Wiggles, the Children's Python

[Homebody]

I think this is part of why snakes get such a bad rap- we assume other animals visually identify everything the way we do, but I've seen it many times where a snake is a very short distance from us- maybe after we just set them down, but suddenly they don't recognize us & they lash out- mistaking us either for prey or a predator. It's the way their reptile brains work- I've always found that for me the best way not to get bit is by keeping a snake close to me. Once there is space between you, there's room for them to misinterpret & make mistakes. Scent & touch are to a snake what language is to us.

I just read this in Boas and Pythons of the World, "Snakes can detect motion owing to the structure of the retina, which is armed with more rods rather than cones, and provides vision similar to a mammal's peripheral vision with its 'all or nothing' response. They cannot detect colour or shape." Very illuminating.