are and must be fully in tune with them. Are they domestic? No way in hell. Can you have a wonderful relationship with one? If you are always aware and approach with respect, absolutely.

what about the kid that has been sleeping with his big python for years ? anyone read about ? there's even a video.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...e/5507595.html

here's the video with the kid riding and hugging the 5metre burmese python :
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...deoid=52450702

the burm lives in the house with the rest of the family where she has her own room.
i must say she's friendlier then the cat i have at mother's home.
i think there's a difference between making an animal Obey orders like dogs and forming a bond with their owners. snakes won't obey orders but they can form a bond with their owners of course they will never consider you their leader but even your best friend and your wife/girlfriend don't consider you their leader(well not always) but that doesn't mean there isn't a bond.

if domisticated means obeying orders like dogs or recocnize you like their leader or the other 6rule , then snakes are not.

but if domisticated means that they can form a bond with their owners (like i think it is) then they are.

being tame is another thing, for me its when animal won't run away when you go near him like he saw a monster coming to tear him apart . or when the animal won't start roaring/hissing(or whatever sound) at you by aproaching him and attack you the next second.

Scanning through this thread, it appears a lot of people are confusing "domesticated" with "pet". A brahma bull is domesticated, but I wouldn't want one as a pet. Ferrets are domesticated and a lot of people think they make good pets but I'm not so sure a ferret is a good pet.

OTOH, ball pythons are not domesticated, but IMO they make pretty nifty pets.

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Originally Posted by MarkS

I don't see that at all in many animals that have long been considered to be 'domesticated' Even a quick glance at most poultry will show that many of the ducks, geese or turkeys are NOT significantly different then their wild counterparts. In some cases, not even the paint job is different. The only difference being that some of them are living in the wild, and some of them are living in farmyards... Physically, many of them are identical.

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This is from page, like, five or something, but I didn't feel like finishing reading through to see if it was addressed, I've got to go to BED, it's almost midnight over here in Chicago :D. Anyways, as someone who was severely and probably unhealthily obsessed with raising and breeding chickens for several years, they come in an unbelievable array or sizes and colors.

http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/day_..._chickens.html
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/B....html#Chickens

Same goes for ducks, geese, turkeys, whatever.

And maybe this is just me, but I think it takes a looooong time to be able to say an animal is domesticated. I wish I could find were I read this, but a book I've read said something about humans not domesticating anything for the past few thousand years. Maybe true, maybe not, but I voted no.

I'm dumbfounded on how anyone would consider a snake to be a domesticated species. Being CB does not mean it's domesticated. It took dogs thousands of years to get where they are now and even then once in while one goes lupid.

Geesh.

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Originally Posted by mrmertz

I'm dumbfounded on how anyone would consider a snake to be a domesticated species. Being CB does not mean it's domesticated. It took dogs thousands of years to get where they are now and even then once in while one goes lupid.

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People are defining "domesticated" wrong.

Something that's domesticated is something that

1) is tractable and

2) provides a benefit to mankind.

"Domesticated" does not equate to "pet".

Dogs and cats are domesticated and also make great pets. That's possibly where the confusion is coming in.

As I said above, a bull is domesticated but I wouldn't want one as a pet. Ferrets are domesticated - hunters used to train them to flush prey out of their burrows. Llamas. Emus. Anything categorized as livestock is domesticated.

Now there are a lot of perfectly fine pets that aren't domesticated. Parrots. Goldfish. Hermit crabs. Lizards. Guinea pigs (unless you're raising them for meat, hrm, they may qualify as domesticated). Hamsters.

Oh yeah. Snakes. Cool pet, yes. Domesticated, no.

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Originally Posted by Shadera

I don't consider them domesticated. Neither are my parrots.

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I don't consider them domesticated either. Neither are my parents.

Snakes arn't domesticated but I think they could be domesticated if some one tried to do it through selective breeding of the most docile snakes in their collection. It was done with the Russian fox

http://www.sibfox.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesticated_silver_fox

I don't know if this has been said before but snakes do have benifits to humans aside from companionship, they could be bred for their meat and skin.