Reptile & Amphibian Forums

...I got my first blood in the 80's.Then,very few sources were available for info.So when he was near sexual maturity,the 'honking' started.He was next to my bed,in an aquarium.(I know,we've come along way since then).Very audible.Of course I thought Resp.Infection..The docs' didn't know squat then in Va..We are so lucky now.Especially when we got 'blessed' with the Barkers.They are so easy to talk with,be it a novice or a herpetologist,they are always willing to help and share their great knowledge.Now we have so many advanced keepers opening up to us,like Grant VG,Corey,Robyn,to name a few.NOW,who has a "honking" story on Old Red.I never read much about their "verbal" skills,could'nt find any written info..Mine honked at night,usually more in Nov/Dec when days were shorter.He would sometimes huff and puff when he knew he was getting fed,(I hand fed him fresh kill,he would not coil.He never killed anything.).The females I had in the years that followed never "honked",that I heard anyhow.I had a friend's adult male I kept for a little while that came at me like the cottonmouth moccasin's threat display.He exhaled hard,with mouth open,and "sprayed" me with salvia and a loud hiss.Pure threat only,he didn't bite.All the females bit now and again.Anyway,what are your experiences?Thanks Blooders,Jason

When humidty is too low for proper shed, they do get retained shed in their nostrils that forces them to exhale through their mouth with force. I have a male borneo that suffers from this. It appears to be similar to an allergy since I think their is still small amounts of nasal discharge and no signs of bacteria.

He is the only one that does it in my collection and he is a male. I have one other male, but he does not make any noise other than his irritated hiss when I take him out. My population of short-tails is 2.4 with another 1.0 on the way and I have had 2.2 others in the past. Only the males appear to be show offs.

STP have interesting aggressive behaviors in my experience. My females will recoil their body into a tight coil when they don't want to come out, however, the boys spring out straight. Ever see the game Q-Bert, that is what a p-o'd short-tail can be like on the ground. Pretty funny to see a 25lb 5.5ft snake rise 2 feet off the ground!

Yeah, I just get the generic hiss, but I only have a female Borneo STP...
However, she does do the classic "bump" maneuver, only with far greater power than you would expect. When she doesn't want to come out, she presses against the sides to trap herself in, if I persist, she heaves whatever bit of coil my hand touches against quite violently with far greater force than when I have seen retics or burms do this. Once in hand, calm as can be, she settles right down. She use to do this to signal disinterest in food as well- if I lightly brushed the prey against a coil and she didn't become interested, she would shove the dead rate away.