ball python sight and hearing.

[kontron]

i read that BP's can not hear like us, and my red heat bulb says invisible to reptiles.
i have on many situations found these to be false.
when i mist the bp's cage they hide from the sound of the mister bottle. not a single drop pf water would come within a foot of either snake, and the first squeaky squirt, both snakes will run and hide. they both hate wate misted on them, so whenever we mist teh cage they make a run for the hides. i took up to spraying only the back top of the glass and letting the water drip down, even then the snakes will hear the water bottle and hide, even though there is only water being sprayed directly on the glass no where near the snakes.
roswell seems to not only know when the heat lamp turns on and off, and adjusted his shceduale accordingly, he can see the "invisible" red light.
whenever i come home it when the heat lamps go on (heat pads on all day). roswell will always be waiting for me t o turn the lamp on. as soon as i do he looks straight at the buld, and flickers his tounge everywhere.
he always does this as soon as the bulb comes on. i have stood there, talked to him, tapped on the glass, and get no response, but the second the lamp comes on, he is aware, and getting in postion for basking. i do not think it is the heat he sences, cause within a split second isnt enough time for the lamp to heat p enough to get his attention. i can only assume he can see the light.

[Smulkin]

THough they do not have ears they can certainly sense vibration. It has even been posited that their lungs laying long and parallel to the ground act as "resonating chambers" of sorts and assisting in their sense of, for lack of a better term, "hearing". It's not the same thing we experience but they are anything but deaf.

On the red light issue - the infrared heat emanating from it paints everything "warm" the instant it is turned on - even blind folded you would be able to tell when it had been turned on and more than likely be able to hone in on the heat source. With their heat-sensitive pits it is really no surprise they can tell where the heat is coming from.
As sensitive as they are it CAN get their attention immediately.

We have to remember to avoid anthropomorphizing to too much a degree.

[epilover]

Definitely agree with gumby:

The "hearing" was vibration (yes, even through the air)

The "sight" of your red heat lamp is just your snake instantly sensing a source of concentrated heat being flicked on.

[rex322]

We have to remember to avoid anthropomorphizing to too much a degree.

huh? whats that mean? you lost me...

[Marla]

It means animals aren't humans and we shouldn't try to treat them or interpret their behaviors as if they were.

[kontron]

It means animals aren't humans and we shouldn't try to treat them or interpret their behaviors as if they were.

no, but humans are animals, and all animals show body language.. i like trying to figure out what is possibly going on inside of their tiny heads. i find it interesting that they can sence just a water spritz being sprayed into the air and gently falling on the ground. i love trying to read their body language, and even though a snake (with no arms or legs, or facial expressions) has no parts, they still have a deffinite body language.

[Brandon.O]

People are animals ???


Personally, i dont think people are animals, i just dont like thinking of myself like that, i dont believe in evolution or anything like that.Animals are animals and people are people in my opinion,I believe god created the earth and the "Big Bang" theory is just a load of poo.

Just my 2 cents, kinda off topic, sorry

[Marla]

kinda off topic

Quite an understatement there.

all animals show body language.. i like trying to figure out what is possibly going on inside of their tiny heads.

I agree. I was explaining Smulkin's statement for Jason, not assessing your post. Animals do generally have non-verbal communication that can be interpreted to some degree if studied. I don't think there's any question of that. But if someone tells me that his/her ball python prefers a certain bedspread or something, I'm going to guess it's a case of anthropomorphizing the animal. Trying to figure out what/how they hear and whether a response is triggered by vision, temperature, vibration, or other input is not anthropomorphizing, but the interpretation can be.

/rambling

[BallPythonBabe448]

Brandon O, I think anything that breaths, or is living is considered an animal.

[epilover]

Edit: Removal of brain fart.