Let you tell me my story... Two nights ago I was cleaning my boas cage... When she makes a mess, I sterilize the entire cage, and she gets a bath. Now I've had her a very long time, so she knows the drill. She weighed in at 48 lbs before I put her in the tub (just to give you an idea of why this got my attention lol)... She absolutely hates the tub, but she tolerates it... Kinda... She's a total sweetheart, never snapped or bitten at anyone.
I am always extremely delicate and deliberate when handling snakes. If you are reading this, you know why. But on this night I had to wrangle her back into the tub a few times, and she was getting really squirmy. As she was getting a little fired up I decided to grab her about a foot below the head. She very casually and deliberately opened her mouth and moved it right over to my hand that was holding her below the head... When she got a few inches from my wrist, she stopped and looked back at me, right in the eyes. I got the feeling she was thinking "Seriously dude... Don't make me mess you up man... I'd prefer not to do this"... I casually let go, and then she casually closed her mouth.
I am well aware that with most snakes you don't want to train them to show aggression by letting them have their way... But as the scenarios ran through my head in that split second I decided that "taking the hit" under those circumstances would have been a poor choice for both of us... and from her actions I think I read her intentions correctly.
...and yes...bath time was over lol.
Who says reptiles don't have any personality?
It made me think of Noelle's recent Snakes have social skills? thread.
I am always extremely delicate and deliberate when handling snakes. If you are reading this, you know why. But on this night I had to wrangle her back into the tub a few times, and she was getting really squirmy. As she was getting a little fired up I decided to grab her about a foot below the head. She very casually and deliberately opened her mouth and moved it right over to my hand that was holding her below the head... When she got a few inches from my wrist, she stopped and looked back at me, right in the eyes. I got the feeling she was thinking "Seriously dude... Don't make me mess you up man... I'd prefer not to do this"... I casually let go, and then she casually closed her mouth.
I am well aware that with most snakes you don't want to train them to show aggression by letting them have their way... But as the scenarios ran through my head in that split second I decided that "taking the hit" under those circumstances would have been a poor choice for both of us... and from her actions I think I read her intentions correctly.
...and yes...bath time was over lol.
Who says reptiles don't have any personality?
It made me think of Noelle's recent Snakes have social skills? thread.
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