do big snakes know they're big?

[A.D.I.D.A.S.]

any thoughts?

[zebo and nola]

i dont think my boas know their big.ever have an 8' boa trying to get into your hoodie pocket?lol...

[A.D.I.D.A.S.]

Originally Posted by zebo and nola

i dont think my boas know their big.ever have an 8' boa trying to get into your hoodie pocket?lol...

thats the kind of situation that prompted me to ask,
maybe i should have titled it what tight spots has yo big snake tried to fit thier enormous selves through?

[zebo and nola]

nola actualy split the seams fo my hoddie pouch shes a husky girl lol...

[Conners]

It's an interesting question. They must have an automatic sense of their self relative to other living things in their environment. Lots of people report that their boids becomes more relaxed about being exposed as they get bigger.

Esentially it's evolved behavior - natural selection wouldn't punish a snake that was inclined to hide when small but less so when 12 foot, because there aren't many natural predators of 12 foot snakes. Ergo there's no evolutionary incentive for the biggest snakes to stay shy as they get bigger.

[Bubba117]

Our 2 bigs girl dont act like they know they are big!....Tunya at 7 ft has an old shirt that my then 2 year old used to wear...she lovs to cuddle in it, and virtually will fight her way to get her whole body in!.

[morti]

Knowing their size and looking for a tight place to hide are two different things. ALL snakes feel more secure when they think they are hidden. They really like to be covered by something that is touching them on as many sides as possible. This leads them to seek out shelters that are a little small.

Some of our giants seem to have a self assurance about them that some of the smaller snakes don't have. I think they know they are at the top of their respective food-chains. On a related note, have you ever noticed that even large snakes that come from areas with large predators are more aggressive and flighty as a rule? Look at African Rock Pythons for example. They would probably feature on the menu of some of the big cats of the region, and they are Grumpy. Papuan pythons, on the other hand, are some of the easiest going snakes that exist. Perhaps, in part, because they are at the top of the foodchain.

[Conners]

Originally Posted by morti

Knowing their size and looking for a tight place to hide are two different things. ALL snakes feel more secure when they think they are hidden. They really like to be covered by something that is touching them on as many sides as possible. This leads them to seek out shelters that are a little small.

Some of our giants seem to have a self assurance about them that some of the smaller snakes don't have. I think they know they are at the top of their respective food-chains. On a related note, have you ever noticed that even large snakes that come from areas with large predators are more aggressive and flighty as a rule? Look at African Rock Pythons for example. They would probably feature on the menu of some of the big cats of the region, and they are Grumpy. Papuan pythons, on the other hand, are some of the easiest going snakes that exist. Perhaps, in part, because they are at the top of the foodchain.

That's a really good point. It is a curio that Rocks and Retics are moody given that they grow up to be near the top of the food chain, but the fact they're spread across big continents with lots of large mammals as predators might explain it.

It seems to be the case that populations tend to drift into being passive if they don't have predators to contend with, but stay feisty if they do. So you get a lot of the former in insular species (one of the reasons the Dodo went extinct so quickly is because it made no effort to escape from the sailors that turned up on Mauritius).

Speaking of Retics being moody, has anyone seen this National Geographic show? -

Dangerous Encounters: Bad Bite - In His Own Words

The guy got a truly shocking bite from a relatively small Retic. Massive lacerations on the thigh.

[Kobi Baby]

Hmm....both my girls are teeny things, around 3-3.5' and they think they're bigger than the world. Attitude wise...anyway lol. They slither around hissing "This is MY house....move out of my way, human mommy! I have blankets and pillows to investigate!!!"
.
Hope that helps. (((sarcasm)))

[mhartmann]

Originally Posted by morti

Look at African Rock Pythons for example. They would probably feature on the menu of some of the big cats of the region, and they are Grumpy. Papuan pythons, on the other hand, are some of the easiest going snakes that exist. Perhaps, in part, because they are at the top of the foodchain.

Every seen this video? YouTube - Python attacks tiger

[Bubba117]

I have seen this video once before......there is a second clip to it where they end up in the water