Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Stress is a term and concept often used in snake care books and in general herp discussions. Would anyone like to provide a technical definition?
I assume refusing to eat is a sign of stress. What else is considered the behavior of a stressed-out snake?

One of our least favorite is, of course, puking. A "stressed-out" snake is far more likely to regurgitate its meal than one living under more acceptable conditions.

I think stress in reptiles is produced by conditions that are less than ideal.

examples:

incorrect temps
too cramped
dirty cage
not a good hiding place
sharing a cage with another animal (not always, but it can)
general fear of confinement

etc etc

When snakes are stressed, they may refuse to eat, they may regurgitate, they may bite, they may rub their nose raw trying to escape their cage, strike at the glass ...etc

Excess stress causes reduces immunity in their bodies to ward off disease and infection. Snakes that may have been doing fine with a certain amount of parasites in their system may get much worse and even die with stress as a factor.

In the wild, snakes can choose to do what they need to in order to satisfy their needs. In captivity, we need to know what their needs are and take care of them.

Failing to do so creates a very stressed out animal that knows it cannot satisfy it's most basic needs but can do nothing about it.

When handling a snake, observation of their behavior is one of the best ways to note mild handling-related stress.
A snake that looks for a pocket or other place to hide in is sort of stressed (though mildly).
A snake that moves actively from hand to hand possibly to escape may also be stressed. (the exceptions of course are hyper or very active types or inquisitive ones just checking things out.)
Alternately a (healthy and sufficiently warm) snake that sits in the hand calmly, possibly twining around fingers or wrists for support is probably not stressed.
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0.2 chickens
0.2 dog mutts (half ownership, only mine when they misbehave)
0.1 Halflinger horse
0.0 reptiles due to living with
1.1 parents
Still searching for 1.0 WC human

When dealing with captive animals we are concerned with two types of stress, psychological and physical. There is also emotional stress but I do not believe this is an issue with these animals. If any exists it can be included in the psychological category. Stress is anything that can have a negative consequence for the animal in question. A stressor is anything that produces stress. Examples of psychological stressors are insecurity, improper light cycles, rough or improper handling etc. Physical stressors include such things as unhealthy temperatures, dirty water, poor diet etc. There are many other examples in each category and they often overlap. The significance of individual stressors is also highly variable between species in question. I think DeanAlessandrini and Drosera have provided good information on symptoms and I will only add one point. When evaluating behavior as a sign of stress look for behavior that is either atypical for the species or a marked change from the individual specimen’s norm.

Productive stress, or ustress, is most commonly associated with human psychology. Ustress is any type of stress than is dealt with in a way that provides greater benefit. Exercise is a form of ustress. Hunger is a form of stress. When acute hunger leads an animal to improves its skill and ability at hunting (or foraging) hunger falls into the category of ustress. When hunger is chronic and causes malnutrition and depression, it becomes distress.

Wild animals also experience many stressors which can be fatal or productive. In captivity we have an obligation to recognize the stressors and correct them. Indeed this is one of the satisfactions of seeing your animal thrive. One of the reasons some species are very difficult in captivity is that they are very sensitive to even minor stressors and their stress is difficult to manage. These species are for the advanced keeper and some species just do not belong in captivity. I wish more people would take these things into consideration when choosing a pet, either wc or cb. We also see quite a few dealers who offer difficult species without information of this fact. This can be very deceiving and later heart wrenching for the new hobbyist, not to mention the injustice to the animal itself.

Randy
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Firehouse Herps

When dealing with captive animals we are concerned with two types of stress, psychological and physical. There is also emotional stress but I do not believe this is an issue with these animals. If any exists it can be included in the psychological category. Stress is anything that can have a negative consequence for the animal in question. A stressor is anything that produces stress. Examples of psychological stressors are insecurity, improper light cycles, rough or improper handling etc. Physical stressors include such things as unhealthy temperatures, dirty water, poor diet etc. There are many other examples in each category and they often overlap. The significance of individual stressors is also highly variable between species in question. I think DeanAlessandrini and Drosera have provided good information on symptoms and I will only add one point. When evaluating behavior as a sign of stress look for behavior that is either atypical for the species or a marked change from the individual specimen’s norm.

Productive stress, or ustress, is most commonly associated with human psychology. Ustress is any type of stress than is dealt with in a way that provides greater benefit. Exercise is a form of ustress. Hunger is a form of stress. When acute hunger leads an animal to improves its skill and ability at hunting (or foraging) hunger falls into the category of ustress. When hunger is chronic and causes malnutrition and depression, it becomes distress.

Wild animals also experience many stressors which can be fatal or productive. In captivity we have an obligation to recognize the stressors and correct them. Indeed this is one of the satisfactions of seeing your animal thrive. One of the reasons some species are very difficult in captivity is that they are very sensitive to even minor stressors and their stress is difficult to manage. These species are for the advanced keeper and some species just do not belong in captivity. I wish more people would take these things into consideration when choosing a pet, either wc or cb. We also see quite a few dealers who offer difficult species without information of this fact. This can be very deceiving and later heart wrenching for the new hobbyist, not to mention the injustice to the animal itself.

Randy
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Firehouse Herps

Stress is having your "petrified of snakes" hubby find out there is a snake loose in the house and he will be home in an hour! LOL