This is going to be based on what gauge you use to measure intelligence. There are different types of intelligence and even that is going to vary in different specimens of the same species. I know I definitely have animals that are smarter than others. My "smarter" animals know feeding day even before the rats come out. They will come to the front of their tubs and make it very clear that they want to be fed. My smarter ones do not try to bite me after they have been in my care for awhile and do not attempt to escape when held. My dumb ones, hide and cower in fear even on feeding day. They never learn that attempting to bite me gets them nowhere and is just a waste of energy. They do not want to come out of their tubs and then once they are out they do not want to go back in.Originally Posted by spellbound04
In certain snake species I have observed behaviors that I consider to be very stupid. A snake biting itself is dumb. A snake choking itself is dumb. The ultimate in dumb is a snake eating itself.
To me the ultimate measurement of intelligent is planning. If an animal begins to learn cause and effect you are probably dealing with a thinking animal. I have only observed something that fell into this category a couple times with ball pythons with couple specific animals in my collection. Oddly enough, these are some of the largest most docile animals in my collection. Is there a correlation, I don't know. It however seems likely. Rarely do the animals I think are a little brighter than the others have any sort of feeding problems. They are smart enough to know I am not going to eat them, that they are safe in my presence, and that I bring the food. Their intelligence overrides their natural instinct to be fearful.
As to the original question. My animals recognize one emotion in people that are attempting to handle them. That emotion is fear. I have some animals that their demeanor completely changes if they smell fear.
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