Hello all.

I am new to the world of snake caring, and I have one major question. How do you condition a snakes behavior?

With mammals and rodents it is quite simple. You give them a treat if they do something good, or you take something away if they do something bad. But how does this work for snakes? How can I reward a snake for good behavior or punish them for bad behavior? I mean, they don't exactly eat often so I wouldn't expect that throwing them a pinky would work.

Let me explain my situation further. I am a new intern at an agriscience center. They received a donation of snakes a few months ago (before I got there). There are 20 total, varying breeds: boa constrictors, ball pythons, red-tailed baby boas, corn snakes, kingsnakes, bull snakes, milksnakes...typical domestic snakes. These snakes are not used to being handled...at all, really. The animal caretaker is afraid of snakes, and doesn't really know how to take care of them anyways. We have done lots of research, and have everything figured out but this question about conditioning.

Since the snakes are not used to being handled, it is my job to take them out and hold them and whatnot so that they get used to their captivity. They get spooked and defensive very easily though, and I think that if I could find a way to reward them for not biting (or even punish them for biting, maybe), then the process will go along much better.

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