Are snakes aware they're at the same home when moved to new enclosures?

[Snagrio]

It's something I've been curious about ever since my BP transferred from his old tank setup to his new (temporary) tub one. I have to imagine they are to some degree since they still see the same person, the distance and time to change enclosures is usually very quick, and the familiar tastes/smells of the area are the same unless it's a drastically different section of the building, and even then there's still the familiarity of their owner's scent. Probably familiar sights when they're handled around the home too but I'm not sure how important visual landmarks are to snakes compared to scent.

I know my BP settled down very quickly after the change. One evening rendezvous and it was back to old habits (i.e., doing nothing 90% of the time ). Then again the location for his new enclosure is quite literally 5 feet away from his previous one so it's hard to say if things would be any different if he were moved, say, on the main or second floor of the house.

[Bogertophis]

I don't believe they literally think about it like that- but if you move them into new enclosures at the same house, OR move their usual enclosures to a new home, either of those is less scary than doing both at once, because I'm quite sure that every house smells differently to them, so having at least some things that remain the same (including us) is bound to be reassuring. I don't think visual landmarks in your house mean much, but they might be noticing the amount & direction of light, or major shadows -including placement of major furniture & things on walls, things that might seem at first to be threatening (because they don't know what they are)- any changes like that. And like you said, with the new enclosure very close to where the original one was, that's going to feel much the same to a snake.

[Snagrio]

I try not to anthropomorphize, and it's even more difficult to interpret how they see the world even compared to other creatures like mammals where they're a lot easier to "read" most of the time. But given the studies of how reptiles as a whole have more going on in their brains than has been supposed for millennia, there are times where I wonder such things.

I know on a basal level snakes tend to be viewed as pretty simple of mind in the grand scheme of things even within the realm of reptile intelligence specifically, but I've become increasingly interested in challenging such a notion, that there's more to them than just "Me snake, me eat." Just the mere idea alone that snakes can learn to trust is something that would considered unthinkable a century ago.

[Bogertophis]

I totally agree: while they don't ALL learn to trust, many do, & let's face it, some people are less than trustworthy anyway. There's no way snakes are as dumb as many have assumed for so long, because if they were, why do mine remain reliably tame, even if I don't handle them much- and then there's the wild ones I've known that also decided I was "safe"- how did that happen? I've found this to be true over many years of knowing many snakes- there's no way they're clueless. But their senses have a different emphasis than ours do- so that throws many people off a fair evaluation, & keeps them from trying to communicate on their level. Consider that in order to survive in the wild, snakes must learn & remember their way around, even with some sensory limitations. Instincts sure help, but snakes still impress me.

[Snagrio]

Speaking of which, I recently read an article that a road in Illinois is being temporarily closed due to it being a vital migration route for a host of reptiles and amphibians to reach their wintering grounds.

https://www.reptilesmagazine.com/ill...e-september-1/

It goes without saying that in order to migrate one must have a degree of spacial awareness and object recognition just the same as any bird or mammal. The tools they use to get around may be different, but the goals, principles and needed mental prowess (instinctual or learned) are nonetheless the same.

[TofuTofuTofu]

I mean... I know he's not a snake, but my iguana definitely knows his way around my house. He even knew his way around my parents' house, which had both a basement and upper floor, when I lived there. He would walk himself from the basement back up to his cage on the second floor. What was also interesting was, I evacuated there during hurricane Irma and he remembered the layout of the house (so, after not having been there for 2-3 years). He would sit in the screened in porch and go back upstairs when he was done basking there. Iguanas are very visually oriented, though--most snakes aren't (although I do wonder about "sight hunters" and whether they would be more visually oriented like an iguana... have to get a coachwhip!)

Our Japanese rat snake recognizes certain objects in the house, but I'm not sure if he knows where they are in relation to the rest of the house like my iguana would. If I bring our snake to the hanging plant he likes to climb on, I think he recognizes it and will more readily head towards it, even if you are walking past it. So, I do think he visually recognizes it and then wants to go to it. They are a bit more of an arboreal species, so I do think they "look" for things. I think because he cannot just walk around the house like my iguana, perhaps he has not been allowed to spatially orient himself in the house.

If you had a snake so large that it couldn't get lost in your house, I do think they would know their way around if you allowed them to look. So, in that case, I think a snake would know they were in the same house if they had been in the surrounding area of the house where their enclosure now was. But for smaller snakes lacking the privilege of exploring, I'm unsure whether they would know. But I don't think they lack the capacity/intelligence to orient themselves in the way you describe; we just haven't given them the opportunity to create their internal map of the place?

[Bogertophis]

Years ago I read a study about snakes finding their way thru mazes designed specially for snakes (!) with tactile & scent cues (not just visual ones) as they'd use in the wild, & they concluded that snakes learn their way around at least as well if not better than rats (the "usual" subject in mazes).

We need to stop under-estimating the intelligence & ability of our animal friends- because that allows people to de-value them, & then treat them badly because "they don't matter". I'm also sure that some snakes ARE more visually oriented than others: those using more vision would be the diurnal active hunters like coachwhips/racers, gopher/bull/pine snakes, rattlesnakes, cobras, rat snakes, garter snakes, etc.

As silly as it may sound, with many of these snakes it will seem as if you're having a bit of a 2-way conversation if you flick* your tongue back at them- *with a little practice to imitate the way a snake does it as best you can. I'm not suggesting it's anything like morse code or an exact language- only that coming from a creature that looks & smells nothing like another snake, it's a way of saying "Hey, not to worry, I'm just another snake". Imagine if you were abducted by aliens & carried off in their spaceship- with no language in common, wouldn't you be vastly relieved if finally one of them gave you a peace sign or a handshake, just one little gesture you could recognize as peaceful? I know I would!

I spent 20 years living with a number of rattlesnakes, & I couldn't help noticing that it was a way I could reassure what were otherwise "hands-off" creatures that they were safe with me. Not only that, rattlesnakes have a very exaggerated way of flicking their tongues (with a lot of "hang time") when they're upset (trust me, it LOOKS like anger), but a vastly different way of flicking their tongues when calm & curious. What's really interesting is that if you imitate these moves back to them, it can actually affect THEIR mood & that's why it matters- I was able to calm most snakes so they had less fear & stress, which meant they ate well, & remained healthy. (Keep in mind, stress makes people AND animals prone to sickness- it diminishes our immune system.) BTW, this was a technique that I developed intuitively on my own, but since then, I've noticed some others have made similar observations- lest you think I'm a bit .

The other way my rattlesnakes learned to be calm was that any time I startled them (or even if my dog ran by or something else startled them), I took "the blame" for it- when they rattled, I immediately went to their cage & identified myself by blowing air across my hand in their direction. They'd flick their tongues & obviously recognized me by my scent, & were visibly relieved because they had learned that I was not something to fear. How about that? Snakes, even rattlesnakes, are afraid of the unknown, just like us- they don't like to be startled & scared, & they become much calmer when it turns out "oh, it's just you? Whew!" Rather than being more upset with ME for having startled them, they'd relax, & especially if I flicked my tongue in a "friendly way" too. Whatever works, right? Communication helps, "any which way you can". Anyway, this is what I love about keeping snakes- finding ways to help them feel safe. So yes, they're more aware of things than you might think, & it's always better to assume in their favor, that they "can" understand, than to just treat them like objects with no brains at all. And the more you empathize with your snakes, the fewer bites you get.

[Snagrio]

I'm not suggesting it's anything like morse code or an exact language- only that coming from a creature that looks & smells nothing like another snake, it's a way of saying "Hey, not to worry, I'm just another snake".

Something tells me this would go poorly with kingsnakes.

[Bogertophis]

Something tells me this would go poorly with kingsnakes.

Yup! Snakes are not all created equal. I once had an elderly king snake that tried to eat her own tail...need I say more?

[Bogertophis]

Speaking of snakes remembering their way around, the first Trans Pecos rat snake I ever had (many years ago, she's no longer around) learned where the belt loops were on my jeans & took a liking to them. When I handled her, she'd head for them to thread herself thru them as a living "belt"! What a goofy snake she was. Let's face it, pets exist to make fools of us anyway, right?