My last thread was trying to convey some of my thoughts, not answer your questions. I'll give you some answers, as best I can.Originally Posted by Spaniard
Behavior = smart. A lot of keepers believe that snakes run on instinct only and are incapable of learning. They only know it's feeding time if they smell food, etc.
I had a burm that I raised, and every mealtime I tapped on the left hand wall outside his enclosure before opening it to offer food. He learned this ritual and was very enthusiastically greeting me when I did the tap...
What is torture to a snake? Giving it a home range of 2 square feet. Just because something can survive in a certain manner doesn't mean it should.
How is a snake "being itself". By swimming if it wants to swim. Climbing if it wants to climb. Hiding if it wants to hide. Eating if it wants to eat. Sleeping if it wants to sleep. Breeding if it wants to breed. The only option tubs provide is sleeping and the occasional breeding.
As for Wes, my aren't you a clever one. Besides the fact that you keep 5 foot snakes in 12 inch square tubs, what has made you such a leading expert in the fields of herpetoculture/herpetology? Your ability to be articulate really seems to impress the masses here. I was not saying snakes are like gorillas. I was stating the progress that humans have made in understanding the real needs of animals in order for them to thrive in captivity. As I stated earlier, when people first observed crocs moving their young to the safety of the water, it was believed that they were eating their young (maybe you're not old enough to be aware of this fact). We now know, at least some of us, that they are actually caring parents. Did you know afrock hatchlings stay near their mother until their first shed? Basking and burrowing right along side her? I'm glad you feel you have no need to convince me of anything, as I highly doubt that you could.
Chris
