My husband and I have several Retics. They are definitely smarter than other snakes and they are always watching what you are doing. We hook train all of our retics because they do have a strong feed response. When we open their cage to either clean or give them water, we use the hook and give them a light tap on the nose. They know the hook means they're not getting fed and lose interest in us making it safer to handle them. We also never handle,feed,clean or do anything with the snakes unless there is a second person in the room. They are big animals and deserve a lot of respect when keeping them. I hope some of this helps with your decision.