There is range or degrees of bonding.



First off, bonding or pair bonding, is most likely a poor word to use, but its all we have for now. I guess I could make up a word thats like bonding only REPTILE bonding.



First, you have group behavior. This is normally a function of nesting. Snakes such as rattlesnakes are live born, and volunterily stay together for a period of time, What in reality, they clump together out were we can see them. Colubrids, hatch from eggs and they do very much the same, that is, they stay in the nest chamber for a period of time. When they do this, they scent bond with the clutchmates.



With both rattlesnakes and colubrids, they stay together until after the first shed, Then they expand their range. They do not deperse out of control. Most written material does not state what happens after that, they just assume what happens.



What we see is, yes, they no longer stay coiled together, but they stay near their clutchmates and we do find them together in pairs, now and then. They just don't crawl away willy nilly. They also follow and use the same shelters.



Colubrids do the same.



Examples that can be used are, many studies have been done on rattlesnake dens. The common result when Mdna is compared, dens are make up of related individuals, with a common mother. So your seeing generations of offspring using the same sites, both winter(dens) and summer, foraging areas. Again, this is true for most colubrids.



With colubrids such as kings, its very difficult to see this as its done mostly underground or IN, crevices, hollows, holes, etc.



What we DO see is, pairs returning to set areas, and these pairs are normally the same male with the same female, and somethings trios. Usually reverse trios, 2.1. These groups, generally last 8 years, this was with tharyeri, pyros, and lyresnakes. The species I watched. The gilas I have watched have stayed in pairs much longer, 32 and still going for the longest pair. Diamondback rattlesnakes are also long lived and work in colonies, of several males and several females. We have watched the same pairs for 25 years and counting.



Now captivity, if you raise sexual pairs of kings together, you can do all manner of tests to observe bonding. But please, do not go overboard.



Many here want to argue and not understand, nature does not have are laws, nor do they get married. Even married people, screw around. and some don't come back. Its behavior. Understand that.



Thats look at examples of bonding, the first is attending. Both in nature and in captivity bonded pairs, attend eachother for long periods of time, not just to copulate. If you have a group cage, you will find the Male A attending female B, for long periods of time and other males will stay away. When Female B cycles, she will copulate with male A and tail wag(refuse) to other males. Thats were they press the vent down and move away from the unwanted males. Womas and some other pythons do this by hairpinning the tail. So the tail cannot be lifted up.



When a female is receptive to a male, she cloacal gapes, that is, she lifts her tail up and opens her cloaca up. This is not done to unwanted males.



Not to be gross, but bonded females will only copulate with their chosen male, early in their cycle, but late in their cycle, they will copulate with any male, or a doorknob for that matter. Sorry but true, female colubrids will cloacal gape late in the cycle by you touching their back and pulsating you hand. I told you it was going to get gross.



The reasons for bonding is very simple, its reliable. The concept that snakes roam aimlessly is, come on, downright stupid. No offense, but it is. Once you understand the numbers of snakes out there, Ask Paul, if they roamed aimlessly, they would be everywhere.



The main problem is YOUR understanding of snakes. You mentioned brain power, like they could not do that. To me thats academic. What does it matter what you or I think, when they DO it. The point is, they do it. They do not behavior aimlessly.



Behavior is WHAT AN ANIMAL DOES, the body is what it does it with. An animal in a shoe or sweaterbox, has no behavior, there is no need for behavior. You the keeper has taken that away.



The reality is, behavior IS the animal. But I wander almost aimlessly.

[ Show Entire Thread ]