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Natural History/Field Observation Field observations of corn snakes, field collecting, or just general topics about the natural environment they are found in.

Wannabe Thief
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Old 09-11-2014, 05:01 PM   #61
Aozora
Well, uh....

We have a double-header.

Went out to give the rabbits some frozen water bottles since it was so hot, and my roommate decided to check on the quail. He goes, "We have a guest," as he's looking at the top tier of the cage. I said, "At least we don't have two." He bends down, looks at the middle tier, crouches, looks at the bottom tier.... Long pause. "We have two snakes."

So we had to scramble to get another temporary bin set up. #1 is back, only 48 hours after we released him. He's not really as hungry as he thinks he is, I'm sure. He has to be cramped in the temp bin until we feed and release the other black rat snake. Haven't positively ID'd the other snake yet. Also, my camera ran out of batteries, so photos will have to wait, but there will be some.
 
Old 09-11-2014, 05:40 PM   #62
KaylaEliuk
I love this thread! Did that female ever lay? Or did she trick you?
Sorry about the quail you have lost, but you did make a few friends in the process
 
Old 09-12-2014, 07:53 PM   #63
Aozora
This is crazy. This week has been the Snakening or something. We fed one of the two we found yesterday, and when we went out to check on the quail today we saw something black in the grass about 15' away from the cage... yep, a black rat snake. So we had to let one of the guests go so we could bring in this new guest. We've never seen him before. He's a biiiiig boy, and badly beat up. Lots of scars. A very sweet-natured snake, as always. He's getting fed tonight, so I'll take pictures once he digests.
 
Old 09-12-2014, 08:06 PM   #64
Nanci
So cool!! The Snakening!!
 
Old 09-12-2014, 10:25 PM   #65
bryanb
I think at this point they may be getting caught intentionally.
 
Old 09-21-2014, 07:09 PM   #66
Aozora
It's taken me a bit to be able to get back to my computer. Here's a couple of pictures of our scarred visitor. He was such a sweetheart, although he did try to go down my shirt.

#1 continues to musk us every time we deal with him. It's gone from flailing to ninja musk, though. We'll be holding him, he's all calm, tail goes *wiiiiiiipe*, and then we smell it. Brat.
 
Old 09-21-2014, 07:11 PM   #67
Aozora
Our quail eater, #4, shed. Has a month and a half of steady meals and a comfy home improved his temper any?

Answer:
 
Old 09-22-2014, 01:20 AM   #68
Phruit Dish
Quote:
Originally Posted by bryanb View Post
I think at this point they may be getting caught intentionally.
Positive reinforcement, aka adding something desirable following the performance of a specific behavior would tend to agree with you, as would I.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Aozora View Post
#1 continues to musk us every time we deal with him. It's gone from flailing to ninja musk, though. We'll be holding him, he's all calm, tail goes *wiiiiiiipe*, and then we smell it. Brat.
Snake, thy name is Damien.

I really love this thread. I'm sorry you've lost quail in the process and that the threat continues, but I love meeting your unrepentant thieves.
 
Old 09-22-2014, 05:29 AM   #69
Nanci
It's like this:






The guy said after shooting the video, he fed them 100 juicy worms. They are obviously accustomed to coming in for feeding.
 
Old 10-07-2014, 10:33 PM   #70
Phruit Dish
Actually, that great video (loved it!) inspired an idea. If these snakes truly are catching on to the idea that breaking into the quail building gets them fed -- and I think they are -- then you can use this learned behavior to your advantage.

They have come to associate your general area, your quails, and you with a convenient meal. With a little work, you can get them to move to an alternate, more desirable location (one that keeps your quail out of harm's way). If you figure out a way to block the snakes' access to the quail completely and bait something nearby with a f/t meal (like an open bin?), you can gradually move your bait to another location. This will hopefully teach them that the easier meal, and the one that keeps them out and about at that, is the new location...and they'll leave your quail alone. (I wrote a behavioral analysis term paper a few semesters ago on this concept in practice and aced it...it's good stuff!)

Just a thought. It takes some time, some effort, and some food, but it could be worth it. In my experience, it works!
 

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