tinting glass

[JWFugle]

hey ya'll, so after browsing through different threads and posts i see a lot of people talking about their snakes getting scared or startled anytime the person passes by the cage. my snake does this too. she will back up and get defensive when i am looking at her though the glass but as soon as i open the door and do the same thing she goes about like everything is normal.

sooo.... long story short has anyone thought of or tried tinting the glass so the snake cant see out as well but we can still see in? i realize this blocks some of our view. but if they are not afraid then they may come out more often and we get to see them more :blink:

[Mikoh4792]

I was actually thinking about this today.

[rocknhorse76]

I've considered doing it as well.

[Jack C]

Plus my bedroom wouldn't burst into light so early in the morning, ha ha ha.

[Starbuck]

i wonder if some of the reason they get defensive is because (as someone said on another thread) the snake cant fully recognize us (no scent, weird distortion from the glass etc) when the door is shut? Then when you open the door, the snake recognizes your smell or no longer sees a distorted big scary thing trying to eat it, so stops being as defensive?

In that case i'd wonder how much tinting the glass would help; they would still be able to feel the vibrations as we walked around, but wouldn't be able to see. I think many people with defensive snakes (like smy's GTP) or the boa from the video posted in another thread have found that even with a towel covering the cage, the snake still strikes at the door/walls of the viv. Regardless, i do think its an interesting idea, and i would be interested to see what ya'll found out.

as a side note, i volunteer at a bird of prey center, and we use one-way glass with the birds so they don't associate getting food through a food chute with people. Its mirrored on one side (that the birds see), and just looks like tinted glass to the person walking around the outside of the aviary. 90% of the cage is wooden, just a small mirrored window. That might be interesting to look into as well, as i doubt most snakes would be bothered by the reflection (except maybe highly visually oriented ones).

[Mark Taylor]

I have thought about doing it several times in the past but none of my snakes are defensive. But I have seen on occasions that they always seem to rub up against the glass but never seen them rub against the rest of the viv. I have wondered why and that is why I thought about tinting the glass.
When I move to my new house I will try on one of the vivs and see what happens.

[Amadeus]

This is interesting for those that use glass but I have three sides of my enclosures covered soo its not really a problem for me.

[franks]

Yes. It is extremely easy. You can get a self tint kit at walmart for under $20.

[rocknhorse76]

I actually wasn't going to tint the front of the tank. Rather, I was going to do the other 3 sides with limo tint. I just think it would look a little better than other methods of blocking off the sides.

[NCHornet]

Snakes pick up on way more than just sight. They feel the vibrations of you walking, odors etc..... Years ago my friend had some piranhas that would dart so fast when you got near the tank and slam into the sides of the tank that we took the window tint and turned it inside out. This helped but didn't stop it, since they too pick up on the vibrations. I too have PVC cages so it is easier to just place a towel over the front of they are striking the front plexi.

[Danimal]

I am building an enclosure for some tree monitors and I was thinking of using screens. I haven't tested it but I was thinking that if I made a couple of regular screens that will fit on the outside of the doors, which will have the only view into the cage, that when the daylights are on inside the cage the view to the outside will be (mostly) blocked by the screen. However this is all based on what I know about human sight. I have no real Idea if it would have any effect. It's just something I was kicking around to maybe try if they are too spooky.

[JWFugle]

cool. good to see im not the only one wondering about it. thankfully i dont have a chainsaw who wants to kill everything, but she definitely does not like being watched :p ill walk in the room and sit down next to her cage and she will almost instantly go hide somewhere. tries to do the same thing when i take her out. if she cant see me she will chill no problem but if im watching her she wants to leave. she will literally curl up next to me on my chair but with her head facing away from me lol.