We're picking up bad vibrations!!

[Lankyrob]

After a few weeks of having Sunny she has been really quiet and jumpy and we have come to the conclusion taht the guy who passed her to us hardly handled her at all - she is now much easier to remove from her viv and settles within a few minutes if you let her wrap around your arm and squeeze! (hand doesnt go purple anymore so think she is calming down!!)

Well yesterday i was looking into her viv and realised taht teh water in the water bowl was rippling! I then realised that the guinea pig cage which was next to the vivarium had moved and was touching the edge of the viv - everytime the guineas chased around their cage the vibrations were being transmitted to the viv!! We have now moved them well away form her viv and today she seems much more active and inquisitive and hasnt TOTALLY hidden herself away.

This made me think tho - i know snakes are sensitive to vibration - but HOW sensitive are they? Are there things that should be avoided at all costs? We dont let our daughter jump around in front or near the vivs but what about people walking about etc?? We have concrete floors so most of the vibration i would think is absorbed by that anyway.

Thoughts please?

[Will0W783]

They are pretty sensitive. They do not have outer ears, so they can't pick up sounds like we can, but they do have the inner ear bones and canals that sense vibrations. It's like when you're sitting at a red light and the car behind or in front of you has the bass turned way up on their stereo and it vibrates your car. To me, that is terribly annoying and it stresses me out. That's how it is for a snake- the vibrations are picked up and sensed and it will try to determine how to respond to them: predator, prey or indifferent. Constant vibrations are a source of extreme stress to a snake- I have seen people who put their snake's cage on top of the stereo system or tv speakers and wondered why the animal wouldn't eat and hid all the time. It was constantly being bombarded.

[infernalis]

Well put Kim, When I rescued our B.P. from the party house his tank was situated on top of an entertainment centre that had big speaker columns on each side.

The folks that lived there were up at all hours with that stereo blasting...

The snake had even refused to defecate, when I got him home and he settled, he had dropped a deuce that looked like a St. Bernard had been in that cage with him.

Constant vibrations and disruptions can and will stress out any reptile.

I even have two snakes here that will not eat unless all humans have left the room.

[shaunyboy]

i agree with you all on the vibration thing.

could the snake not be picking up theres a food items living next door to it (and big ones at that).this is just my thoughts but if it was say a small mouse you had next to it.then your corn would be thinking " i'm going to have that for my dinner ".it being a guinea pig,its maybe thinking " that things going to have me " as the guinea pigs such a large rodent.

its just my youngest son used to keep a hamster in his bedroom.even though we cleaned the hamster cage every second day there was still a hamstery smell in my sons room.when my son used to come in my room to look in my carpet tanks my carpets used to become much more alert.like they went into feeding mode.

could be a combination of the vibration and a big rodent as a next door neighbour.(i know you've moved it now mate)
cheers shaun

[citysnakes]

Willow, there have been studies done that show that snakes pick up airborne vibrations as well as groundborne vibrations. their hearing works pretty much like ours except the skin at the angle of the jaw is their eardrum. so i would think that they can hear just as well as we can.

with the whole vibration thing, in my experience, im bangin on my drum kit and jamming with my band a few times a week in a room right next to my snakes and do not seem to experience problems because of it.

[Lankyrob]

With regard to the vibration issues - what happens with snakes in vivs that are stacked - would they pick up the vibrations of the other snakes moving around?

[shaunyboy]

Ive got tanks stacked mate and the snakes don't seem to know each other exist.
cheers shaun

[dragunov.762]

I didn't know that snakes could pick up airborne vibrations too. i have my RTB next to my tv. i don't have any fancy speakers and it isn't on all the time. do you guys think he'll be alright or should i move the cage

[infernalis]

I didn't know that snakes could pick up airborne vibrations too. i have my RTB next to my tv. i don't have any fancy speakers and it isn't on all the time. do you guys think he'll be alright or should i move the cage


If your snake is behaving normally, then I wouldn't worry too much.

[marvelfreak]

With regard to the vibration issues - what happens with snakes in vivs that are stacked - would they pick up the vibrations of the other snakes moving around?
All six of my cage are stacked and it doesn't brother them. They don't make the kind of vibrations say a hamster or guinea pig would. I also agree with shaunyboy about having something that smell like it could be food or i could be food for it. This would make me jumpy to.

[infernalis]

When I kept my mice in the reptile room, my snakes were all on alert...

They were not even placed close to the reptiles, but the scent filled the room.

[Lankyrob]

Thanks for the answers guys - guineas are now in a totally separate room (Am glad in a way cos i think they smell!!). Sunny seems a lot more interested in leaving her hide now so think right decision has been made for all.

[emseeKAY]

When I kept my mice in the reptile room, my snakes were all on alert...

They were not even placed close to the reptiles, but the scent filled the room.

did you see any change in their temperament while handling afterwards? j/w

[shaunyboy]

Thanks for the answers guys - guineas are now in a totally separate room (Am glad in a way cos i think they smell!!). Sunny seems a lot more interested in leaving her hide now so think right decision has been made for all.


ive heard that a reticulated python is great for getting rid of gunea pig smells rob.seems that you just let the retic go into the room on its own,then heh presto no more gunea pig smell.just a thought,haha
cheers shaun

[Lankyrob]

lmao shauny!! Dont think my daughter would be happy with that solution tho........

[shaunyboy]

lmao shauny!! Dont think my daughter would be happy with that solution tho........


point taken mate.we had the same hassle when my daughter gave my youngest son a hamster of all things.the smell was everywhere.my wife used to clean the cage every second day.then she upped it to every day.my snakes still went into feeding mode when my son came into my room.the hamster was kept in his bedroom so as he was sleeping the hamster smell must have coated him.the snakes definately picked up when he entered my room.
cheers shaun

[dragunov.762]

i have rats and they smell too. right now i don't have anything big enough to ea a full grown rat so there isn't a problem now but when the RTB (still no name yet) gets bigger their might be