memory

BryanB · 08-16-12, 08:29 PM

Do snakes have a good memory? I put my boa in the tub I got him in to feed him the last two nights and he seems to get scared and ball up in one corner. should I try to feed him else ware I have aspen in his tank and I don't want him to injest any of it.

snake man12 · 08-16-12, 08:30 PM

They have almost no memory only instinctual response to stimuli.

BryanB · 08-16-12, 08:57 PM

so this makes all the train your snake to see you as a safe spot or anything else for that matter a bunch of crap. either a snake likes people or not.

snake man12 · 08-16-12, 09:00 PM

Pretty much yeah but they can gain a sort of ghost in the neurons that allows them to be tamed.

jaleely · 08-16-12, 09:06 PM

I disagree. Even fish have memory and can be taught. That old "3 second memory like a goldfish" thing is a myth. I think it's a myth that snakes can't learn.
They are highly instinctual animals, but they can also recognize things, and learn habits.

snake man12 · 08-16-12, 09:16 PM

Fallacy, explain how a hatchling corn snake with a brain the size of a pencil point with 1/300 of the brain capacity of a chimpanzee could have a memory it's simply not possible.

Terranaut · 08-17-12, 03:02 AM

Is instinct not pre programed memory? Got to be room for a little more... a buffer so to speak. I have no science to back it up but when I put my carpets into a strange place , they will crawl a few feet and then back onto me. I assume its a familiarity with my smell or look and I am a safety thing. Thats memory isn't it?

Rogue628 · 08-17-12, 03:08 AM

They also thought many years ago that we wouldn't be able to put 4G or more on a tiny little stick, but we did. It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with brain size, but more or less how it's 'wired'.

I don't know the semantics, but I work with my animals on almost a daily basis and have been since I've had them, and they all seem to have the ability to learn something that wouldn't necessarily be instinct. Maybe it's just me attempting to make them seem more human, but IMO...depending upon how much you work with an animal....it can learn something. I also believe they have the capacity to learn things on their own, depending upon the stimuli and circumstances given. That could very well be a loose definition of a 'learned behavior' and most of us know a snake can have a learned behavior. And don't forget retics are considered one of the most intelligent snakes on the planet. Humans and other animals are not all created intellectually equal. Not all snakes are going to show the same level intelligence.

Just because noone has found an exact scientific method to prove their level of intelligence doesn't mean they're stupid or purely instinctual. We just haven't learned how to fully figure out just how intelligent these animals are.

To the OP, more than likely your animal doesn't feel safe in a feed enclosure. If they don't feel safe, they're not going to eat. Nor would they be just as willing to eat in a place that doesn't meet their husbandry requirements. Trying feeding him in his own enclosure. It's better for your pet in more ways than one. If you're worried about him eating this bedding, put his food on a small plate and offer it that way.

I used to feed outside their normal enclosure several years ago. I felt it was safer for the animal as well as other myths about feeding outside their home environment. But I've learned over the years that feeding them in their living enclosure is just as safe and far better for my animals. If you're worried about food aggression, I suggest feeding on one side and picking up from another. They do learn this, even if it's nothing more than a habit they learn to recognize and get used to.

Wildside · 08-17-12, 06:54 AM

If they were purely instinctual then those of the same species would have the same personality and be incredibly predictable. All you would have to know to handle a snake is the behavioral traits of its species. Instead, they each have their own personality. While they may not start doing tricks any day soon they are certainly capable of coming to trust you, which requires a certain degree of memory retention.

Kettennatter · 08-17-12, 08:38 AM

Quote:

While they may not start doing tricks any day soon they are certainly capable of coming to trust you, which requires a certain degree of memory retention.

That's my thinking, also. While their mental light does not shine very brightly, snaks surely can be conditioned, so some capability for memory tetention has to be there.

Trent · 08-17-12, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snake man12

They have almost no memory only instinctual response to stimuli.

That has to be one of the dumbest posts I have ever read on here!

MrBD1980 · 08-17-12, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trent

That has to be one of the dumbest posts I have ever read on here!

I second the motion!

snake man12 · 08-17-12, 03:55 PM

Excuse me?

Jlassiter · 08-17-12, 04:19 PM

Call it memory or instinct but wild gravid colubrids will return to the same spot every year to lay eggs. Rattlesnakes in the wild find the same den every year to brumate.

They sure as heck remember what a prey scent is.
A rattlesnake remembers not to go near kingsnakes.

Call them instincts or memory but they are learned responses.

moshirimon · 08-17-12, 04:21 PM

I'm pretty sure they do have memory. that's how they end up being hook trained, etc. some snakes strike at you when you open their enclosure because it reminds them of being fed. thats just my opinion, snakes do have memory.