New guy

[ConcinusMan]

Nothing wrong with that. As I was saying before, the snakes are good for you.

[Starling96]

I case u were wodering the little guys in the wild now lol
he was fully recovered

[d_virginiana]

I have online friends, I consider a lot of people on here and people on games to be true friends, but in a physical sense, I don't have anyone to talk to, or to hug if I feel down. That is why I anthropomorphise, I can talk to Mama and believe she listens to me, I can hug her and I can bring her into my room and lay with her, and usually, she'll stay right on my chest or on my pillow.

Bonds with animals like snakes, frogs, fish, ect. are so interesting because so much trust is involved. I mean, it's no wonder my dog can trust me and understand every little facial expression I make; they evolved with us as our companions. They legitimately think we're part of their family unit, so it's really not that astounding when someone has a dog that trusts them. IMO the trust your snake shows in being relaxed enough to just lay on you like that (cause they definitely know we're alive and not just a part of the scenery!) is a really fascinating thing and no less important than the bonds some people have with their dogs or cats.

[kibakiba]

I agree with you on that, Mama is the only snake that trusts me enough to lay on me and let me do pretty much whatever I want without putting up a big fuss. My snakes are my family, and I'm happy to consider them that. They are truly much more than an animal to me, and way more than a pet (if anything, I'm their pet...) I'm not one to own fuzzy animals, due to my allergy to fur and feathers, but we have rescued our dog, cat and macaw... They're just as much of family as my snakes are, even if I don't always like them (which is usually molting time, making my eyes and throat swell up)

[Sonya610]

Oh C'mon Steve, don't be so quick to anthropomorphise. I think we can agree that there are similarities in both physiology, and behavior, between reptiles and birds. Birds flock together at a great advantage against predator attack. Did it not occur that the old adage "there is safety in numbers" might apply here? You said yourself that they seem calmer and not as nervous/ more "outgoing" in groups.

There is so much we do not know about other species of plants and animals.

I would be very curious to know if anyone has done a study on these wild garters that group together outside the den (like the ones Shannon saw, virtually all curled up together in pairs).

Are those pairings totally random? Do garters gravitate towards others and keep pairing with the same animals in the wild? Do they have a preference for related animals? I don't think observing captive animals all stuck together would be as reliable as observing garters in the wild.

Scientists often study things that are in no way close to nature and then make blanket statements about entire species. The famous "wolf pack" studies were based primarily on CAPTIVE animals randomly grouped together and then observed. Real packs are simply FAMILIES of wolves and react very differently, yet arrogant scientists studied groups of complete strangers forced to live together and formulated huge "fact based studies" on wolf behavior that was universally accepted as "scientific truth".

No doubt reptiles are even less understood.

[RedSidedSPR]

My new anery seems to trust me... he ate his first meal sitting in my hand... and the rest of the meals are hand fed too. But because of that, I can pick him up without him squirming away (unlike my other two) he just doesn't seem to mind...

I'm not one to own fuzzy animals

well, if she replaces those.. just don't squeeze too hard

[RedSidedSPR]

No doubt reptiles are even less understood.

No doubt

[guidofatherof5]

I case u were wodering the little guys in the wild now lol
he was fully recovered

That's great news. Thanks for the update.