Reptile & Amphibian Forums

He just shed so i thought i'd share a pic

Man, why would you hold a snake up off of the ground by its tail??? Seems like a good way to dislocate a vertebrae.

why wouldnt i hold it like that??? Got any idea what prehensile means???

Umm, yes, I actually do understand the meaning of the word "prehensile". The term, which is defined as "adapted for seizing or grasping especially by wrapping around" does in no way imply that it is healthy for an animal to support its entire weight by the tip of its tail. The term "prehensile" only means that an animal can use its tail to grasp or wrap around an object. It has no bearing on the animals ability to support its own weight by performing such feat.

They are deffinetly capable of hanging from their tail if they choose to...thats what its for. If what you claim is true than all the arboreal snakes who hang from their tails and eat would all have dislocated vertabrae. I am not forcing my snake to be in that position..he did it himself...he is perfectly capable of coming back up on himself if he wanted to.
And i'm not holding him by the tip of the tail either

Their tail is for hanging from? Really? I defy you to find supportive text of that. For use as support, sure, for anchorage, yeah, but hanging? I don't think so. Just because a snake is arboreal does not mean that it hangs suspended from trees by the last 3 inches of its tail. That's a ridiculous argument. And besides, the snake in your pic is not strictly arboreal...

how's this
A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has been adapted for use as a "fifth hand". Fully prehensile tails can be used to hold and manipulate objects, and in particular to aid arboreal creatures in finding and eating food in the trees. If the tail cannot be used for this it is considered only partially prehensile - such tails are often used to anchor an animal's body to or dangle from a branch, or as an aid to climbing.
Who ever said i was holding it by the last 3" of its tail?
And as far as being only partially arboreal he is no less arboreal than my ATB so how is that not very arboreal?

I saw a video of a large carpet python hanging by its tail from a tree while it killed and at a bat that flew by. The entire body was supported by about the last 18 inches of its tail. Three toed sloth's hang by their tail as do prehensile tail skinks and many primates. Look at all the TV herpetologists that grab snakes by the tip of their tails and lift them up that way. Maybe there's a snake chiropractor out there making millions.

Sure, let's use entertainment television and it's celebrity herpers as a guide to proper snake handling. Yeah, that makes sense...
And I said 3" because that's what you appear to be holding in the picture, but okay to be fair it could be 5", which is very different from the 18" mentioned in the previous post. And we are not talking about 3-toed sloths, prehensile tail skinks, or primates. We're discussing snakes, medium to heavy bodied snakes at that; and the related issue of supporting the snake's entire body weight by suspending it by the end of it's tail.
But hey, if you think that the snake digs it, than who am I to judge. Why not just swing it over your head like a lasso and say you're giving it a helicopter ride. Who knows, maybe that happens in the wild too...

snakes are defined as arboreal by species, the fact that your snake may like to climb branches and sit on an elevated perch does not make it arboreal...FYI

I own 7 carpets, and I can tell you they are arboreal. They hang from the branches by their tails and snag large prey off the bottom of their cages and eat while suspended by their tails. If that is not arboreal then nothing is. Some of them are very large and I have not had to get a chiro treatment on any of them yet..........Robin

Ouch, don't hold that poor guy like that. At least let it get a coil or two around your hand. Don't hold the guy at his vent!!! That is too much weight. You will never see a carpet hang by the last 2 inches of tail. Neonates might try, but not for long. Give more support, let him have a least a coil to before you let him hang. If you were not squeezing the tail he could not hold on with that little about. And a snake is not prehensile. Chamleons are.

from dictionary.com

pre·hen·sile (pr-hnsl, -sl)
adj.

Adapted for seizing, grasping, or holding, especially by wrapping around an object.

Many snakes have prehensile tails, including carpets.

Maybe checking one's facts is a good thing before throwing out criticicsm, especially by one who was complaining about all the criticism on this forum.
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Jim

i dont think the point has gotten across yet... snakes of that size do not support themselves in the wild by the last few inches of their tail... expecially when hanging down that far...
i agree that they hang down to get their prey but they will have a coil or two around the branch to accomidate for that much weight...
he says that the snake did it himself and if thats the case then it must not have been hurting the snake...

but i personally would try not to hold my snakes that way...

you have a beautiful snake...

I am glad we have all these experts on this forum like shively, Mayo, and shhawke. You guys are a bunch of hypocrites! You can dish it out, but you can't take it. I heard all this whining on the other post about what a jerk JimO and I were and look at you guys criticizing Jason. Face it, all you guys are as igonorant as they come. If it's not your way, it's the highway. Grow up. There is nothing wrong with what Jason is doing by holding the snake like that. It's not like he was holding the snake hours on end, but rather just using his body for scale to give you an idea of the length of the snake. You guys are better off keeping your mouth shut rather than babbling off all this nonsense. It's obvious none of you know what you are talking about. You just steal someone elses idea and pass it off as your own in an attempt to sound intelligent.

Um, dude, take a chill pill.

Frankly, turning this into a personal argument that relates more to another thread than the subject at hand is ridiculous. The fact of the matter is, Jason is perfectly welcome to hold his snake that way until the cows come home, but I personally would never hold one of mine that way. Taking that a bit further, if any of you yahoos were to presume to hold one of *my* snakes that way on the mistaken presumption that a leetle bit of tail is designed to hold a whole lot of weight would swiftly find themselves missing a hand.

That said, do carry on showing off for the camera.

how is it that we are hypocrites??? all i said was that the snake would not normaly suport himself without wraping around the branch a few times... and i also said that if the snake did it to himself then it must not be hurting the snake...
all i said that might be in question was that i would personally not do it to one of my snakes...

you seem to enjoy attacking other peoples comments...
we are all here with out own ideas on how things should work so i dont see the point of jumping down someones throught for stating something that they would not do with their own snake...

shiloh

I have never claimed to be an expert, not have I been a hypocrit. I have not personally attacked, that is your job. But as someone else said, if someone picked up one of "my" snakes like that, I would pop them in the face. Holding a snake by the tail between the vent and the tip is not a good idea in my "opinion".

And from all my college classes in biology and zoology, I would not use the word prehensile. Sure you can, it fits loosely, but I don't agree that a snakes tail acts as a 5th hand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehensile_tail

I am going to go back to enjoying my snakes to myself. Too many want-to-be tough guys and no it alls here. Why do you two ruin it for all here? No other message board on kingsnake is so full of arrogance. I don't even consider asking for advice here because I will be called and idiot or stupid or something similar. Keep up your computer chair tough-guy image. I am sick of it all. Nobody posts pictures here like they used to because of all the jerks.

Matt

i agree with matt...

i'm out of here... this is obviousley your room... its not worth all the crap...

shiloh

Try looking up supercilious. Sound like anyone you know?

Now Joe, there is need to get into personal name calling. He made a rude comment and didn't have a clue as to what the word "prehensile" means. And he was wrong as well about snakes being prehensile. His suggestion was that only chameleons are prehensile. Someone less knowledgeable than yourself might have read that and become misinformed.

I generally do not correct someone with my own definitions. An objective reference source is generally much more palatable. Besides, before I look something up the possibility exists that I am the one who is mistaken.

As for your post, it was super-silly-ous. Grow up. As for me, I would rather be judged supercilious than ignorant and immature, two adjectives that describe far too many people here.
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Jim

Sorry if that hurt anyone's feelings. Did you know you said there IS need in your post?

are u talking to me???

My omission of course. No harm, no foul on your part. Please excuse any offense taken from what I said. We're square as far as I am concerned.

Thanks.
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Jim