Behavior Experiment plus pics!

Lately my BP has been exhibiting a really strong feeding response througout the week. As soon as he sees me enter the room he comes out of his hide and gets into position for a feed. If I leave the room for more than 10 or 15 minutes, he goes back to his hide.

Today he was doing that again as I went about my business cleaning his neighbors (fish) tank. I started to wonder if he recognized me in particular as the food-bringer, or whether he just saw this big warm person-thing and responded to that as a general food-bringer.
So, I performed an experiment.
I waited until he was in his hide again, and had my husband go into the room and look into the enclosure. My husband NEVER feeds the snake and has very little interaction with him.

The result? *snif* I am just another big warm blob to my beloved snake *snif*
He responded to my husband exactly as he responded to me. It was a pretty interesting little test. He doesn't differentiate between people. Now this test did not involve opening his enclosure at all, so I am not proposing that he would not be able to tell the difference between people that he could smell and taste really clearly. I am saying that visually, he doesn't know the difference between people.

Anyway, I'll stop blabbering, here are some pics.
Augie comes out looking for food:
http://i.ugtz.com/albums/Jens-Terrar...7_07.sized.jpg

But he feels safe since his tail is still securely tucked inside a hide!
http://i.ugtz.com/albums/Jens-Terrar...7_07.sized.jpg

Hey Sistah, can you spare a mouse or two?
http://i.ugtz.com/albums/Jens-Terrar...7_07.sized.jpg

Gimme some tongue:
http://i.ugtz.com/albums/Jens-Terrar...gue2.sized.jpg

Haha! Awesome pictures!! What a beautiful little guy you got there! (Lovely enclosure, too...quite the snakey paradise!)


And very cool observation....thanks for sharing!

Wow great looking snake and setup you got going. What morph is Augie, a pastel?

Awww but you are Augie's "big warm blob" LOL It is really hard to figure out how snake's "think" about us humans isn't it. I know from our experience with a non-eating WC adult rescue that a snake can react to a specific human differently than others but over time that seems to pass and all humans become pretty much the same. For the longest time, Saoirse (the WC in question) would only relax when held by my husband, Michael. We assumed that because he was the first human she took food from (she'd been at minimum 8 months but probably closer to a year in captivity w/o taking a feeding), that in some way Michael became acceptable to her. Anyone else handling her immediately got the curl up in a tight ball, hope not to die reaction. With Michael she would explore and tongue flick pretty much as any captive ball does. Gradually though over time Saoirse has come to accept me and other human beings though she remains a cautious adult around strangers.

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Originally Posted by Reptilian

Wow great looking snake and setup you got going. What morph is Augie, a pastel?

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yep, he's a Lemon pastel. NERD 8/06 hatch. Now he's pushing 600g and is over 3 feet :carrot:

He's such a bright yellow, very beautiful.

thanks :)

I fell in love with his looks
but I stayed in love with his good attitude...he's really easy going and a great feeder!

Today I broke down and disinfected his cage and all his stuff, so he's not too pleased with me at the moment :rolleyes:
we're trying aspen for the first time, since ambient humidity is plenty good this time of year.

Beautiful snake and enclosure too! How much did the enclosure cost you and how big is it?

Does this behavior stop for a while after feeding? Mine does this thing that I believe is hunting. I don't know if he does it when I'm not around but he generally starts up nearing feeding day. In the evening, and in my full view, he very slowly cruises the cage taking all different routes, stopping now and again to just stare. Other than that he phones it in for at least 3 days after feeding.

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Originally Posted by bearhart

Does this behavior stop for a while after feeding? Mine does this thing that I believe is hunting. I don't know if he does it when I'm not around but he generally starts up nearing feeding day. In the evening, and in my full view, he very slowly cruises the cage taking all different routes, stopping now and again to just stare. Other than that he phones it in for at least 3 days after feeding.

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Ambush hunters don't generally actively hunt for their food, they wait for it to come to them. If any of my kiddos are out and actively roaming on feeding day, then 9 times out of 10 they will refuse their food when offered to them. As a result, at least with my crew - roaming indicates that something is "tweaking" or stressing them if it's not happening late at night when they normally take a "cruise".

If they are on top of their hides like Augie, or heads peeking out of their hides in the strike position, they'll be hitting in under 10 seconds.

Augie is in a classic "strike" position, and not really cruising his enclosure. He is, however, ready to strike any prey that might wander by!

He looks so awesome! I love how reduced he is and he is getting more and more yellow!

i want tht tank...can i have ur setup i like the natural look it makes nskaes feel more at home...can i have sites from were u got stuff. time to break out the credit card :)... well my parents credit card :P

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Originally Posted by liam

i want tht tank...can i have ur setup i like the natural look it makes nskaes feel more at home...can i have sites from were u got stuff. time to break out the credit card :)... well my parents credit card :P

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x2

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Ambush hunters don't generally actively hunt for their food, they wait for it to come to them. If any of my kiddos are out and actively roaming on feeding day, then 9 times out of 10 they will refuse their food when offered to them. As a result, at least with my crew - roaming indicates that something is "tweaking" or stressing them if it's not happening late at night when they normally take a "cruise".

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Well I do feed in a separate enclosure so Snakey knows he has to be taken out to eat. (I'm happy not to discuss the merits of that practice right now if you're not :) )

Based on what you're saying, though, maybe I'm misinterpreting what he's doing. It sounds like he's doing what you call a "normal cruise". He does it at night and it has a very relaxed pace to it. He usually doesn't make any effort to get out and, if he does, its only brief.

The hunting thing is interesting to me though. I don't call it hunting because I think he looks like he's actually stalking something. The way he sits motionless for several minutes and then repositions looks alot like trying different ambush spots. I guess in the wild they would have to at least get off their lazy snake-behinds enough to move to an opportunistic spot for the ambush. :D

(Not tonight though - or least not for my eyes. He had another shot yesterday evening and is mad again. His cage is next to the computer and ever since this whole thing started with the exams and shots he's started picking this hiding spot that's in a location that puts his big grape-wood log right between the two of us. After a while he gets over it and goes back to his regular spot where I can see his coils a bit and he can stick his nose out a bit and watch me. Problem is, its time for another shot by then :( . Only four more to go...)

Hope he feels better soon!

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Originally Posted by fishmommy

Lately my BP has been exhibiting a really strong feeding response througout the week. As soon as he sees me enter the room he comes out of his hide and gets into position for a feed. If I leave the room for more than 10 or 15 minutes, he goes back to his hide.

Today he was doing that again as I went about my business cleaning his neighbors (fish) tank. I started to wonder if he recognized me in particular as the food-bringer, or whether he just saw this big warm person-thing and responded to that as a general food-bringer.

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Actually I am a bit curious about the feeding thing. As I mentioned above I feed in a separate enclosure based on recommendations about associating the food with the cage etc. Most people here don't agree with that and many claim to have alot of snakes and no problema. One of the most common things I hear is that the reasoning is false because the snake is not fed every time you open the enclosure (and so can't make a direct association). That makes perfect sense to me but this thread made me wonder. Isn't that whats happening here?

So my question is: fishmommy, when your BP is doing this behavior do you have any problems taking it out for handling?

the answer is....nope :)

he has not yet mistaken my hand for a mouse. When I want to handle him I slowly bring my hand next to him, he usually flicks it with his tongue, and then I stroke his body once or twice. He generally retracts from his feeding posture right away when he realizes I am not a mouse. I just pick him up from there.
I try to stick very closely to a routine and procedure. He seems to take to conditioning pretty well and respond appropriately.
In the last couple weeks as he has been behaving in this assertive manner, I have tried to open the cage and let him smell my hand when he starts posturing. I'm thinking he might get the idea that my presence doesn't always equal food. Part of me likes that he's doing this though, since I get to see him being the gorgeous little predator that he is.

I think that every snake is different and what works for one might not work for another.
I am also the type that if bitten would think 'AWWW, Isn't that adorable!' so my willingness to be bitten is probably greater than some folks :carrot:

anyway, to be clear his behavior is not roaming at all...he comes out and gets into strike position, and if I leave the room for 10 minutes he gives up and goes back to his hide. He roams a bit at night but it's a much more aimless and relaxed process.

cool thanks!

you won't be saying aww thats cute if he bites you in a feeding response, not fun at all, they squeeze like crazy

I've been bitten by a few snakes in my time, just not my own :)

fishmommy, you never did tell us anything about the enclosure. Is it a secret? :P Where'd ya get it?

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Originally Posted by jeffjr464

you won't be saying aww thats cute if he bites you in a feeding response, not fun at all, they squeeze like crazy

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yea, this other guy posted a story recently (ball bite - blood). His ball managed to cuff him! I mean I'm sure he could have gotten out if he had been willing to harm the snake, which he wasn't, so he had to just wait to be released!

Every now and again you get a hint of how strong they are from simple handling but recently I've had to assist in some injections and I got a whole new respect. My BP is about 370g, 30" long. I was in charge of restraint and the other guy was in charge of operating the needle. I was easily able to prevent any thrashing but trying to keep him relatively straight and still would have required much more force than I was comfortable applying.

the enclosure is from Boaphile Plastics. it's 4 x 2 feet.

I just answered this question but perhaps it was in another thread :oops:

Remember though just because your snake assumes an S position it isn't always related to feeding or indicating your snake is hungry at all. They are incredibly protective of their heads and will often keep their head well back while they stay still and assess a situation. Once they feel safe, they will continue to move about but sudden movements often result in the quick drawing back of their head. Doesn't even mean they are preparing to strike, it's just that instinctive need to keep their vulnerable head protected.

Once you get to really know your particular snake, you can more easily read body postures, level of tenseness of their muscles, the hisses they make, even if a strike is really meant to connect. What might indicate an impending serious bite attempt in one snake, might read completely differently in another. Until you get to know your snake extremely well though, it's just smart to go with general guidelines of handling, feeding, etc.