Children's Pythons

[Caitlin]

Yep. Snakes are really good at associative learning. Target training gets them to respond to a target by moving toward it/tongue-flicking it (but not striking it) followed very quickly by the offering of a meal.

It doesn't take long for them to associate the presence of the target with a meal. If I'm doing other stuff in the enclosure, but not showing the target, they understand there is no meal forthcoming so I don't get that intense feeding response. The video's just a few minutes long and illustrates it pretty well. It's a simple but effective training method. I also like it because it's a different form of interaction, and the learning opportunity is just one more little enrichment boost.

[vivi]

Yep. Snakes are really good at associative learning. Target training gets them to respond to a target by moving toward it/tongue-flicking it (but not striking it) followed very quickly by the offering of a meal.

It doesn't take long for them to associate the presence of the target with a meal. If I'm doing other stuff in the enclosure, but not showing the target, they understand there is no meal forthcoming so I don't get that intense feeding response. The video's just a few minutes long and illustrates it pretty well. It's a simple but effective training method. I also like it because it's a different form of interaction, and the learning opportunity is just one more little enrichment boost.

Ohh, I get it. That's really cool, I think people underestimate the intelligence of snakes.

[Caitlin]

Ohh, I get it. That's really cool, I think people underestimate the intelligence of snakes.

Snake intelligence is often underestimated, and unfortunately the discussions about this tend to get tangled up with the folks who anthropomorphize their snakes, which doesn't do any of us any favors. I don't expect or want my snakes to be like a dog or cat, but they certainly aren't just instinct-driven tubes. This 2019 literature review ("Given the Cold Shoulder: A Review of the Scientific Literature for Evidence of Reptile Sentience") is a good overview: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/10/821/htm

Also a good article on target training to teach snakes to voluntarily shift between enclosures:
https://spring2019.iaabcjournal.org/...xzzA1tVZFejMFQ

[vivi]

Snake intelligence is often underestimated, and unfortunately the discussions about this tend to get tangled up with the folks who anthropomorphize their snakes, which doesn't do any of us any favors. I don't expect or want my snakes to be like a dog or cat, but they certainly aren't just instinct-driven tubes. This 2019 literature review ("Given the Cold Shoulder: A Review of the Scientific Literature for Evidence of Reptile Sentience") is a good overview: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/10/821/htm

Also a good article on target training to teach snakes to voluntarily shift between enclosures:
https://spring2019.iaabcjournal.org/...xzzA1tVZFejMFQ

Anthropomorphism is a bit too far to go for snakes, but you can't say they are stupid. They are do rely on instincts but so does every other animal and that doesn't mean they aren't intelligent. (Lots of people claim that they can LOSE their instincts, that's ridiculous if you ask me.) Those are great articles, by the way. Thanks for the reply.