#snake enrichment

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Can snakes get depression?

This is an excellent question, and one that's incredibly hard to answer. We don't really know how reptiles like snakes experience the world, so speculating about their feelings always veers to close to anthropomorphizing for my comfort.

That said, though...I think we can observe that snakes can grow bored and disinterested in their surroundings. Snakes kept in tiny racks are overwhelmingly less active and, from anecdotal observation, tend to be more irritable and defensive. Snakes kept in larger enclosures with lots of enrichment tend to explore more and be calmer interacting with their surroundings. I'm personally very convinced that keeping pet snakes in inappropriately small and barren enclosures is bad for their mental well-being, and I'm certain that providing snakes with enrichment helps keep their brains active and results in happier snakes.

#not a rating #snake enrichment

[sardinemasc]

nelly conducted a very important cereal box investigation today. results are ... approved :)

i like putting new and interesting (and of course, safe—no sharp points/edges, so sticky stuff, etc) items in nelly's enclosure every so often, like paper towel tubes or other recycling. today's item is a cereal box. i actually put it in there a couple days ago but this was her first time coming out to explore since her meal on saturday. she began her investigation with a big drink of water from her pool/bowl and has been in and out of the box since. i take the random items out if they get wet or when i notice she hasn't really been interested them in a few days, or just whenever.

this is also, accidentally, a great way to show how much she's grown recently!!!! look at her!!! my big cranky monster!!!

[ID:

Six pictures of my orange corn snake Nelly exploring a cereal box. Two photos show her yawning. The others show her inside or climbing on the outside of the box. ]

#nelly #my snakes #creamsicle corn snake #corn snake #corn snakes #pantherophis guttatus #snakes #reptiblr #snakeblr #snake enrichment #reptiles

[omg-snakes]

I love your pictures of your snakes outside and would love to provide that kind of enrichment to my new boy but I am so concerned he would decide to leave my yard and I would be unable to stop him. How do you set up outside time for your snakes to make sure they're safe?

New boy is a pretty mellow 3-year-old corn snake named Linguine. I had been about to buy a corn from you when a neighbor needed to rehome this guy and I know I'm set up to care for him so I figured it was serendipity. Here is a slightly blurry photo of him saying "mouse????"

Hey friend!

Linguine is so cute! I'm glad he had a soft landing with you when his former situation got shakey. :)

For outdoor adventures, I tend to set up in areas that are far away from fences or deep bushes and I try to make the photo area or enrichment space more interesting and comfortable than the surrounding yard to prevent snakes trying to wander off. I also bring snakes outside on very brief hand-held sniffing tours a few times prior to offering a full enrichment experience. This means they have experience to draw from and know that "outside" is just another place where their human is.

I hold snakes indoors for a few minutes before we head out to the enrichment area. This gets their zoomies out and they settle down a bit. It also gives me an opportunity to do a vibe check and determine if they might be feeling up for an adventure. If they seem anxious or moody, we don't need to go outside.

During the adventure, I monitor their body language closely and intervene if I see any signs of stress. I might keep ahold of them and not grant full autonomy if they seem overly curious and try to zoop away to explore on their own. This is generally more of a concern for younger snakes as adults tend to be more chill. Holding onto the last third of their body gives them the ability to look around but not take off.

Snakes are never unattended for longer than it takes me to blink. My eyes are on them the entire time and they're never out of my reach. If they did try to flail and bail, I am ready to scoop them up in an instant. If I feel myself getting tired or distracted, then that means the adventure comes to a close.

You don't have to bring your snake outside if you don't feel it's safe. You can always bring outside in! You could plant grass seed or birdseed in a pie pan of dirt and let your snake play in the sprouted greens once it's grown a bit. Cat grass is great for this. Pesticide and fertilizer free reptile-safe flowers, herbs, twigs, or grass clippings in a tub or a brown lunch bag can be an interesting sensory experience. You can also get clean (pesticide free!!) oak leaves from around your neighborhood or online and add leaf litter to your snake's enclosure.

There are tons of ways to provide natural enrichment for your snake. Hopefully this has given you some ideas and you're able to plan a fun and safe adventure that you and Linguine can enjoy together!

#snake #snakes #reptile #reptiles #reptiblr #corn snake #corn snakes #answers to questions #text post #long post #snake keeping #snake care #snake enrichment #outdoor adventures #snake husbandry

[the-littlest-lunars]

Playpen for a snake. This is what Whisp was up to while we worked on his enclosure. He seemed to really enjoy himself and was always exploring something different each time we checked on him. (You can see his tail going into the black hide in the picture btw)

#Whisp #hognose #snake #western hognose #baby snake #snake enrichment

[starsreverie]

Guess who has a pegboard now!

#Biscotti #he loves it already 🥺 #i've always wanted one in the snek room #bamboo ball python #ball python #python regius #snake #snakeblr #reptile #reptiblr #enrichment #snake enrichment

[pastafossa]

I took the noodle outside for some 'outside' enrichment today, especially since it's warmish and YA'LL, his lil snakey pupils got so small in the sun he looked like 😳 and he did so many tongue flicks.

Slightly blurry photo. He always looks so small when bunched up in my hands which is hilarious cause he's like 3.5 feet long (or 2.5 average sized newborn babies for you non-Americans). I need to get a pic of him fully stretched out one of these days.

#tw: snake #snake #snakes #pepperoni pizza snake #i love pepperoni sm and i love enrichment time #he's such a curious lil guy who just likes exploring and smelling things and investigating #he's not much of a sleep chill on your neck snake but i don't mind

[kirstielol]

Jasper being cute 💕

#i need to get some big branches for his tank so he has more climbing enrichment 🐍 #reptiblr #ball python #snake #jasper #mysnakes #myreptiles

[fleetwoodmoth]

Dabi would have a pet snake. Snakes are awfully cuddly creatures and him being warm all the time, they would adore just snuggling up around his shoulders or neck.

#Dabi #I just saw someone giving enrichment to their snake and thought #Dabi would have a snake and it would adore him

[fisheito]

Imagine you have to set up yakumo's enclosure for the next couple months. How do you set it up and what do you put in there?

oh NO.! THE PROPPHECY HAS BEenm FUFILLED

i am standing in my room, leggies rooted to the floor. i am in shock .frozen and i have no idea how to proceed. there is a perpetual pathetically sobbing serpent under my blankie.

#stares at the camera and stage whispers #i can't be responsible for another living creature. i can't. or . er. i can. but I SHOULDN'T #i'll have to suppress every violent urge in my body to keep this thing alive for several months #i CANNOT fling him out the window. i WILL NOT grab his entire face and squeeze. I SHALL NOT chew on his tail. #now i'm reminded of that post where it's a pretty princess cage on the floor and comments go [that aint big enough for a dog] #and OP is all [it's not FOR a dog 😀] #yeah. that's me right now imagining a full grown yakumo in a cage by my bedside #SO FOR EASE OF MY IMAGINATION AND TO increase yaku's chance of surviving these next months #i'm going to try real hard to imagine him exclusively in pocket snake form (scrunches up my face in valiant effort) #his enclosure (crib?!?!) is flanked on all sides by eiden plushies #since yaku is an adult there is a smaller chance of him suffocating on eiden in his sleep. wait. actually #arranges the eiden walls to give some pockets of air. i don't trust him. he WILL suffocate on eiden given the opportunity #he gets one of those tiny dollhouse cooking sets for enrichment LOL #or i'll give him a bunch of those make-your-own gummy kits with elaborate setups and tiny egg gummies #crying yaku is the excuse i need to finally get a humidifier #i can survive not misting myself.. usually... but yaku will cry himself into dehydration. it's misting time #he gets an entire alcove closed off in the corner with his basic needs met. i cannot perceive #he can lurk in privacy as much as he wants. there are at least TWO hot rocks in there with garukaru's faces painted on em #there is a duplicate open-space alcove next to it for when he actually wants something from me LOL #is he a free range snake? can i take him to a bunch of restaurants and shove food into my sleeve for him? he wants to sample the delights.. #tempted to put a bell on him just so if he gets loose in the basement i'll know to fish him out #but he's pretty cautious... he won't get into any fatal situations in the house right? ...does he know how to swim?! #at least one day is reserved for testing yaku's swimming capabilities. #he is going into the bathtub while it has a film of water. gonna test his traction. i hope i won't get panic-strangled #asks

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

How can you safely find out if your snake enjoys swimming?

Often, if you expose them to water a snake who enjoys swimming will let you know! Placing a small bin of water just deep enough for your snake to float in inside your snake's enclosure and showing it to them will let them check it out and give it a try on their own terms, and if they enjoy it, you can move from there! I like introducing water inside the enclosure because that's where the snake feels comfortable and they will easily be able to leave the water when they choose.

A snake who enjoys swimming will choose to remain in the water even when they can leave, and you'll see lots of alert, happy tongue-flicking (even and especially underwater). They might hang out with their head just above or even under the water, and they might slowly swim around checking out every corner of the container. Especially the first few times you give them some water to check out, be sure to place something like a rock or washcloth in the water so they have something to hold onto as lots of snakes might get spooked by how tractionless a container filled with water is.

Swimming is excellent enrichment for some snakes and it's honestly slept on a bit, but I love it. Not every snake likes it, but for those who do, it's great fun! I have many snakes who would hang out in the water all day if I let them. Some species that I've found tend to really enjoy swimming include ball pythons, kingsnakes (especially Cali kings), short-tailed pythons, boa constrictors, and ratsnakes.

#not a rating #snake enrichment

[thirteen-jades]

oooo you wanna pet me... you wanna pet me and cuddle me and snuggle me so muuuuuuch~ oooooo~

I wanna pet you... I wanna pet you and cuddle you and snuggle you so much~ oooooo~

#come here to get squeezed tight! #like #really tight #really *really* tight #snake hugs are excellent enrichment for prey animals

[omg-snakes]

Brian got a new tube to explore and she found it very interesting.

#snake #snakes #reptile #reptiles #reptiblr #corn snake #corn snakes #amel snake #amel corn snake #Brian #reptile enrichment #snake enrichment

[fanotastic]

If you wish death upon my reptiles/snakes or make comments about turning them into shoes/purses. I'll say the same about your dog or cat. 🙃

#i take my most well behaved reptiles out sometimes #get smells and enrichment #the best ones meet other people and I proceed to educate people about them #the basic shit ya know #they're cold blooded / they're not slimey / my snakes are not poisonous you mean venomous and no they are not venomous #but then i get fucking assholes who say they'd straight up kill my animals #who fucking does that #what if i walked up to you and said I'd kill you fucking dog #get the fuck out of here #online folk are good about this #if you like my pets you like my pets #if you dont you ignore them #but when i go out in public thats when people feel bold enough to make threatening comments about my animals #fanblog

[pastafossa]

I may not have a fancy obstacle course or enrichment treat like other snake parents but I DO HAVE MATTS, although he did knock down one of my little Matt figures off the shelf. 😂

#snakes #snake #pepperoni the pizza snake #GO NOODLE GO #'taking my snake for a walk' #idk if snakes care about enrichment but he seemed to enjoy himself

[kirstielol]

have any reptile keeper friends on here bought one of those bulk boxes of cork branches???? every reptile store around me has bulk boxes of cork branches and you can buy 5lb, 10lb, or 20lb boxes

but i have no concept of how much you actually get??? i know cork bark is light but how many big branches do you really get for 5lbs??

i need more branches for my sneks 🐍 i have two 4'x2' tanks i want to fill with lots of branches

#like its not cheap either.. its $120 for a 10lb box #like i'd buy it if it was super worth it??? is 10lbs of cork bark branches gonna be enough to fill two 4'x2' tanks??? #or is 10lb overkill for my two tanks?? is 5lb better?? or 20lb??? #reptiblr #reptiles #snakes #my sneks need more climbing enrichment!!!

[jrwiyuri]

Hey, saw your post, glad you don't hate yourself and it's not coming from a place of depression- but I'mma speak from experience here, i was in a very similar place to you a few years ago, was curious and wanted to see what it was like. never had very serious self-loathing or esteem issues, was just curious. Gonna be so honest with you it kinda just hurt. wasn't thrilling, just really stung. romanticizing blood and gore in fiction is one thing, like it's fiction and it can be really compelling imagery, but like- in real life? Just kinda sucks. Not fun. Not particularly awful or anything but really just not worth it

plus it leaves you having to cover up marks you don't wanna have to explain to people, etc.

also- NOT telling you that this is your situation, I just gotta say- keep in mind that if this is something you're thinking about a lot, or that you feel you'd get satisfaction from, even if you don't feel like there's any issues going on, maybe re-examine your relationship with yourself, with the stressors in your life, with your body, et c.

just keep yourself safe in the end is all. don't want you getting too hurt

Yeah ur probably right. I used to sh for actual depression reasons and it didn’t feel good and I have a fear of pain realistically... But also. The voices man. ☹️

#snake answers #anon ask #tw self harm mention #|| #ITS JUST.. #I think I need to get my brain studied or smth #logically I know I don’t enjoy pain and that when I did sh it ducked #sucked* #but the crazy stupid insane part of my brain is like ‘hmm… but what if it is different this time? what if it is cool and epic? hmmm…?’ #it’s a curse #but it’s fine I will bite my arm a little bit and it will be okay #(<- not to the point it hurts just like. fun biting. like enrichment. )