Snake training/taming???

Well during one feeding session i gave my snake (Penelope)
a live rat to eat. She would always be mean to me, like she
wouldnt like me holding her for long times, she wouldnt let
my fingers get close to her head, she would slither away
from me etc.
so during that feeding session, she sprang out but the mouse jumped just in time to have its head free and was trying to bite my snake. It was just barely able to scrape its teeth on its scales so i quickly grab a pen that was conviniently there ;) and push its head away from her and honestly, even though it might sound stupid, shes actually been very nice to me now.
She actually does this cool trick where if i make a cave with my hands she'll go in my hands :D
well the point is, do any of your snakes do cool tricks? can they be taught
to do any? any other crazy snake stories?

Not really. If it is that much of a problem, I would recommend trying to feed frozen instead of live.

Are you feeding outside of your enclosure? You really shouldn't handle your snake directly before or for 48 hours after feeding. They go into 'feeding mode' when they smell rats or see them, so it's never a good idea to handle them in that period.

outside of enclosure-yes
feeding frozen-no, im scared that if id have to get rid of it, it wont be adept at killing on its own. i try to put it at my backyard with tall grass and some rocks as a natural grassland so it'll actually learn to hunt on its own.
and yes i do make sure that neither the rat or snake can get away.
gotta love grandma made fences :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 17sleep

outside of enclosure-yes
feeding frozen-no, im scared that if id have to get rid of it, it wont be adept at killing on its own. i try to put it at my backyard with tall grass and some rocks as a natural grassland so it'll actually learn to hunt on its own.
and yes i do make sure that neither the rat or snake can get away.
gotta love grandma made fences :P

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Are you saying that you feed your snake in the back yard so it will know how to hunt in case you ever have to get rid of it? Ball Pythons, as well as any captive reptile should never be released... :colbert:

Feeding outside the enclosure can be stressful and isn't necessary, I used to feed in a seperate container and find much more success feeding in the cage.

I will say there is nothing wrong with feeding live, so if that works for you that's great. I find feeding f/t more convinient which is why I switched over from live.

Also, snakes are instinctive hunters meaning they already know what to do and don't need to learn anything.




As far as my snakes doing tricks... they like to take a huge dump right after I clean the enclosure and put fresh newspaper in there... :(

nooooo, i was actually thinking zoo.
ive heard you could donate your animals to the zoo.
and i live in San Diego, so im really close and would
get to see it alot :)
although i would be sad if i ever did have to let it go :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 17sleep

nooooo, i was actually thinking zoo.
ive heard you could donate your animals to the zoo.
and i live in San Diego, so im really close and would
get to see it alot :)
although i would be sad if i ever did have to let it go :(

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I doubt the zoo would take in a ball python. The best way to rehome a snake would be post local ads or contact local herpers who work with them.

I may have misinterpretted what you are saying at the end, so no offense meant- Just so you know it is illegal to release an animal, animals escaping or being released is one of the reasons that people use in order to try to ban pythons/reptiles. To release a snake would be as damaging to the reptile community as it would be cruel to your snake.

I can guarantee you that the San Diego zoo won't just take a donated snake. I mean last time I was there every single reptile enclosure in the exhibit was full of snakes that are probably more rare than yours. Plus ... how is "training" it in the wild going to help it eat in the zoo?

Just feed it in it's enclosure ... maybe consider switching to frozen/thawed and you'll be good to go. :gj:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 17sleep

nooooo, i was actually thinking zoo.
ive heard you could donate your animals to the zoo.
and i live in San Diego, so im really close and would
get to see it alot :)
although i would be sad if i ever did have to let it go :(

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Ah, ok...

There is no need to feed them out side. Snakes know how to get their food from the time they are born and leave the nest soon after. They don't learn anything from the mother...

Keep in mind that pesticides can be in the grass:(

Snakes are natural born killers. Their instinct is to kill, and right out of the egg/litter they already know what to do.

Feeding outside is not very necessary, and very stressful, especially during daylight hours. Most snakes, such as pythons, hunt at night because they are nocturnal. Hunting in the daylight is very rare for a wild python to seek out food.

Please consider feeding your snake in its own enclosure. This way there is very little stress during feeding time. Some Ball pythons will stress so much from being outside of their enclosure that they will refuse food being offered to them.

Also note that snakes cannot be trained. They can be handled often to tolerate handling and human contact, but never be trained for anything special. They do not have any similar emotions (or none at all) that dogs, cats, or even humans do. They are reptiles and were never meant for being in captivity and being accustomed to human contact.

For that reason, we snake hobbyists and keepers keep our Ball pythons in enclosures that mimmick their natural homes where they are native. Tubs, for example, mimmick the old termite mounds Ball python will hide in. Tubs retain humidity extremely well, as well as keeping temperatures right where you want them. All we do is provide a hide (except in some snake racks) or two, water dish, substrate, and belly heat with a little extra room and they will feel most comfortable.

some of mine fart

Haha! Fart? Are you kidding me? What's that like?
I've been feeding my BP (8 month old male) out side of his enclosure in a plastic tub since I've had him for about a month. Live mice 3 times and the 4th a live rat. Once a week. Should I start feeding him in his enclosure? There's so much crap in there I feel like I can monitor the feeding (necessary with live) better in a separate enclosure. Maybe if I can get him switch to F/t I can start feeding in his habitat. What do ya think? He's really easy going. For ex. the mouse/rat never lasts more than a minute and I first fed him after having him only 4 days. He let's me pick him up soon after (gently of course) to put him back in his tank. He switches around to all of his hides. And I swear on my life he watches tv with me occasionally. He'll even come out and just hang out in his tank after he eats. just laying up against the glass facing the tv. LOL

OP in regards to training no. A limited bit out conditioning is possible but limited. A friend keeps and breeds dwarf retics he taps the glass doors with a snake hook before opening the enclosure for anything other than feeding. He will touch their sides with the hook as well before reaching in. They know there is no food and don't strike. They are exceptional feeders and will eat anything it seems. They are conditioned but it isn't really training they expect 'food' to behave in a certain way and handling is different.

i just hate how the rats/mice crap and piss in their tank, it just bugs me alot.
Also i just think f/t is harder, although i will try it if necesary.

1) Why would your snake need to hunt EVER? You CANNOT just release it into the wild when/if you wanna get rid of the snake. Teaching it to hunt is a moot point.

2) Your moving and handling your snake WAY to much during feeding times. Moving them to and from the backyard while in feeding mode or after feed is an awful idea. Your probably stressing out your snake. And no wonder its not too friendly to you, your handling too much during a time its in feed mode.

3) Also be mindful of bugs and parasites that might be crawling around outside. Your feeder could get infected and thus infect your snake, or directly to your snake.

All in all, it just seems like many red flags.

Mine does this cool thing where 98% of the time, it acts like a rock. Yeah. Im telling you, it is WICKED cool.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 17sleep

nooooo, i was actually thinking zoo.
ive heard you could donate your animals to the zoo.
and i live in San Diego, so im really close and would
get to see it alot :)
although i would be sad if i ever did have to let it go :(

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Uuum sorry you said your back yard NOT a zoo :weirdface

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pavlovk1025

Mine does this cool thing where 98% of the time, it acts like a rock. Yeah. Im telling you, it is WICKED cool.

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:rofl: mine does this too, but seriously they dont train they just tame.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 17sleep

nooooo, i was actually thinking zoo.
ive heard you could donate your animals to the zoo.
and i live in San Diego, so im really close and would
get to see it alot :)
although i would be sad if i ever did have to let it go :(

---

You cannot donate animals to the zoo. Whoever told you that was wrong. Zoos have animals predetermined before they build the enclosures, and will not have extra space for unwanted pets.
Unwanted pets that are "dropped off" at the zoo will often be sent to animal control or euthanized, there's nothing they can do with them.

Also, you DO realize that zoos usually feed frozen/thawed rats and rabbits to their snakes?
Snakes do not lose their instinct to hunt. I feed all 22 of mine f/t at the moment, but if I went through and fed them live (which I do occasionally when I have extra live rats) they eat them just as robustly as ever.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 17sleep

outside of enclosure-yes
feeding frozen-no, im scared that if id have to get rid of it, it wont be adept at killing on its own. i try to put it at my backyard with tall grass and some rocks as a natural grassland so it'll actually learn to hunt on its own.
and yes i do make sure that neither the rat or snake can get away.
gotta love grandma made fences :P

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That is pretty dangerous for the snake and the rat. There are a lot of chemicals in grass that you may not even realize are there. Not to mention, there are all sorts of bugs and bacteria that your snake is not naturally accustomed to that you could be introducing it to.
What if one did get loose? You'd be another addition to the invasive species releases, not to mention it's HIGHLY illegal.

To the OP....feed in the enclosure it is less hassel and much less stressful for the snake. I also wanted to share with you our caresheet as it is very good and it sounds like you are pretty new to this....which is fine...we were all new once. :)

http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules/...iewarticle&id=

I also like to reiterate........you cannot release your python, if you find you can no longer take care of your snake.....there are plenty of ppl on this board that would help you with that problem.