hide box = socialization vs safety - Page 2

Captain837 · 01-07-18, 02:30 PM

Our womas and black-headed pythons are super active night and day. They are very inquisitive and when they see movement in the room they come toward the door to investigate. However when they sleep 9 times out of 10 they sleep in their hide.
Unless your animal was designed to hide in plain sight (gtp for example) it will have a desire or instinct to find shelter when it is most vulnerable.

kazz · 01-08-18, 08:44 AM

Captain837, ppl say the same type of snakes can have different behavior. So hides must affect on snakes's behavior.

DJC Reptiles · 01-08-18, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kazz

Captain837, ppl say the same type of snakes can have different behavior. So hides must affect on snakes's behavior.

Keep in mind all snakes underwent the process of millions of years of evolution. There is no such thing as fearless snakes because they were all picked off early on. Snakes like to feel comfortable, they like to feel secure, and if a hide box makes them feel secure, then who is the keeper, if he/she does not take care of their responsibilities properly. Hopefully we all knew going into this, snakes are not puppy dogs, they will probably never "love" you and only tolerate handling. As much as I like snakes, and as much as I want them to like me back, I am certain my snake would escape a cage and never be seen again, should I let that happen. Most snakes do not have the mental capacity to "love" a keeper, or to realize your not a threat when you walk in a room. For a snake, everything bigger then it is a potential predator, and without a place to hide all you are doing is making the snake scared and uncomfortable. Just because we want an animal to change, doesn't mean it will, and as a keeper it is his/her's responsibility to provide the best care and this means using a hide box. Just because a hide box is in a cage, does not mean it will always be in use, and it is up to the snake whether it wants to feel secure, or go exploring. I am not saying it can't work, I am saying it is irresponsible of any keeper to not let the snake do what it wants.

Captain837 · 01-08-18, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kazz

Captain837, ppl say the same type of snakes can have different behavior. So hides must affect on snakes's behavior.

I will agree that snakes can differe to a degree on an individual basis however basic survival instincts most likely are still in tact. If not the individual would be culled by nature. Now is there a chance that a specific been related to the desire to hide has changed and been able to survive due to it being in captivity? Possibly however the only way to know would be to watch the animal 24-7 and see if it ever utilizes the hide. Simply taking the hide away and seeing if it survives is irresponsible imo.

Jim Smith · 01-08-18, 01:52 PM

We need to keep in mind that animals can get used to situations to the point of not being afraid or feeling insecure. For example a animal sees a person and automatically flees the area to get away from a potential predator or threat. However, after seeing that person over a period of time, and seeing that they do not represent any danger, they stop fleeing the area. I live in an area where there are an over-abundance of deer. Normally deer will leave an area when they see people. These deer are so used to people and automobiles, that they just stop and look at you when you walk by and then resume eating. The same will happen with many reptiles. A snake will start to associate the person with food and come to the front of the enclosure. A turtle gets used to seeing me go by in my kayak and he stops plopping into the water when I get near him. All that said, it is still appropriate to offer hides to snakes so that they have a place to rest and feel secure if they need it. As much as we all like to see our snakes out and about in their enclosures, their husbandry needs MUST come first, period.

kazz · 01-10-18, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Smith

However, after seeing that person over a period of time, and seeing that they do not represent any danger, they stop fleeing the area.

7 month pass but my carpet still afraid of me and never go to her branches if there is a bit of light from table lamp. And keep in your mind she have only one side from glass other sides is black.

Quote:

A snake will start to associate the person with food and come to the front of the enclosure.

my carpet eat in full darkness only.
for 7 month she was strike her food one timed I was dancing around her about half of a hour and closed her hide bc she'd run away as far as I opened box cover.

jjhill001 · 01-14-18, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kazz

7 month pass but my carpet still afraid of me and never go to her branches if there is a bit of light from table lamp. And keep in your mind she have only one side from glass other sides is black.

my carpet eat in full darkness only.
for 7 month she was strike her food one timed I was dancing around her about half of a hour and closed her hide bc she'd run away as far as I opened box cover.

How often are you feeding your snake?

kazz · 01-14-18, 03:29 AM

jjhill001, every 5-6 days 30% of her weight. But after this thread I think may be to low prey to 20% weight.

jjhill001 · 01-14-18, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kazz

jjhill001, every 5-6 days 30% of her weight. But after this thread I think may be to low prey to 20% weight.

I can't specifically speak to carpet pythons as I've never kept that species. Due to my experience with snakes I've always been more of a feel guy in terms of prey size.

The problem with some of these feeding tables is that they are designed by breeders. They want to get snakes up to size so they can breed faster and maximize money. Now in my opinion there is nothing wrong with this as long as they don't go overboard. However it is completely unnecessary for the average keeper. I feed my rat snakes one medium sized mouse every 2 weeks. If you aren't breeding your snakes some of these schedules can result in fat snakes that look a bit ridiculous compared to snakes that have a natural slender (not starving or skinny) body line.

The rule I've gone by is the prey has to be about the same size as the middle of the snake. As I've been educated by some ball python keepers this can result in WAY too big of food for some of the heavier bodied snakes out there. Something that I as a colubrid keeper didn't really consider too much.

However, carpets are one of the more slender python species so I imagine that smaller prey than you would think, less often than probably commonly recommended would work just fine.

kazz · 01-14-18, 05:03 AM

Quote:

If you aren't breeding your snakes some of these schedules can result in fat snakes that look a bit ridiculous compared to snakes that have a natural slender (not starving or skinny) body line.

yeah
I was worried about her fat so I made a video and showed on another snake forum. They say she looks excellent )
I don't think yang snake can be fat or can ?

Quote:

However, carpets are one of the more slender python species so I imagine that smaller prey than you would think, less often than probably commonly recommended would work just fine.

take a look at that ) http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/morel...tml#post901934

jjhill001 · 01-14-18, 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kazz

yeah
I was worried about her fat so I made a video and showed on another snake forum. They say she looks excellent )
I don't think yang snake can be fat or can ?

What do you mean by yang snake?

kazz · 01-14-18, 05:30 AM

jjhill001, while snake don't get her almost max size. While they are babies.