Re: Mojo cooperates in an interesting x-periment....

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Posted by regalringneck on March 27, 2003 at 05:59:48:

In Reply to: Re: Mojo cooperates in an interesting x-periment.... posted by pulatus on March 23, 2003 at 20:53:49:

Pulatus, yes they do become aroused when outside, much more active & alert, raising up cobra like to see, probing every possible hole (ya gotta first plug the escape routes!). I especially like the fact that defecation invariably occurs on these outings (tip: never let a fat guardian swim in your pool.. or the spousal unit will send you both packing!). If mojo isnt ready to return to his tub, I can expect neck & head distention threats too! He never bites tho. Theyre not that fast but you cant turn your back & clean a cage like one can do with a kingsnake roaming. For me its a quality of life issue, these beasts need to stretch & prowl on a regular basis.
C&B;jg

:I'm curious - does he have any change in behaviour when he gets outside? I've noticed that some snakes that are calm indoors get a little wild when they get outside. Also, do you let it roam freely in the yard and pool? It doesn't streak away from you after a few minutes in the sun?

:And he's comfortable and calm in the pool? I'll bet thats something to see.

:Joe

::The last few f/t rats [I ran out of DoR diamondbacks :(] Ive offered mojo have been banged with a particular viciousness on his part w/no apparent scenting of them...We have discussed sight feeding here in the past, & I decided to examine the hypothesis... somewhat...Do guardians strike @ prey based on visual stimulous alone?
::I needed to remove him from his normal feeding quarters (his tub) to remove that habituation/association variable.
::I had him out for one of his normal excercise sessions cruising the backyard & swimming in the pool [they sure do swim & dive w/ ease...]. I have never fed him outside before. I then approached him from downwind w/ the rat on the forceps...@ ~ 1 m he turned his head towards the approaching offering & charged into it, chewing & pinning it & as so often...in his haste...attempting to swallow it rear first [what a glutton].
::I will next time offer him a white sock w/ sand in it [mebbe one I saved from high school...], I will use fishing line to offer the sock rather than forceps to eliminate that possible association too.
::The preliminary result then is that the guardians will grasp what they perceive to be prey w/o scenting it unlike most other serpents.
::

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