Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
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.
v good counter-point, will have to think about this

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.
from my experiences so far i do think it’s a bit species dependent because while removing standard hides has been working for my Burms i think the opposite is true for my Afrocks who are real shy/flighty so hides have been essential to reduce stress and make them feel comfortable