Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm just wondering. Lets say you were to hold a dog or cat early in the day, it was rubbing on your shirt and everything. You washed your hands, or used a hand sanitizer before holding the snake, but the smell is still on your clothes. Would the snake go into a feeding response? I know snakes aren't attracted to ferrets from the musky odor they put out, but would still be attracted by the movement. I know my Green x Yellow would love to eat a dog, because it would love to eat anything that moves, which puts a damper on the day, but Just out of curiousity, mainly because my dog just came in my room, and the green x yellow conda is poking his head out of his water, and looking through the glass now.
~Ben

yea if its got fur its snake food. rats are fed dog food so are dogs im shore they both have a similar smell to a snake.

CrazyCody
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I'm CrazyCody KadunkKadunk!!! I'm a herp god!!!

Kadunk was here

CrazyCody

I play with my dog all day and wrestle it and then go wash my hands and the snake does not go into feeding response. But, when she use to walk in the room the snake would poke its head up to watch her. I think given the chance the snake would go after it. Ferrit I do not know about, as far as holding it and then getting nailed. I go back to that show the big squeeze and the one guy handled his chincila or somthing like that and then got hit. Now I dont know if it was because he reached in there or he smelled like it. I know tend to beleive he reached in there but in my mind better to be safe then sorry and use that handsantizer and wash the hands.

The dog was there first so I always smelled like her so maybe they got use to that smell.
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0.1 Rott
1.0 Super Tiger
0.1 Green Burm
0.1 Ball Python
0.1 Red Tail
0.1 Blood Python

I have 5 dogs and have never had a problem with any of my snakes going into feeding response from me handling the dogs or them going into my snake room. I do believe if given the chance my bigger snakes would make a snack out of the smaller dogs though, but havnt seen any type of feeding response. One time I had my big burm out in the hallway and I turned my head for maybe 30 seconds and my little jack russell had ran up the stairs and started sniffing the burms neck, but still no feeding response. Not too sure why somthing bad didn't happen, luck most likely.

It seems my anacondas don't exhibit a feeding response and take the food items slowly and seem to recognize food by sight as opposed to scent. Now my retics are another story-LOL. I have a 16 foot female normal that is very docile and friendly as far as a retic goes. She does have an awesome feeding response inside the cage until it is canceled by a hook. Usually she is very trustworthy in handling as she has bit only one time: One of my son's friends was over and wanted to see her-she is friendly towards strangers. My son was holding her and she slowly extended her head to the friend's forearm and paused just flicking her tongue-appearing to be attracted to the arm. Then almost in slow motion openend her mouth and bit the foerarm and began to coil. She thn let go and looked side to side as if confused. Put her back into the cage with out further incident. The bite caused very little injury for a big retic-just a few light tooth marks with minimal bleeding. She really did not chomp down. I asked the young man if he had dogs or cats. He said that his cat was laying on that arm for awhile just before coming to see the snakes. I believe the retic focussed on the scent of the cat and was trying to just eat the arm and let go when tasting a human. She has never done this again. Bill

There is a difference,studies were done in 85 by a friend of mine while working on his phd.Just as we know switching from mice to rats sometimes can be difficult,and later rats to rabbits,its because they actualy smell different,some snakes never switch,most do.
Anywho,the experiment was with dog,cat,guinea pig,rats,mice,and even gerbils and pigs,reactions were different,some snakes wouldnt even touch the "new prey item,because it wasnt recognised as a food source.This is why wild caught ball pythons can be enticed to feed with gerbils,its the natural prey item,we have all heard of frog or lizard scenting,its the same thing.
Im sure hed be the better one to explain it,I dont want to give names etc,but hes well known in Sc.and runs a reptile speciality store there in ft Mill