Posted by:
Patton
at Sat Feb 2 12:15:49 2008 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Patton ]
Rob,
I agree! I check on my snakes on a daily basis. This means that I just pull their tub from the rack and inspect their bowls for water and see if I need to spot clean any substrate. On average I add water to their bowls every 2-3 days and change their substrate as needed, meaning a partial change, and a complete substrate and tub cleaning every couple of months. I have a pretty good sized collection, about 150 snakes. I feed my neo-to-yearlings about 2-3 times a week, and my adults 1-2 times a week.
Now, with all this activity, I find it completely obsurd that any snake in my collection could be "conditioned" for a feeding responce every time a tub opens. I do not hold every snake in my collection on a regular basis. I find that they are generally better feeders the less they are handled, especially as newborns.
Some of my newborns are very dossil, even though they are not held often, and I also have some snakes that even as adults are nothing but attitude as soon as the tub is opened. A large adult male Scarlet King comes to mind. He will fly out of the tub and bite the first thing he comes in contact with, meanwhile flinging feces everywhere. LOL!! Every snake is an individual. Most Hondurans are jumpy as neonates, but do calm down as adults, but I have seen some that are calm as neos and some that are complete beasts as adults. I think for the "conditioning" theory to work, your husbandry would be very minimal at best.
-Phil
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Work is the curse
of the drinking class!
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RE: Question about Honduran behavior - Patton, Sat Feb 2 12:15:49 2008