Tips & Tricks

[Bogertophis]

actually started doing this with my female by accident since she has recently outgrown the largest hide i could currently find with her and i would have to say - i do think there is v much something to this because i have noticed she doesn’t get “territorial” let’s say, in the same manner as she ordinarily would

I wonder if the issue is really being "territorial"? I think it's more likely that now (without the hide) she's not caught off guard? It does make sense to me that hides might make a snake, or some snakes anyway, feel more defensive- hides give the illusion of privacy & snakes may "forget" that we're still lurking nearby. Snakes evolved with these instincts (to hide) & we weren't originally in the picture.

I don't keep giant pythons so the question of providing hides might well be different for them. All my snakes have hides, but snakes like rat snakes are so nosy (frequently watching me- I'm obviously very entertaining ), they're not surprised by my occasional invasion of their space. It sounds like a good thing to consider (for safety) when dealing with very large snakes.