Do BPs get comfortable with particular people?

My BP really does seem to favor me. I handle him the most. My husband and anyone else who picks him up seems to make him stiff and jumpy, but he seems to loosen up a little and relax when I handle him. Is this my imagination, or can BPs tell who their handlers are and who is safe?

I would love to know this too.

I'm not sure. My male is more comfortable in my hands than my husbands but I'm the one who handles him more. I'm also more familiar with snakes than he is so maybe they can tell that. Don't know:weirdface

I believe this to be true for some snakes. I mean each snake is different from the next one. Mom has a dog that can't stand me even though I lived with it for years and will give it treats. My snakes are the same with anyone else as with me. I have seen some BPs that will only let there owners handle them. I think this all depends on the indivuela snake though

What I am wondering... Can a snake taste its food

I'm guessing yes they can taste, and I know they can smell their food and often tasting coincides with smelling in that sensation .... so that's my guess.

I doubt the research has been done to give you a definitive answer to this.

I'm going to say "sort of". My bps aren't all that fond of me as an owner because I'm constantly waking them in the afternoon to clean their tanks/tubs, and picking stuck sheds off of their noses and eyeballs, etc. And the snakes that are friendlier with me are friendlier with complete strangers.

But it is the case that the neurotic snakes sometimes ball up completely when I give them to other people. They don't ball up with me at all. And except for the very friendliest snakes, most of them do that thing, you know, where you hand them off to a friend and they crane their necks and try to get back to you? I assume that's all smell-based, and is about comfort and familiarity.

Oh, and: I'd like to add that "more comfortable with me" sometimes seems to include "wiling to bite me, but not complete strangers"...

How relaxed a person is around a snake---particularly when handling it---plays a huge part in how the snake will behave (or misbehave, lol). I believe a lot of it has to do with smell. And remember that snakes also detect heat, which I'm sure plays a huge role as well. If someone is nervous and attempts to handle a snake, the snake will be able to interpret all sorts of stimuli which us humans may not even think about. Things like perspiration, increased blood pressure, breathing pattern/rhythm. When you think about it, all of these things (and likely many more!) come into play and, I believe (though I'm by no means an expert) play a role in at least some measure. And of course, how physically 'tense' a person is while attempting to handle a snake will surely be felt by the snake as well---just as us humans are able to detect how tensed-up or relaxed the snake is just by touch.

Awful lot of things to consider!
And by the way, I share this based on working with hundreds of snakes on a daily basis and handling dozens daily at the breeding facility I work at. ;)
Vine

Jessica: Love the new pic! Great pose...

Vine: Well put. My husband is very nervous around Jackson, as are strangers (to him) that I show him to. I am completely comfortable with him, though, and therefore not at all stiff and jerky with him.

I am in agreement that the snakes can since you being nervous or not like your that takes care of it. This rescue I picked up saterday has struck or bit every onethat came close or attemoted to hold it or pick it up. Cept me it has yet to strike at me or bite and actuely seems to love me

I have noticed something similar, but also pretty odd. My BP seems to love everyone who has held him. I would just hold him on my arm and he would slither on to the next person. Except for one. My friend Colt. The only thing that is remotely different about Colt is the fact he is a vegetarian. So I wonder if that may have some sort of difference. I know that eating only vegetables will actually change your scent. I mean my snake actually started to go towards him, then just stopped and changed course suddenly. It was pretty funny.

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Originally Posted by Ghosted

I have noticed something similar, but also pretty odd. My BP seems to love everyone who has held him. I would just hold him on my arm and he would slither on to the next person. Except for one. My friend Colt. The only thing that is remotely different about Colt is the fact he is a vegetarian. So I wonder if that may have some sort of difference. I know that eating only vegetables will actually change your scent. I mean my snake actually started to go towards him, then just stopped and changed course suddenly. It was pretty funny.

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hm, how interesting. does Colt have any kind of a different attitude toward him than anyone else?

Not at all. Colt is completely fine with snakes. He is not scared of him or anything, but it was funny watching the snake make an immediate right turn to get away from him.

My oldest male BP definitely seems more comfortable w my GF. At least at first. I imagine this is because I'm the maintenance guy, the look in your mouth guy w a qtip, the he popped me to check my sex guy etc :)

He calms down once i've got him though

A good friend of mine had a snake that he kept at my house. She hated him. LOL She would not eat for him and the last time he held her she bite him 3 times within 5 minutes. She would eat for me on days that he did not come over. He did not want her after 3-4 months. He said that she hated him. She has been mine for over a year now and still has not bit me. So I think that they do recognize their keeper. I ended up with a beautiful banded het pied girl:D
Bandit
http://www.dailybulldogs.com/message...t/bandit_3.jpg

This very interesting, I was wondering myself. Igbo seem to prefer my son over me. Doesn't hiss at him, is relaxed with him, seem to be very curious about him, smells him and looks at his face, and keeps a firm grip on his hand while exploring. He squirms away from me, and hisses at me if I try to open his enclosurer, if I am holding him he tries to go back to my son. My son just started taking over his care, and only started handling him once Igbo was on the mend. He may associate me with his stress of moving, mucking up his cage(setting it up),etc. I also wonder if it is my scent, I am constantly cuddling with my dog, and while I wash my hands and arms well before holding him I am sure I smell like the dog. Of course my son is greatly amused by all this, he is 12 and agrees with Igbo that I am an ogre.

I've definitely seen my python react to different people. For instance, he likes my father and one brother, but stiffens up and gets a little defensive with my other brother even though everyone handles him the same way. Also, you would think a snake would know when someone doesn't like him, but he keeps trying to slither to my dad anyway ;)