snakes do eat people

[gonesnakee]

Snakes do eat dogs all the time. There have been numerous recorded cases of them doing so where large Boids live. In the wild snakes are far less picky than in captivity & eat a wide variety of prey in comparision to our rodent eating pets. To even try to compare a wild Rock, Retic, Conda etc. to a domesicated one is well, no comparision. Mark

[joeysgreen]

a 5 foot woman is what, 100lbs, perhaps less in Africa where the quarter pounders arn't as rampant. A hundred pound meal isn't unheard of, so why would a 100lb homo meal be?

Ian

[drec91]

" ah what" ok if we are talking about an animal that has ZERO thought process and that eats humans whenever it is hungry, why arent there thousands of documented cases in which small humans have been eaten by snakes. Im guessing that many people on this site have large snakes, why dont those snakes try and eat them every time they touch them, if snakes have no thought process. u cant say that a snake has zero thought process and lives purely on instinct. Most snakes do not consider humans and many other animals as prey. They dont just strike and eat everything that moves, that is completely obsurd.

[joeysgreen]

They dont just strike and eat everything that moves, that is completely obsurd"
I don't believe I said that. I agree something that large isn't considered ideal prey by the snake, but in the wild, they arn't fed on a schedule. If it's been a long time since said snake has eaten more prefered prey, then it might consider other things.

Ian

[gonesnakee]

You still don't get it drec81 LOL snakes ARE creatures of pure instinct, its scientific fact. In captivity they are raised solely on 1 type of prey that they are fed week in week out on a schedule. They NEVER have to seek that prey out it is ALWAYS provided right there on "their doorstep" they tend not to associate other things as prey as a direct result, but they still do anyway. Have you yourself ever kept any snakes derec91? Well almost all my friends are snake breeders & I have kept literally 1,000's & yes I do have snakes of various species that try to eat me on occassion, some almost daily. Even in captivity there are numerous species that will consider me or any other keeper as prey based on their INSTINCTS. I have had numerous Kings & Milksnakes for example anywhere from 10 inches to 5 ft try to eat me 1000's of times. I have seen them try to eat each other & try to eat themselves even on multiple occassions. I have 2 subadult female CKs upstairs that try to eat me daily. I have kept & still keep a few Carpet Pythons that consider me prey on many occassions. Ever had a six foot Carpet Python constrict your arm & try to eat your hand? How about a 4 ft Woma Python or an 8 ft Eastern Indigo? Even in captivity there are snakes that have been fed solely mice & rats that still consider humans as prey on occassion. Nothing funnier than a 10 inch snake trying to eat your hand or arm. Not so funny when its an 8 footer. They don't even remotely consider that I'm human or too big to eat. I'm warm, I'm flesh, their hungry, I'm considered possible prey. There is no thought process just INSTINCT. It is a well proven scientific fact that snakes are creatures of pure instinct, but hey what does science know right? You fail to understand that in captivity snakes are extremely well fed, heck quite often overfed. A snake that is given all the dead prey it can take weekly is not likely to try & eat you, but some still do anyhow. In the wild snakes do not eat for months on end & eat a HUGE variety of prey compared to anything that has been raised in captivity. They are far less picky & far more opportunistic than their captive bred relatives. LOL Mark
P.S. ever been to someplace like Africa or any other 3rd world locale? I used to work overseas & can tell you locals in Africa think a lot more along my lines than they do yours. They consider every single snake they ever see as a threat & usually kill them all. Doesn't matter if its venomous, colubrid or large boid they kill them all. Remote villagers that don't even have water aren't too concerned about documenting how folks get killed & posting that info on the internet for the world to share LOL. No ones saying that there are 1,000s of cases but I bet there are far more cases than any of us is ever going to hear about. To think that snakes are not creatures of pure instinct is ABSURB as you tried to put it.

[Kurzix]

Got pictures of a 10 inch snake trying to eat you? I'd like to see that. You must be pretty damn small. Are you playing with their food with your hands? Thats a sure way to trick a snake into thinking you are prey.

check this site out...

Snakes Can Learn Too

or if you are too lazy...

Snakes Can Learn Too

Which animal has more brain cells… reptiles or humans? Well, the truth is that reptiles like snakes can produce a limitless number of brain cells throughout their life. Humans, however, can only produce new cells in the part of the brain called the hippocampus, which relates only to memory and spatial perception.

So, snakes have many more brain cells, but what does this mean for intelligence? Previous studies have tested snakes against mice and rats using mazes to test their learning abilities. Snakes never seemed to do as well. However, Dr. David Holtzman, a neuroscientist at the University of Rochester, says this kind of testing is unfair to snakes because they do not come across this type of situation (mazes) in their environment. Instead, he says that snakes can learn with the help of people who understand them.

Dr. Holtzman’s research focused on teaching snakes to find hidden shelters where they could escape from open spaces. He accomplished this by placing 24 corn snakes in large tubes with several holes, only one of which led to a shelter. Since these snakes are nocturnal, he put a light at one end of the tube to motivate the snakes to move. To help guide the snakes, he also marked the hole that led to the shelter with bright colors and tape. The snakes were taught the location of the correct holes by people who guided them with their hands.

After four trials a day for four days, the snakes learned to go directly to the hole with the shelter. He found that on average, it took the snakes a little less than 12 minutes to find the hidden shelter on the first try. On the second try, most found the shelter after about 7 minutes, and some even found it after 30 seconds. He also found that older snakes were slower to learn than younger snakes. When the colors were changed, younger snakes learned faster than older snakes, showing that the younger snakes were more adaptable to visual cues.

Dr. Holtzman says this research probably doesn’t mean we can domesticate snakes, but it does show that snakes are smarter than we think. They are not just wandering aimlessly. Perhaps now snakes can be trained, using the right motivation and method.


hmm so much for pure instinct hu?

[gonesnakee]

Interesting but it doesn't prove much at all really. Unless the "tubing unit" was completely sterlized between all specimens all they are doing is following scent trails by natural instinct. The younger snakes of course travelling faster as they as youngsters are almost always seeking prey to support their growth into adulthood. Despite what anyone may speculate snakes are not "trainable" LMAO but believe what you want. There are all kinds of theroys out on the ole internet. This little statement here made by yourself shows just how little you really know about snakes & their instincts when it comes to prey "Got pictures of a 10 inch snake trying to eat you? I'd like to see that. You must be pretty damn small. Are you playing with their food with your hands? Thats a sure way to trick a snake into thinking you are prey." Ah for starters to even consider handling prey before working with any snake is just plain stupid & looking to get bit. I have snakes that if there is even food on the floor below them in the house thawing (a story away) they will be going crazy trying to get out of their enclosures (snakes such as Eastern Indigos, Diamond & other Aussie Pythons). To question me about baby CKs trying to eat me shows that you really don't know squat at all about them. Provide an email addy & I can flood it with pics of snakes trying to eat me, objects, themselves etc. & in not 1 instance was there any prey handled prior or during LOL Check out other forums & look into kingsnakes you will find everyone that knows anything about them will back up what I say. If serious about the pics & you care for a bunch its gonesnakee@shaw.ca email me & I'll send off a bunch for ya to check out. Cheers Mark

[gocmando19328]

that sounds familiar i think i saw a pic of something like that happening before...

[Voodoo]

I have to agree with the fact that a large enough python could def eat a small human. I was doing a pyschology project on the inate fear of snakes and stumbled upon a abnormally large rock python which in later research had been cut open by locals and believe it or not there was a young child probley no more then 10 years of age inside it. So I have no problems beliveing that this could happen, however I don't thinks its a very common occurence etheir. If anyone is intrested I will try to find the pictures and post them up.

[drec91]

"ah what" thats ridiculous to say that snakes live on pure instinct. they dont just go around striking at everything they see. like every animal they do have instincts. my snakes have never considered me as prey unless i had the smell of a mouse on me. i kno that snakes in the wild are more desperate than captive snakes. but if snakes live on pure instinct and considerd humans as prey there would be many more documented cases of snakes killing and eating small humans. humans are not a normal food source for any animal hense the top of the food chain thing.

[gonesnakee]

Believe what you want about instincts etc. to each their own, but no one said snakes go out striking at everything they see LOL In captivity where they have no threat to them ever they can & sometimes will associate all interaction as possible prey. Most snakes will realize right away that you are not prey, but some such as kingsnakes have such strong feeding responses that they don't & will go for it. As far as in the wild goes the only reason Man is "top of the food chain" is technology. Take it away & we are still prey to any large carnivore that wants to take us if given the opportunity. We are not "normal" prey for carnivores of any sort but that doesn't mean we can't be for an opportunistic predator be it a large snake or any other creature. If you think everything that ever happens in a third world country is "documented" you have a lot to learn about the ways of the world. I'm not saying its an everyday occurrance, but it does happen on occassion whether we hear about it or not. Not everythings on the ole internet or "todays top story". Also our records only go back so far & the farther you go back past the "records" the more often humans were prey. Even now with less & less habitat & it being encrouched by Man large predators are more apt than ever to be preying on Man & our domestic pets & livestock. I don't think we are "above" being prey myself. Mark

[gonesnakee]

Just to humour you I flipped thru my pics & found 3 o interest. They are not mine nor do I know their orginal source, Mark

[Rhino Rodents]

hey people hows it going i was watching this show on t.v and it showed a retic trying to eat a oriental man in the asia and this guy was walking along a path and the retic was in a tree and stocked the man the snake was later found trying to eat the man by a guy that was walking by and found it the snake was at the mans shoulders and could go no further the man that found him shot the snake then cut it open hoping to save the man so i thought i would post my little bit of info

[Boots]

Well I guess the pictures settle it. Snakes can eat people. Guess I can live with winter 6 months out of the year if I do not have to fight off snakes trying to eat me on my way to work.

Jason

[geislandi]

Originally Posted by gonesnakee

Interesting but it doesn't prove much at all really. Unless the "tubing unit" was completely sterlized between all specimens all they are doing is following scent trails by natural instinct. The younger snakes of course travelling faster as they as youngsters are almost always seeking prey to support their growth into adulthood. Despite what anyone may speculate snakes are not "trainable" LMAO but believe what you want.

I work in a university psychology laboratory, and the idea that researchers would forget something as basic as erasing scent trails is very hard to believe.

Furthermore, I don't think it's that unlikely that snakes could be trained WITHIN their very limited cognitive abilities. True enough, they are limited. But the trick to animal training is using an animal's very instinctual capabilities to perform a given behavior when supplied with a given stimulus.

I think all of you are making too fine a distinction between instinct and trainability. Without instinct, very few animals would even be trainable.

I'm a falconer, and hawks are also basically "creatures of instinct." However, within the areas that are essential for their survival, the areas in which instinct is strongest, they are more than capable of being trained. Hawks, as simple and instinctive as they are, learn how to find food/shelter/water in a new, man-manipulated environment very readily. Snakes can do the same, not surprisingly.