What do you think?

[ilovemysnake]

1. Dont bash anyone's opinion or anything.
2. Read the whole thing before you comment, no need for unnecessary rudeness.
3. Lastly, keep it pertaining to this topic.

Do you think a snake can "favor" one person over another?

Ex: Turbine doesn't mind me handling her, but god forbid my fiance puts his hand in her enclosure to get her out, all helll breaks lose, and she bites him like it's going out of style.

Myself and another member were talking about this the other day, we're interested in getting other's opinions.

[CosmicOwl]

I think they do, but it hardly has anything to with some kind of connection or interaction they have with you. It probably comes down to tastes and tactile sensations, as well as the way you behave around them.

They don't favor you, so much as they think you're a better tree.

[desipooh.12]

Its not affection towards you in general,
In which the case you think they "favor" you more,
Its a conditioning.. When one person its consistently
Caring for you, feeding you & handling you, its not
Favoring you lol ... They dont have the same connection with you
As a dog would.. Ya know?

[TeaNinja]

i think snakes get used to their owners smell and may even have some acknowledgement that with that smell comes meals. other than recognizing smell, i don't see how it's possible that they favor people. they want nothing to do with you in the first place.

i'd bet money that your fiance doesn't smell and act like you. if you are timid grabbing them or if you stick your hand up to them at the wrong time, you will get bit regardless. my dumerils boa is a puppy dog but he left me with a scar on my hand from grabbing him while he was hungry.

[Shann]

I think snakes are comfortable with what is familiar. My boa definitely "recognizes" me over anyone else. If I pull her out and hold her she stays with me. If I hand her to anyone else, she comes back towards me. I think she recognizes my scent and feels like it's a safe place. She is also probably familiar with the way I handle her. She seems more nervous when people are nervous with her or not used to handling snakes. When I have a friend who is familiar with snakes, or just good at handling her in general, she seems much more relaxed, but she still works her way back towards me.

But I do not think she cares for me one bit though, or feels any sort of "affection". I'm just familiar and safe, and that's all she cares about.

[StudentoReptile]

^^^this^^^^

No affection. Snakes are not capable of this at all. Period. If you believe this, you are under a delusion. But they are creatures of habit and routine, and do gravitate to what feels familiar and secure to them, and they typically use sight and scent to recognize such things.
----
On a slightly other note, snakes do recognize anxiety/apprehension in other animals. Different snakes can detect this by scent or raised body heat. If the other animal is agitated, it can cause the snake to be more defensive. This is likely why Turbine goes into "attack mode" when your fiance (which if I recall, is slightly afraid of snakes, am I right?) goes near him) tries handle him.

[sharthun]

^^^this^^^^

No affection. Snakes are not capable of this at all. Period. If you believe this, you are under a delusion. But they are creatures of habit and routine, and do gravitate to what feels familiar and secure to them, and they typically use sight and scent to recognize such things.
----
On a slightly other note, snakes do recognize anxiety/apprehension in other animals. Different snakes can detect this by scent or raised body heat. If the other animal is agitated, it can cause the snake to be more defensive. This is likely why Turbine goes into "attack mode" when your fiance (which if I recall, is slightly afraid of snakes, am I right?) goes near him) tries handle him.

^^^^^Ditto. If the handler is nervous or anxious the snake will definitely sense that.:)

[Sharlynn93]

my snakes definitely favor me over my hubby..they keep trying to come to me when he holds them (i do 100% of the care for them)...except Hades, I have been trying to let the hubby have more time with "his" snake so he has more of a familiar bond with him than I do...it definitely shows, too, because when I handle him he tries to go back to my hubby :)

[spyderk]

With my snakes, I have noticed that if the person getting the snake out is nervous, they sometimes react the same way. One of our little corn snakes likes to posture like she's going to bite you, but it's all bluff. If I go for her, she stops the bluffing and flees. If it's my son, she might keep the act up a bit more.

The most interesting time this happened to me was at a pet store. The employee was getting an approximately 1-2 year old Cal king out of its cage, and the employee had gloves. The snake was biting him and holding on pretty well. After a few minutes and after the snake had removed himself from the guy's thumb, I took him. I assumed I would get a bite but did not care, and I didn't get a bite. He acted like my snakes at home, just exploring my hands. Either he was conditioned to hate those gloves, or he sensed the nervousness in the person trying to get him. I don't think he was an overall nasty snake like they made him out to be.

I didn't take him home, ultimately because I didn't want to support this pet store because of the poor conditions of the rest of the animals.

[Terranaut]

Tell your fiance to wash his hands before handling.

[Sharlynn93]

With my snakes, I have noticed that if the person getting the snake out is nervous, they sometimes react the same way. One of our little corn snakes likes to posture like she's going to bite you, but it's all bluff. If I go for her, she stops the bluffing and flees. If it's my son, she might keep the act up a bit more.

The most interesting time this happened to me was at a pet store. The employee was getting an approximately 1-2 year old Cal king out of its cage, and the employee had gloves. The snake was biting him and holding on pretty well. After a few minutes and after the snake had removed himself from the guy's thumb, I took him. I assumed I would get a bite but did not care, and I didn't get a bite. He acted like my snakes at home, just exploring my hands. Either he was conditioned to hate those gloves, or he sensed the nervousness in the person trying to get him. I don't think he was an overall nasty snake like they made him out to be.

I didn't take him home, ultimately because I didn't want to support this pet store because of the poor conditions of the rest of the animals.

This happened with my lavender. .the employee put on a pair of heavy gloves and went straight towards her face with them..she was striking like mad...I told her to stop, and I reached in and picked her right up no problems...lol

[formica]

its quite possible that your snake associates you with something positive, for eg somewhere to bask at a toasty 37C.

If your fiance reacts to being struck at, by withdrawing and leaving the snake alone, then the snake is learning that this is how it should behave to be left alone, with him.

I wouldnt say that the snake prefers you to your fiance in the complex way that humans would describe/experience it, but that it is learning diffrent reactions to your presence....that said, if his interaction with you is positive, and his interaction with your fiance is reinforcing a negative (fear, essentially) then I guess 'favorite' is not that much of a streach, as long as you dont also attribute philosophical thought patterns to the snake :)

[Terranaut]

Seriously try this. Wash both your hands with the same soap rigjt before handling. Pass him the snake after a few minutes.

[LadyWraith]

Environmental stimuli such as body temp, smell, etc, like others have said, are what snakes focus on. I feel it depends a lot on the handling technique. My boyfriend has no care about observing an animal's body language to gauge how to handle and treats them all the same. Most of my snakes don't like him cause his movement are too fast and jerky.

[Jinxygirl]

I think it's more to do with scent and movement, my cornsnake female hates my boyfriend and tries to bite him whenever he goes to pick her up but she has never ever struck at me or bitten me. My corn is just a very sassy girl though and she can be quite aggressive lol she also is more prone to strike if you show that you are nervous picking her up.

[sharthun]

Seriously try this. Wash both your hands with the same soap rigjt before handling. Pass him the snake after a few minutes.

^^^^^ Yep it's the simple things!

[MDT]

They "desire" (I really hate that term)...they will seek out warmth and stable platform to rest on, etc.

Dani, I think you are correct, if you can't allow a 2 to 3 point contact for the snake, I don't think it matter a bit what you "smell like"...You are an unstable perch. The idea of washing with same soap is a good idea at least for somewhat of a blinded study.

My snakes could "care less" about who holds them...me, my daughters, my wife (who really doesn't care for them at all)...they just do their thing until they're put back in enclosures.

[Sublimeballs]

I can atest to my snakes "favoring" me over others(not so much the balls but the carpet, anaconda, And retics). My GF is nervous around all of them except the balls and it shows, she gets struck at by snakes that haven't shown the least bit of aggression towards me. They pick up on the pharamones we emit. My big retic(jampea dwarf) will come to me if anyone is holding her, but doesn't go to others while I hold her. But as others have pointed out this is just a comfort thing. I have a high body tempeture, coupled with a familiar smells, and a lack of fear pharamones; which I assume is how they pick me out. I'm a better warm tree lol.