1 year, 10 months ago
via pets-questions.com
Do Indian pythons recognize their owners?
I have a friend who loves to get exotic pets. He bought a baby python and that brought up a quarrel between him and his wife. She does not mind the presence of a baby snake, but she is afraid that it might not recognize them when it grows older and might want to strangle them. My friend wants me to convince her but I do not have any idea of Indian pythons and cannot say what I do not know. Does anyone have any information on the behavior of Indian pythons?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/media/inline/blog/Image/Python_molurus_molurus.jpg
Separate topics with commas, or by pressing return. Use the delete or backspace key to edit or remove existing topics.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$1 Answer
Yes! However, it most probably is a Burmese python, which is a little more like the snake in your photo. No matter, pythons and Boa Constrictors have more or less the same temperament. Here are things your friend and his wife can do to ensure an enjoyable and lifelong relationship with their snake. First, it's good he got a baby.
Please let her know to handle it frequently - daily if they can - and it will definitely bond with them. If a constrictor is well fed and the food is consistent, the snake enthusiast will have little to worry about. Here's what I mean. A smaller constrictor is a corn snake. I have several. They "work" reptile shows, often with small children. The company is The Reptile Family.
When the corn snakes are at home and not working, we take these pet snakes out every other day or so and play with them. They have a keen sense of smell, and associate human fragrance with fun and attention. Their food is frozen defrosted feeder rodents and this never varies. Except for the size, of course. When they were babies, they ate ''pinky mice" and now that they are nearly full grown, they eat full-sized mice. So, they equate mouse aroma with food. If your friends follow this pattern, neither they nor any other human should be perceived by the snake as food. If you don't smell like a rodent, you are not edible.
A starving snake will eat anything that is alive, either warm or cold blooded. This is why there is such a problem with pythons in the wild, in the Everglades in Florida, for instance. But I have handled 10-foot pythons, Red Tail Boa Constrictors, Madagascar Ground Boas and more big constrictors than I have room to list here. We bring snakes that are 7 or 8 feet long to the reptile birthday parties we work, and even the smallest children want to help hold them. We have nothing to worry about. BUT, you must have adequate sized housing and food for these beautiful creatures, and lots of attention. Otherwise, it can indeed get dangerous later on.
(This is a picture of me with my favorite Burmese python, Kah. He's gotten too big to work at parties, but we still love to hold and play with him whenever we can. Please share this with your friend and his wife!)
Please let her know to handle it frequently - daily if they can - and it will definitely bond with them. If a constrictor is well fed and the food is consistent, the snake enthusiast will have little to worry about. Here's what I mean. A smaller constrictor is a corn snake. I have several. They "work" reptile shows, often with small children. The company is The Reptile Family.
When the corn snakes are at home and not working, we take these pet snakes out every other day or so and play with them. They have a keen sense of smell, and associate human fragrance with fun and attention. Their food is frozen defrosted feeder rodents and this never varies. Except for the size, of course. When they were babies, they ate ''pinky mice" and now that they are nearly full grown, they eat full-sized mice. So, they equate mouse aroma with food. If your friends follow this pattern, neither they nor any other human should be perceived by the snake as food. If you don't smell like a rodent, you are not edible.
A starving snake will eat anything that is alive, either warm or cold blooded. This is why there is such a problem with pythons in the wild, in the Everglades in Florida, for instance. But I have handled 10-foot pythons, Red Tail Boa Constrictors, Madagascar Ground Boas and more big constrictors than I have room to list here. We bring snakes that are 7 or 8 feet long to the reptile birthday parties we work, and even the smallest children want to help hold them. We have nothing to worry about. BUT, you must have adequate sized housing and food for these beautiful creatures, and lots of attention. Otherwise, it can indeed get dangerous later on.
(This is a picture of me with my favorite Burmese python, Kah. He's gotten too big to work at parties, but we still love to hold and play with him whenever we can. Please share this with your friend and his wife!)
images:
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Thanks, Phu! Boas get very personable as do the pythons. It's amazing - the difference in their individual "personalities." We have a bratty Red Tail Boa, and then a big Carpet Python who is so docile she's almost boring, and lots of frisky Corn Snakes, always in motion. The key is to get a baby and to play with it a LOT.
Great information @victoria_reid .Thanks
You bet! I could go on about reptiles...well, at length!
I always love your answers on snakes!
How personable do boas get?
How much of a personality can one expect when raising a boa from infancy?