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  1. #1
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    Can a snake make a cry for help?

    Hello!

    I had an incident a while ago where my BP got out of her enclosure and explored the room she was in. I couldn't find her that night, so I just closed the door and waited till the next morning for her to appear.

    In the morning, I still couldn't see her anywhere, so I put on some television and started watching it.

    Over the next couple hours, I would intermittently hear a loud hiss. A very loud hiss, such as she has never used before even when she's wanted me to go away.

    I started looking around after the first of these hisses, but I couldn't find her. Eventually, it occurred to me that she might have gotten herself stuck behind a tank that rested against the wall. (It had never occurred to me before then that a snake could get itself stuck.) So, I pulled the tank a little bit away from the wall --- I couldn't lift it, but I figured if she was stuck, she wouldn't be anymore.

    Sure enough, I spotted her crawling near it about 15 minutes later. I got her and let her back into her enclosure, which I made sure to keep entirely closed from then on.

    My question is, was my ball python making a cry for help for me to come get her? Is the reptile brain capable of that concept? I mean, she couldn't have been hissing at some form of danger --- there are no other animals in the room, and even supposing there had been, she has never, ever hissed this loudly at anything. But it also seems very strange that a reptile would have an understanding that the human that feeds it and picks it up is some kind of ally or agent capable of affecting her positively.

    [I know it was a careless and poor decision to let a ball python get out of its enclosure, but I have been much more careful since then.]

  2. #2
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Snakes cannot hear so how would they know to hiss for help? Just saying...

    It's more likely that you heard some loud exhales from when she was forcing herself thru a tight spot.

    Lucky you got her back unharmed...next time might not be so lucky...please be careful to prevent escapes.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  3. The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to Bogertophis For This Useful Post:

    Craiga 01453 (05-13-2020),GoingPostal (05-13-2020),Luvyna (05-13-2020),wnateg (05-13-2020)

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