Posted by:
Rob Lewis
at Sat Feb 2 10:18:21 2008 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Rob Lewis ]
Thanks I appreciate the info. I do try to handle my snakes somewhat regularly but for me that means 2-3 minutes every couple of days for visual inspections. Not what I would call excessive.
I would say, though, that in my opinion the idea of snakes being conditioned to bite the hand that feeds them can be overated. Over the years I have worked with hundreds of snakes and I don't think I would have ever considered one of them to be conditioned to cage opening equals food equals strike blindly. Cages are opened many times where no food is present in the course of basic husbandry and I think if this is being done it would be very difficult for a snake to become conditioned in that way. This is not to say that snakes can not have a strong feeding response, nor to say that I have never been bitten in a feeding accident. Just that I am not sure that it was a result of conditioning as much as the scent of thawing food or food scent on my hands.
Just some thoughts. As I said, I have just never worked with Hondurans so I was trying to get an idea of what to expect. Thanks again. I appreciate the input.
Rob
>>I feel it's always a good idea to handle your snakes regularly. A snake that sees a hand only at feeding time will become "conditioned" to associate the hand with food and will inevitably wind up striking at some point in a feeding response. That could happen with even the most docile snake.
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>>All but the most nervous babies will settle down after a few minutes of being held. Try to handle them once a week other then feeding time and you really should be fine.
>>-----
>>"The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think. Oh by the way, which ones pink?"
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RE: Question about Honduran behavior - Rob Lewis, Sat Feb 2 10:18:21 2008