normal vs. desireable - depends...

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Posted by Niki on April 10, 2001 at 14:04:49:

In Reply to: hi posted by girly on April 09, 2001 at 14:42:43:

well I certainly wouldn't want my pet to pee when
I picked him up! Hadn't even thought of it until
this thread. It's very common "problem" on snake
forums, snakes urinating/worse on people when
picked up. They're not used to handling and when
people react by putting the snake back into the
cage right away, (to clean up! lol) then the snake
figures out that this is a great way to get what
he wants, which is to be left alone.

Fear is another reason animals will do this, but
if handled calmly they will realize they need not
be afraid of you and this habit/reflex should stop.

If handled infrequently it's hard to get them used
to associating you with all kinds of great things
like food and getting to go outside etc...

If you have a pet you don't handle much and don't
mind this, it's not a problem. It's only a problem
if it bothers you. I think some animals might
never be able to accept human handling and I've heard
of someone that had a sulcata that actually decided
to return him and exchange him for another one
because it always peed every time she picked it up
which is kinda disheartening for the owner, thinking
"he must not like me etc...". I can understand
that, and don't blame her for exchanging him.
She's fine with her new one.

For us, with Teddy being our "center" pet, he's
getting handled almost like a "reptile dog",
and responds well to things we do with him.
So it depends on what you want from a pet, and
what they can give you, and how much time you
spend with them. niki

Follow Ups:

Re: normal vs. desireable - depends... Terry 04/10/01 (1)
- lifespans of torts girly 04/11/01 (0)

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: well I certainly wouldn't want my pet to pee when : I picked him up! Hadn't even thought of it until : this thread. It's very common "problem" on snake : forums, snakes urinating/worse on people when : picked up. They're not used to handling and when : people react by putting the snake back into the : cage right away, (to clean up! lol) then the snake : figures out that this is a great way to get what : he wants, which is to be left alone. : Fear is another reason animals will do this, but : if handled calmly they will realize they need not : be afraid of you and this habit/reflex should stop. : If handled infrequently it's hard to get them used : to associating you with all kinds of great things : like food and getting to go outside etc... : If you have a pet you don't handle much and don't : mind this, it's not a problem. It's only a problem : if it bothers you. I think some animals might : never be able to accept human handling and I've heard : of someone that had a sulcata that actually decided : to return him and exchange him for another one : because it always peed every time she picked it up : which is kinda disheartening for the owner, thinking : "he must not like me etc...". I can understand : that, and don't blame her for exchanging him. : She's fine with her new one. : For us, with Teddy being our "center" pet, he's : getting handled almost like a "reptile dog", : and responds well to things we do with him. : So it depends on what you want from a pet, and : what they can give you, and how much time you : spend with them. niki

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