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I have a 5 ft burm i noticed every time i reach in the cage he kind of follows my hand anywhere I put it. He'll crawl through my hand and fingers. He is very very alert compared to my bp. Is that just his personality or are all burms like that? Thanks

Both of mine are like that. I always figured it was a "hey, you gonna feed me now?" type of response.
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~Sara~
"If you look down on me, I am evil, If you look up to me, I am God, if you look straight at me, I Am you"
-Charles Manson

Most burms have a lot of personality. Most of mine come to the front of the cage and watch us when we walk into the room. I don't think it's a feeding response, they will have a lump in them from just eating and still do it. When I open their cages, they want to come out and cruise. I have one girl that will sometimes slowly move her tail side to side (kind of like wagging) when we walk into the room. It's pretty funny to watch. One of my female dwarfs has earned the name DLG (daddy's little girl) because when I walk into the room she always pops her head up to watch what I'm doing, sometimes she will do it for my wife, my wife is the one that feeds her so it's not a feeding response.

Burms seem to each have their own personalities.

Randy
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Randy and Michelle
Art In Scales
(719) 439-4199
info@artinscales.com

I think I have to disagree with you on that one but I could be wrong. I think it is the hunter and hider in them, see whats going on and then hide or strike. Don't try this but if you put your hand in right away, its going to get bit. They pop up to see what is going on. My understanding is that a snake is not like a dog. They do not know who feeds them and who does not. They are curious and hunters. Thats what they do and pretty good, they are not social animals that beg to be let out of their cage when you get home to be handled. I had one guy tell me once while tryig to sell me a retic that his snake begs to be held. They prefer to be left alone. I never understood the wagging tail thing. Mine did this and I always was more cautious when I saw this.

Good Topic.
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0.2 Rotts
1.0 Super Tiger
1.0 Amel Retic
0.1 Ball Python
0.1 Red Tail
0.1 Blood Python
1.0 Green Ananconda
1.0 Emerald Tree Boa

Actually, I think you or Randy could be right, I think it could go either way.

While burmese pythons don't have the most personality of all snakes, they do have a bit of personality. And each one can be different. But before I get into that let me point out the most important issue of this thread.

I'm not the overly cautious, overly protective, type, by far. I can barely spell the word "fear," much less tell you what it means. Ha! But as I got older I realized there's a difference between "fear" and "respect."

> > > "I have a 5 ft burm i noticed every time i reach in the cage..."

Not a good habit to get into, reaching into any snake or animal's cage. It's THEIR homeland, THEIR territory, and you enter upon THEIR conditions.

Yes, I've done it many a times, and still do from time to time, but I'm very careful not to make it a habit. I just want to make sure everyone thinks about it. For the average male, any snake over 10ft can do more than just hurt.

Now, back to what a sanke could have on it's mind.

> > > "Is that just his personality or are all burms like that?"

All burmese pythons have a personality, but they vary from snake to snake. Some are more trusting & outgoing than others, which usually makes them a bit more inquisitive. Some are more defensive, some are more timid.

It's very important to learn to read your captive animals' behavior. It takes time to do so but you watch their actions & reactions to various things and sooner or later you'll figure out what's on their mind enough to know when to leave 'em alone or when to continue doing what you're doing.

As for tail-twitching or tail-wagging, I've never seen a burmese python do it, but I've seen many colubrids do it. And not the first one of them were being playful, as far as being "jolly."

I firmly believe that it's a sign of being nervous. It may not mean that the snake is about to strike, they could be all worked up thinking about getting taken out of their cage or all worked up thinking about getting fed, etc...

Kind of like how some burmese pythons are hissers, always hissing when handled but never striking, the same could go for the tail-twitching.

Ya'll take care!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

I agree with both of you in the fact that you should never stick your hands in the cage. We always use a hook to at least get their attention to let them know there is no food coming into the cage.

What I meant by "tail wagging" is a very slow movement from side to side, not like colubrids when they are imitating a rattlesnake. We have corns, so I know exactly what you mean.

I agree with Mike in the fact that you have to learn to read your snakes. There is a definite difference in "feed me" mode and "curiosity" mode. With ours, "feed me" mode - they have their nose on the glass just waiting for that door to open. In "curiosity" mode - they tend to lift their heads to see what you are doing.

I don't buy into the theory that reptiles in general do not have emotions or recognize individual people. They have a great sense of smell. I used to have a 12 foot male burm that when I would take him outdoors, place him in the middle of the yard and walk a short distance away, sit down. He would raise his head as if to find me, then could crawl directly to me and curl up on me.

We had a pair of iguanas that were raised together for several years. The male died on the floor of the cage, (cage was 4X4X6 feet)the female came down and stood over his body. After removing him, she stayed in the area where he had passed for several days. After that she became so mean no one could deal with her anymore, so we gave her to a local pet shop for display only.

Maybe I am looking into this too deeply. These are just my experiences and am not looking to start any debates or arguements.

Randy
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Randy and Michelle
Art In Scales
(719) 439-4199
info@artinscales.com

Hey Randy!
I was talking/thinking about the same kind of tail action that you were, not the rattler imitation that most often means "I've got somethin' for ya." Ha!

It does look kinda like a playful twitching, wagging, and I don't remember ever seeing any hostile actions along with it. But I still believe it's something to do with nerves, getting worked up in some sense or another, etc, and not a frolicking emotion, per se. But the last I checked I still didn't have my Masters in herpetology. Hahahaha!!!

As far as snakes being capable of showing, having, emotions, I've experienced things here & there that makes me wonder. Scientists say that snakes either are missing the part of the brain that deals in emotions or it's undeveloped, one; I can't remember.

I had 2 wild-caught corns (3ft & 4ft) in the same tank for several months. I shipped one of them to off and the other one acted just like it missed it's cagemate. Listless for the next few weeks, wouldn't eat, moved slow when it moved at all, etc... Dang near broke my heart watching him.

After thinking a lot about it I narrowed it down to 2 possibilities.
(1) - It was lonely, heartbroken. Showing emotional capabilities.
(2) - It felt insecure, as in maybe the two watched each other's back. Now it was all alone again for the first time in several months it could've been stressed from insecurity.

Which one was it? I may never know. But that won't stop me from keeping an open mind.

Later!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

This is a fun thread!

Personally, I wouldn't stick my hand in my 12ft Burm's cage. I also use a hook on anything over 5ft. Mine doesn't watch you when you enter the room, but if you approach his cage, he becomes very interested. I'm not sure what kind of response it is because I haven't had him long enough to read him on that intimate of a level, KWIM? Most of what I see from him is, "I am bigger than you, I am the Snake Lord...you silly humans are here to do my bidding." He's very huffy and seems to just tolerate us for the most part.

I do believe that reptiles are easily conditioned...that's why we use hooks with snakes. They learn to associate certain behaviors that we throw at them with feeding or handling. I have an alligator that is clicker trained for feeding and I'm the only one who feeds him. Oh yeah, he knows it's me when I walk by his cage in the evening! I get a much different response than other people walking by his cage. We also have tegus that are either clicker trained or paper trained for feeding. When my Colombian tegu is on her paper in the kitchen, she knows it's feeding time. (Same for the Argentine.) Snakes generally have a weaker sense of vision, but have a great sense of smell. I believe that they recognize us as well. Each of our bodies will throw a different outline to them coupled with our unique smell. If one person consistently feeds them, they can be recognized by the snake as "The Feeder Who Provides Manna From Heaven."

Debates are good, and I agree with HH, last time I checked I did not have my masters in Herp or even a Bach in it either. For that matter not even an associates, I think yall are getting the point.

All snakes are different and who knows. They have developed over the years to adjust to things. In fact they are one of the longest living creatures and maybe they continue to develop in ways we will never know.

No agrument here just hearing stories and seeing the other side.

The tail wagging freaked me out. Just seeing it, and then it almost looked like my burm was smiling when she did it, like come here, your mine. Haahahah

Oh, ya placed my burm in the back yard, Never again. Never saw her move so fast in my life as she was almost on the roof of my house as I wreslted her down. Then she sprayed, you could smell that stuff all over.
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0.2 Rotts
1.0 Super Tiger
1.0 Amel Retic
0.1 Ball Python
0.1 Red Tail
0.1 Blood Python
1.0 Green Ananconda
1.0 Emerald Tree Boa

I don't think my burm has a fast speed. His turbo speed seems to be about 1 foot per minute, LOL! How big is your Burm? Maybe it's still easily spooked because of it's age. On the other hand, I have a large tegu that likes to bask outside but turns into a pistol when you try to get her out of the basking cage.

She was 13 ft and about 100lbs. She passed away in Feb this year, and it crushed me. She was only 4.
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0.2 Rotts
1.0 Super Tiger
1.0 Amel Retic
0.1 Ball Python
0.1 Red Tail
0.1 Blood Python
1.0 Green Ananconda
1.0 Emerald Tree Boa