Can snakes be dumb?

[u/Impossible_Truck9514]

First I did try to post this but my rural internet gave out and I don’t think it actually got through. If it did I apologize for the double post and will do my best to delete one, once it appears in my profile.

I have a beautiful banana orange dream pied ball python, Beauregard. Just lovely. I think he might have been bred for beauty and not brains though.

Before I was able to switch to f/t, I fed him live for a few months and he was not a good hunter at all. He would let the rat walk back and forth in front of him and startle back instead of striking. I would have to completely clear the tank or hold the rat still while he fully locked on and then release it right in front of him. He would also get distracted by reflections in the glass. You’d think the warm rat would be more appealing than the cold rat on the wall but apparently not.

Anyway, I kind of think he’s like one of those dogs that’s bred without regard to mental aspects. I wonder if snake breeders ever think about the intelligence of the snakes. I never would have before Beau. He’s my first snake though so maybe he’s normal and I had wrong expectations. I love him, dumb or not lol

[u/[deleted]]

You described a ball python to a T. How these guys survive in the wild, idk. They barely make smart life choices in captivity and they don’t even have to do anything but just be there lol.

[u/Impossible_Truck9514 → u/[deleted]]

Ok so he’s par for the course lol. Silly little guys

[u/Aazjhee → u/Impossible_Truck9514]

If you look up African Soft Fur rats, they are teensy rats. I think between inbreeding for color and cuteness/docile behavior and the difference between European rodent stock and the teensy little things they prefer to eat, BPs have good reason to be very scared. xD

I think people overestimate fierceness in predators a lot of times, also. They do it because they MUST, not because they are cold-blooded killers. XD Especially the wild, their babies don't have high survival rates, so I imagine we skew the odds by letting all the derpy kids get free meals

[u/kn9wldg → u/[deleted]]

Exactly

[u/Civil_Ad_1172 → u/[deleted]]

My male wouldn’t survive

[u/andrea6543 → u/[deleted]]

my guy has been on a hunger strike for 3 months because his food touched his tail and i guess he didn’t like it. i tell him often he would die in nature

[u/[deleted] → u/andrea6543]

Your snake is a toddler.

[u/pockette_rockette → u/andrea6543]

Oh no, maybe try dressing his food up as vegetables so it's less threatening. Like the opposite of what I had to do with my children.

[u/[deleted]]

We have ball pythons of various morphs. Unfortunately, our most stunning new addition is completely useless when it comes to feeding. At first, she would only eat live for 3 months. Then, she stopped eating all together for a month. We tried everything from live, f/t, chicken broth, keeping her in a pillow case, another enclosure, you name it, we tried it. Eventually, she ate live again, after needing one force feed (not pleasan), and finally f/t but only mice. At 6 months, she still protests rats, unfortunately. We have noticed that each noodle has a different feeding response. Some are extremely excited and strike anything immediately, others semi excited and take their time, and then some need you to leave the prey in the enclosure and turn off all the lights for privacy. Ball pythons, at least in our experiences, have different personalities. It's pretty fascinating tbh. In short, yes! We also have a special needs noodle!

[u/MuldrathaB → u/[deleted]]

What makes the special needs noodle special needs??

[u/Civil_Ad_1172 → u/MuldrathaB]

I’m going to assume the spider gene, it’s really sad to see them still being bred in places, I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to breed spider in the UK

Someone correct me if I’m wrong

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Yes, we have a spider. No, she will never be bred. She is a rescue. Some say spider is no big deal, and others say it's terrible. Personally, I would not breed them. She has issues, but she is loved and cared for. I won't bash breeders for breeding them, but I won't agree with it either. Every animal deserves a good life, even the special ones!

[u/Cinnabar_Wednesday → u/[deleted]]

Why not bash breeders? They’re profiting from the misery of the snakes they create under unnatural conditions, and without thought to the ultimate wellbeing of the species. Fuck breeders.

[u/Zestyclose_Car_8427 → u/[deleted]]

Bps don't need to eat every meal time force feeding shoukd only be done to save a snakes life an adult can go well over a year without food just cuz they don't want to eat and baby's can go well over half a year force feeding is dangerous for the snake

[u/[deleted] → u/Zestyclose_Car_8427]

She was 3 months old and had not eaten in over a month. It was either me or a vet, but thanks for the advice.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

[u/Rvncid6 → u/[deleted]]

Same here, feeding is definitely intimidating as a first time parent & my boy uses a good amount of power to strike almost taking the tongs down with but I’m so grateful he’s not a picky boy & tolerates my mistakes lol.

[u/[deleted]]

So the way ball pythons are in the wild from my understanding is that they just hide all their lives and eat whatever prey comes by and doesn’t have much confrontation in the wild my bps eat much better if they feel a rat hasn’t seen them I feed f/t

[u/SnooStrawberries2955]

My ball python is like this, simply derpy all around. 🤣

[u/neztanizaki]

My BEL Freya is very similar, she's only ever eaten f/t and before we had her my sister said she usually takes quite a few minutes to find her food. She was absolutely right. I place her food in a specific dish in her terrarium, and it's always in the same spot, but once she smells the food she comes out and does a full lap around her terrarium before she finds her food🤣

[u/Aggressive_Pattern95]

yes. my bp is uh. not very intelligent

[u/sinner-mon]

Christ live feeding sounds even more horrendous than I thought

[u/Civil_Ad_1172 → u/sinner-mon]

The worst thing about it is if they don’t eat, you have a pet rat.

[u/sinner-mon → u/Civil_Ad_1172]

The worst thing is the suffering the rat has to go through :/

[u/Wise-Pumpkin-9259 → u/Civil_Ad_1172]

The worst worst thing is if it was pregnant without you knowing and you have like 7 pet rats (or mice in my case two years ago)