Most intelligent snake...

Any ideas? I was just thinking of this today; what do you think?

Hmmmmm No idea. I would say scrubs are. All the people I talked to that keep them say they are very inteligent.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ginevive

Any ideas?

---

Ball Python...duhh :nerd:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

Hmmmmm No idea. I would say scrubs are. All the people I talked to that keep them say they are very inteligent.

---

I agree that scrubs are quite intellligent, and I would say that King Cobras are toward the top of that list too. Another one would be Aussie Olives. I've never worked with one before, but I hear they are very smart.

-Evan

I second the King Cobras. I don't have any first-hand experience with them, just from some things I've heard.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Evan Jamison

I agree that scrubs are quite intellligent, and I would say that King Cobras are toward the top of that list too. Another one would be Aussie Olives. I've never worked with one before, but I hear they are very smart.

-Evan

---

I agree. The aussie pythons seem to be pretty smart.

IME nothing matches a retic.

They can distinguish between people, are very aware of what's going on around them, and can actually tell when you are trying to help them. I dealt with a rescue one time that was a total sweatheart to me, but super aggressive to the people I took him in from. Of course I was not the one who had starved it, kept it cold, and hurt it by poking it with hangers. Gee, I wonder why it was mean to those people.:rolleyes: It let me treat it with meds, remove numerous stuck eye caps, and several old stuck on sheds and NEVER acted aggressive at all even after it fully recovered and got warm and fat. I could slide the cage open and he would come out.
Here is a pic. This was while he was still recovering. This guy was so docile. I just wish he didn't freak out the wife or he would still be here.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ons/retic1.jpg
The computer was by the cages at that time. You would be typing and get this feeling like you were being watched. Sure enough there are the bright orange eyes staring at you. Then the snake would tilt it's head as if to say "What? I just wanted to see what you were doing?"

For now I have to say that the smartest in my collection are the childrens pythons.

My ball didn't shed all of its skin and seemed to be jumpy when I picked him up. I let him soak and started to help get the skin off. He calmed down while I got the remaining skin off. It was like he knew I was trying to help him. Not sure how much he actually knows is going on but he surprises me alot.

I've also heard that BCIs are very intelligent.

Maybe anacondas or Indigos?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SPJ

can actually tell when you are trying to help them.

---

If that was the case, why did that 14-foot Retic kill its owner when he was trying to treat it for mouth rot?

He didn't like him?:D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JasonGranger

I've also heard that BCIs are very intelligent.

Maybe anacondas or Indigos?

---

Boas are pretty smart. I actually think b.c.occidentalis(sp?)
are very smart. Maybe its just the way an almost entirely black boid in the 7' range stares and watched you. My boas are usually waiting by the glass to by the time I get around to their cages.

Just because one Retic kills it owner when he is helping him doesn't mean anything. Humans are suposed to be the most intelligent animals but you still get really stupid people every once and awhile.

My vote would go to the retic; I only ever have handled one in my life, but his eyes.. they just stared at you, like they were reading your thoughts! :)

I've seen some shows and whatnot with more a few reptile "experts" mentioning how calculating king cobras are in their movements and whatnot...I guess it depends upon how you define intelligence. One definition of intelligence is "the ability to acquire and apply knowledge." Reptiles are generally driven by instinct so you have to make an arguement that king cobras, or whatever other snake you think it may be, learns and adapts its behaviors based on the experiences it has, or decide that it just merely applies actions based on instinct built in by eons of evolution.

So when you compare a king cobra to a retic, you have to be able to tell the difference between each animal being intelligent, or just simply being better adapted to the environment in which they live.

what about mambas? adders/rattlesnakes?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rapture

If that was the case, why did that 14-foot Retic kill its owner when he was trying to treat it for mouth rot?

---

Correct me if I'm wrong but, wasn't that a burm?

Well that explains it. Burms aren't the brightest snakes in the world.:D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rapture

If that was the case, why did that 14-foot Retic kill its owner when he was trying to treat it for mouth rot?

---

I would imagine that mouth rot is extremely painful and stressful and so I would not try to medicate an infected snake alone as the victim had.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by djslurp1200

Correct me if I'm wrong but, wasn't that a burm?

---

Retic

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by _BoidFinatic_

Retic

---

ya, I wasn't sure...I might have read a differen't story...I don't know, the one I read was a albino burm I thought... But I've read a bunch of reptile mishaps on the internet...It's kinda aggrivating but crazy to read the stories..

I knew the guy who was killed by the Retic in Indiana (his name was Patrick Von Allmen). He was a member of the KY Herp Society and his demise was very unfortunate.

As far as intelligent snakes go.....I think the term "intelligence" should be used relatively when speaking about snakes. The species with the most reputation for being "smart" are Retics, Scrubs and various Elapids. I don't think I would ever associate a Boa Constrictor with being even semi-intelligent. Pure and simply, they are dumb as rocks lol.

King cobras very intelligent. They seem to learn from there mishaps.

Now beardo I really dont think it is neccessary to call them dum as rocks. My boas are very smart. Ha! :carrot:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ginevive

Any ideas? I was just thinking of this today; what do you think?

---

I would say any snake that lives in captivity and is fed by us lol.

I hear King Cobras are very intelligent. But they're all smart I think. :D

My ball python is a genius.

The most intelligent snake, if you could call it intelligence, would be the majority of snakes in the colubrid family.

Wow I am shocked that no one has mentioned Indigos/Cribos!

Their intellegence and bonding with a keeper is what pushed their wild numbers so low. All the way back to the famouse "Reptile Book" by Ditmars (1908) this intellegence is documented. With Indigos allowed to roam in a house actually following keepers.

I kept (fostered) at Yellow Tail Cribo for a few months and I have to say he over time decided he liked me, would climb on his own accord out of his viv and up my body.

I would also say Black Racers seem to be about as smart as any snake. Ditmars mentions one that would crawl across the floor in the same book mentioned above and take a mouse from a keepers hand. I think it is just most are so mean that keeps most people from studying and keeping them.

The other snake (that I do keep) that seems very smart to me is the False Water Cobra (hydronastes gigas).

The Beauty Snakes (Taiwan, Blue, Etc) seem very aware too.

Yet the smartest again I have to say the Indigo/Cribos. Long as you can deal with the massive ammount of waste they are about the most personality you can get in a snake. Now one that bites as an adult will also require you to visit the doc for stitches so thats the trade off :rolleye2:

I still can't believe someone calles Boas dumb as rocks.
I didn't think about cribos and indigos but they sure are smart from what I've heard.

since boas and pythons are tecnically the most " unevolved" per say i would say most coulbrids are able to act and react more due to past experiences along with instinct while boas and pythons are more pure instinct.

I have no idea which snake is the most intelligent. Keep in mind it would depend on how you define intelligence. Also consider we have trouble quantifying and operationalizing intelligence for humans.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ReptileFan

since boas and pythons are tecnically the most " unevolved" per say i would say most coulbrids are able to act and react more due to past experiences along with instinct while boas and pythons are more pure instinct.

---

The only organisms that are "unevolved" are those that are extinct. That's not a word you'll ever hear in scientific circles. Maybe "primitive", but keep in mind that "primitive" doesn't mean lack of evolutionary adaptations. "Primitive" just means that it split or branched off earlier. A lot of scientists use "primitive"--I guess for lack of a better term?

Dr. Bryan Fry, a venom researcher, explains:

"One thing to keep in mind is that the constricting snakes are not the most 'primitive'. They are actually quite derived in their own right. The powerful constriction is a secondary form of prey capture and the heat-seeking pits have been independently acquired twice within this clade (one time in the pythons, one time in the boas). Venom is therefore a secondary loss within this group."

Without a doubt the smartest snake is the Gaboon Viper. Any snake smart enough to wait for it's food to come to it, and not go out like a chump looking for food gets my vote.

I wish I was like a Gaboon Viper, just sitting on my couch all day and having food brought to me. :cool: ;)

I agree with the idea that intelligence is highly subjective.

However, according to Encyclopedia Britannica Online the King Snake and King Cobra are both considered the top on scales of intelligence. The King Cobra regularly practices monogamy... and even humans only recently discovered the benefits of that ;).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jhall1468

I agree with the idea that intelligence is highly subjective.

However, according to Encyclopedia Britannica Online the King Snake and King Cobra are both considered the top on scales of intelligence. The King Cobra regularly practices monogamy... and even humans only recently discovered the benefits of that ;).

---

You must not be Canadian. Canadian Geese practice monogamy and judging by the behaviour of your average goose, monogamy's really gone downhill lately ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jhall1468

I agree with the idea that intelligence is highly subjective.

However, according to Encyclopedia Britannica Online the King Snake and King Cobra are both considered the top on scales of intelligence. The King Cobra regularly practices monogamy... and even humans only recently discovered the benefits of that ;).

---

Cool....One thing about monogamy is that it requires animals to remember each other.

hey people,,talking about intelligent snakes,,my royal pythoin Carmen is amazing.i posted a thread on her lastnight i think it was here is the link http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=42811

please check it out,it might seem a little far fetched for a royal python,but she actually does this stuff.i couldnt beleive it myself.

From what I have seen and read a King Cobra is a snake a case could be made for so long as you are clear about what you mean by "intellegence" as has been said that deffinition is highly subjective especially as it pertains to snakes.

Now no matter what the Britanica guild says I can't say I have ever seen a Kingsnake do anything "intellegent" at least more so then a corn, black rat, etc. I don't get that claim at all!

The cobras as a whole seem to have an awareness higher then most snakes but a kingsnake? I have to say again, HUH?

Heck I have a Plains Redsided eGarter Snake and I would say he appears more aware and thinking then any kingsnake. Jsut the way he watches you move outside his cage, follows your movements and seems to evaluate his surroundings shows some level of "thought".

To those that think their snakes have true affection and bonding with them though I just think we are tying to apply human concepts to snakes and that just does not work.

Snakes have a sort intellegence and awarness but honestly compared to even a lizard they are pretty low on the intellect scale, :snake:

I always thought it was Indigos and cobras.

I would have to say King Cobras and Indigos

My snake is the smartest! (BP)

I thought that the spitting cobra was the most inteligent reptile

Glad you mentioned the Indigos and Yellow Cribos. I have heard the same thing about them. And it helps that they are such a beautiful snake.

Definitely a species I want to work with in the next few years.

Bruce

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mendel's Balls

I have no idea which snake is the most intelligent. Keep in mind it would depend on how you define intelligence. Also consider we have trouble quantifying and operationalizing intelligence for humans.



The only organisms that are "unevolved" are those that are extinct. That's not a word you'll ever hear in scientific circles. Maybe "primitive", but keep in mind that "primitive" doesn't mean lack of evolutionary adaptations. "Primitive" just means that it split or branched off earlier. A lot of scientists use "primitive"--I guess for lack of a better term?

Dr. Bryan Fry, a venom researcher, explains:

"One thing to keep in mind is that the constricting snakes are not the most 'primitive'. They are actually quite derived in their own right. The powerful constriction is a secondary form of prey capture and the heat-seeking pits have been independently acquired twice within this clade (one time in the pythons, one time in the boas). Venom is therefore a secondary loss within this group."

---

The word you're looking for is "plesiomorphic" (a comparative word meaning evolved earlier), which is a more scientifically correct term for "primitive." The word primitive can imply less intelligent or "more caveman-like" in human thinking, which is generally not accurate. For example, a lamprey is one of the most plesiomorphic chordates, yet it has been gearing towards its exact niche for many, MANY more years than humans have. So could one say that a lamprey is the more "perfected" animal?

This is why looking at when something evolved - such as colubrids evolving later than boids - is not an accurate judge of how "intelligent" an animal is. Animals evolve to fill certain niches, not because they're "getting smarter." Colubrids evolved because faster snakes could compete with the boids for food, thus filling a niche.

Out of all the snakes ive been able to get close to, IMO cobras are by far the most intelligent snakes. Just when you look into their eyes, you cant help but try and figure out what they are thinking. Just amazing animals.:)

I have been wondering this same thing ever since I've had the black rat snake in my care. The way he looks at me is amazing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by fergie

The most intelligent snake, if you could call it intelligence, would be the majority of snakes in the colubrid family.

---

This is what I was wondering/thinking.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jjspirko

I would also say Black Racers seem to be about as smart as any snake. Ditmars mentions one that would crawl across the floor in the same book mentioned above and take a mouse from a keepers hand. I think it is just most are so mean that keeps most people from studying and keeping them.[/size]

---

Aren't black racers related to black rat snakes?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ReptileFan

since boas and pythons are tecnically the most " unevolved" per say i would say most coulbrids are able to act and react more due to past experiences along with instinct while boas and pythons are more pure instinct.

---

More primitive as someone else pointed out, but I was wondering that, too.

What the most intelligent and best pet snake in terms of handling/docility?

Everything I have read points to the king cobra. But I have to give props to my corn snakes. I would swear my large sun glow understands me. And I feel like he's trying to communicate with me most of the time. He "tells" me when he want's out of his enclosure. And let's me know when he wants to go back in. I can't really describe it, but I just sense that he is a very smart snake.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Beardo

I knew the guy who was killed by the Retic in Indiana (his name was Patrick Von Allmen). He was a member of the KY Herp Society and his demise was very unfortunate.

As far as intelligent snakes go.....I think the term "intelligence" should be used relatively when speaking about snakes. The species with the most reputation for being "smart" are Retics, Scrubs and various Elapids. I don't think I would ever associate a Boa Constrictor with being even semi-intelligent. Pure and simply, they are dumb as rocks lol.

---

Boa constrictors are not dumb whatsoever...some may be just like humans...but i keep over 20 boas and 2 retics and 8 ball pythons and i've noticed that out of the three ball pythons seem to be the dumbest...i do have two that are about the same as boas, but i haven't had a boa dumb enough to try to climb a side of their tub and fall over backwards because they go to far. I personally think retics are the smartest.

melissa, i'd say racers and rat snakes are really not very closely related... Elaphe and Coluber have some pretty widely differing characteristics, both physically and behaviorly.

i'd say cobra gets my vote... for pythons though, i'd have to say barnecks seem much more intelligent than any retics i've been around.

my jcp used a sharpee and wrote out the cure for cancer on a rat, it was a shame for mankind, because he then ate the rat. very smart.