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Posted by Christy Talbert on November 20, 2002 at 16:46:24:
In Reply to: an idea and possiblechange in philosophy of bp caging... posted by Rob Carmichael on November 19, 2002 at 10:34:44:
Hi Rob!
If caging/environmental "enrichment" can change the behavior of a snake for the better (which makes total sense to me), what about regular handling?
I read post after post about how we must be careful not to overstress the animals through too much handling. They will go off feed, they will be traumatized, etc. Well, I handle each of my animals (about twenty) every day. Most of the time I just get them out and let them explore by crawling around through my hands, sometimes I have one out while watching TV or on the computer, etc. None of my animals are even remotely stressed as a result of all this handling. In fact, I have twenty ball pythons - but not one of them exhibits the "ball" behavior, ever! I find that when I get a new animal (espcially an adult), it may ball up and be a little shy at first, but, it quickly settles into the handling routine and soon exhibits no nervousness at all.
Do I think my snakes "enjoy" handling? Probably not. Although, on some level I think they benefit from the exercise, the sensory stimulation, and even the socialization of it. I think it is "good for them."
Also, I typically do something that is taboo in the ball python world - I begin these handling sessions immediately upon a new snake's arrival. I do not wait for it to settle in a week or two. My theory is, that by socializing the animal, I am actually decreasing then eliminating stress by getting at the root cause - lack of socialization. The sooner the animal is relaxed when handled, the sooner it will stop stressing, the sooner it will be comfortable. This may be completely off base, but it certainly has worked for me.
On the caging issue, I have been thinking for a while that when I have a dedicated snake room, I'd like to build one large, natural cage, and use it for an exercise pen, letting one or two animals in it each day, then switching them back to their plastic tubs and putting a couple of more animals in it the next day. This way, everyone would get opportunities to move around at will, without human contact, at least once a week or so. (It would be fun to watch too!).
Christy