Can corn snakes get attached to one person in particular? I'm wondering because I'm handling my little hatchling daily (except after feeding) and she/he just loves the attention. However, I'm the only one handling her (bf still isn't comfortable enough to handle her) and just wondering if me handling her will help her be more friendly to being handled in general, or if it will help her be more friendly to being handled just by me?
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can they get attached
- Thread starter autumn75
- Start date
diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
Personally, I don't believe corns get attached to their owner or main handler, but I do think they learn that your scent means 'not too scary, feeds me =good'! My boys all handle the snakes, but if I'm near the snake invariably tries to get across to me.
Ohana
New member
Snakes are not animals that attach. After all in the wild they don't even care for their young. I agree with Diamondlil, they do get familiar with scents that mean to them this is not a scary thing.
They certainly know nervous hands and will react, only because it is not something that they are sure of themselves.
But certainly words like, love, attachment, likes and that sort of thing just doesn't come into a snakes brain. IMHO.
So when your bf decides he wants to handle your snake, why don't you get it out of the viv and then hand it to your bf. This way your stake starts with a familiar smell and your bf doesn't have to be the nervous hand going in after him.
They certainly know nervous hands and will react, only because it is not something that they are sure of themselves.
But certainly words like, love, attachment, likes and that sort of thing just doesn't come into a snakes brain. IMHO.
So when your bf decides he wants to handle your snake, why don't you get it out of the viv and then hand it to your bf. This way your stake starts with a familiar smell and your bf doesn't have to be the nervous hand going in after him.
Nanci
Alien Lover
I think the more people a snake is socialized to, the better it learns that "all those two-legged things are safe," rather than "just the one I know is safe."
I was thinking yesterday about reptile intelligence/learning. You wouldn't think they are very smart. I've got two box turtles who lived in mortal fear of me for a year. Then one day the one I'd had longer decided I was the food source, and I became beloved, and she would run to me any time I glanced into her enclosure. The other turtle remained afraid, but by the end of the week, also decided I was not to be feared and would run to me. So they go into brumation for the winter. They don't get fed for four months. How do they know, the next spring, that I'm the one who feeds them? They remember. You wouldn't think they'd have such good memories.
I was thinking yesterday about reptile intelligence/learning. You wouldn't think they are very smart. I've got two box turtles who lived in mortal fear of me for a year. Then one day the one I'd had longer decided I was the food source, and I became beloved, and she would run to me any time I glanced into her enclosure. The other turtle remained afraid, but by the end of the week, also decided I was not to be feared and would run to me. So they go into brumation for the winter. They don't get fed for four months. How do they know, the next spring, that I'm the one who feeds them? They remember. You wouldn't think they'd have such good memories.
bitsy
Owned by Corns since 1991
I'd agree with that. I don't believe that they become "attached" in the emotional sense or the "pack" sense that you'd see with a cat or dog. But they can come to associate a particular person with being safe & fed, so they might express a preference for that person if given a choice.
My observation is that it's mainly based on smell. If I wash my hands with a different soap to the usual one before handling, mine are definitely more wary of me. And I once made the mistake of cooking with garlic an hour before feeding time and was promptly tagged by two Corns that have never so much as looked at me funny, before or since!
Jcapicy
Veritas Aequitas
Reminds me of the thread on "how intelligent are snake"
Most common agreement seemed to be that they learn the association of things.
So just as stated above, they learn your smell means safe, therefor they are calm with you. Just like my snakes will just chill, but when I put them in the feeding been they are constantly searching. And how some of my snakes will hiss if someone else tries to pick them up before me.
Most common agreement seemed to be that they learn the association of things.
So just as stated above, they learn your smell means safe, therefor they are calm with you. Just like my snakes will just chill, but when I put them in the feeding been they are constantly searching. And how some of my snakes will hiss if someone else tries to pick them up before me.
TWGarland
Active member
I think peope have to be careful when making these types of presumptions.
I mean, as the snakes owner you get to know its personality and together you work out ways of doing things in a certain way. For example a keeper realises that with a certain individual you can't do *insert random activity*, but with another corn you can.
So if you have your system, and someone else who doesn't know it goes about things in their own way, then this could cause different responses from your snake, but it doesn't mean that the snake only knows he's safe with his owner :shrugs:
Tom
I mean, as the snakes owner you get to know its personality and together you work out ways of doing things in a certain way. For example a keeper realises that with a certain individual you can't do *insert random activity*, but with another corn you can.
So if you have your system, and someone else who doesn't know it goes about things in their own way, then this could cause different responses from your snake, but it doesn't mean that the snake only knows he's safe with his owner :shrugs:
Tom
Jcapicy
Veritas Aequitas
That's not exaclty what is being said, just that the snake may associate certain events with doing something. Such as people who feed in the snakes home tank and rarely handle tend to have a corn which is more prone to biting. This due to the snake associating its cage being open with being fed. It's not that the snake feels safe, more that it does not feel threatened or react as if being threatened.
Another example which was recently given on the forums was a new owner being giving the advise that if her new young snake is biting her and she is imediately leaving it alone or putting it back it may learn that it can be left alone by biting, whereas someone who puts up with the biting can eventually have a snake far less prone to biting as it no longer associates biting with being left alone.
Does this straighten out the concept a bit?
Another example which was recently given on the forums was a new owner being giving the advise that if her new young snake is biting her and she is imediately leaving it alone or putting it back it may learn that it can be left alone by biting, whereas someone who puts up with the biting can eventually have a snake far less prone to biting as it no longer associates biting with being left alone.
Does this straighten out the concept a bit?
Jcapicy
Veritas Aequitas
Its standard Pavlovian training. Just like teaching a dog to roll over for a treat. Eventually you don't even need the treat to get the responce, but the dog might be expecting it, hence calling it a trick. Associations are some of the most basic learning proccesses. Babies learn to cry when they are uncomfortable or hungry, and children throw tantrums because at some point they learned it got them what they wanted.
Jcapicy
Veritas Aequitas
But I do agree that an outside person doing something different to your snake such as picking it up a different way or smelling different can result in a defferent response even though the overall activity may be trying to complete the same task and it is just outside of the snakes scope of understanding.
Jcapicy
Veritas Aequitas
you may want to check out this thread:
http://cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61846
http://cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61846
Snake Dave
Schrödinger's cat
Wow, trigger-happy Jcapicy :grin01:
Personally, I agree with you all. I don't believe Cornsnakes have the capacity or the will to become emotionally attached to someone, since as a rule (and as far as we know), they don't feel complex emotions, at least not as we do.
Personally, I agree with you all. I don't believe Cornsnakes have the capacity or the will to become emotionally attached to someone, since as a rule (and as far as we know), they don't feel complex emotions, at least not as we do.
TWGarland
Active member
Jcapacity thanks for the many posts and link, theres no need to explain simple Pavlovian associations to me, i understand them well (IMO 
), i think actually you and i have discussed them before in the 'How Intelligent are Snakes' thread although re-reading my previous post, i can see how theres confusion i am having trouble voicing my thoughts on this one.
Coming back to the OP's question, I think its more that its scent recognition, but to what level? Does a snake recognise human scent through association as non-threatening, or can it go further to an individual humans scent being recognised? which could be described as 'owner preference'. Who knows, i would have thought we may never be able to quantify, to that extent, the level of an animals senses :shrugs: my opinion is that its exposure to human scent in general and no more.
Thats pretty much what i was trying to convey in my previous post. As in, you have to be careful putting it down to pavlovian type associations. Its not always an association the snake is making, but things you as the snake owner do which in turn could be taken as being owner preference from the snake.
You hold your snake - not gripping, moving hands slowly, you pass your snake to friend, he grips a little harder, moves hands more quickly, which in turn leads to the snake being more agitated. There may or may not be associations there, but it could/could not still be taken as owner preference, in a way.
), i think actually you and i have discussed them before in the 'How Intelligent are Snakes' thread although re-reading my previous post, i can see how theres confusion i am having trouble voicing my thoughts on this one.Coming back to the OP's question, I think its more that its scent recognition, but to what level? Does a snake recognise human scent through association as non-threatening, or can it go further to an individual humans scent being recognised? which could be described as 'owner preference'. Who knows, i would have thought we may never be able to quantify, to that extent, the level of an animals senses :shrugs: my opinion is that its exposure to human scent in general and no more.
Thats pretty much what i was trying to convey in my previous post. As in, you have to be careful putting it down to pavlovian type associations. Its not always an association the snake is making, but things you as the snake owner do which in turn could be taken as being owner preference from the snake.
You hold your snake - not gripping, moving hands slowly, you pass your snake to friend, he grips a little harder, moves hands more quickly, which in turn leads to the snake being more agitated. There may or may not be associations there, but it could/could not still be taken as owner preference, in a way.