Re: Pets or Display Animals?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Shayne
Interesting approach. I like it.
Thanks...I've learned so much from the snakes I've kept- by keeping an open mind & just trying things.
The first rattlesnake I kept (he was not releasable & his owner no longer wanted him) became so much calmer when I figured out a way to let him know what was going
on. His cage (a large glass tank with a secure wire top) was in my living-room, & whenever something startled him into rattling, whether it was me or my dog running
by, I went to his cage & blew air across my hand thru the screen so he got my scent. You might assume that he would "blame me" for being a threat, but I found that
the very opposite thing happened: he became used to me being around, bringing food, cleaning his cage etc.- and when I reassured him that -no matter what disturbed
him- that it was "only me", he calmed down immediately, & long-term became a very mellow snake fairly quick. (-not at all what his previous owner thought, btw.)
So just remember that snakes can see motion around them (including us) but they mostly* don't "recognize" us visually...they need scent or touch to identify us, & to be
reassured that it's not some unknown predator lurking about. Who knew snakes fear the unknown? https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...s/rolleyes.png (*some snakes, like cobras for example, are more visually-oriented)
Without going into extensive details, I've also found that some snakes appeared to pay little attention to scent recognition but instead recognized me very well by touch. My hunch is that since they evolved in a swampy habitat that scent recognition was less effective since prey was likely to be wet. So when trying to communicate with your snakes, keep in mind the place they'd occupy in nature. I believe in using whatever I can (safely) to convey to my snakes that they are are safe with me. How awful for a snake to be confined & always feel that it's cornered. I do believe that stress takes a toll on their health just as it does on ours. The reason that many snakes like to feel snug in the hides we give them is to feel safe from the "big bad world out there". Our captives deserve that at the very least, even if we have to be creative about it. (By the way, "hook training" is a good example of touch recognition.)
Re: Pets or Display Animals?
My Royals I like to train to be unafraid of me, the ones that are tamed will come right out on my hands and act like I’m just part of the scenery!!!
The ones that are NOT adapted to my peaceful presence as a non threatening animal, They don’t like being around me At All! Those are the ones that I like to slowly “tame.” If possible.
But all my snakes do like to get out of their enclosure and explore. None of them particularly care for me at all, and don’t seem to like handling much. They just want explore or (mostly)go hide!
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