Head bobbing...

[Zephyr]

I saw my old garter, Scooty, do this when I introduced him to a friend's ribbon snake. The ribbon didn't respond, but he was doing it from behind her. *His head was behind hers, so there was no way she could've seen him.* Maybe it's the sound of the bobbing? Or just the rapid motion catches their eye. Or, if they do it every time they make body contact, maybe it's the touch?

[Zephyr]

And also, is there even the MINUTEST chance that it's a learned behavior?

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

lol I wasnt talking about them bobbing their heads beardd dragon style. you are talking about when they smell each other or rub up against one another, their head and body does this little tweaky twitch thing, right? they don't bob their heads like a lizard does haha! its a touch and smell thing. one garter does it, and if the other garter feels it and is responsive, it does it back. In the process of "twitching", they often get carried away and swing their head towards the ground a few times. I don't think its visual at all. if one of mine does it when they're not touching the other garter, it's because they just "got a whiff" of the other snake and they start twitching when they smell another garter. I have noticed that my females do it more than my males do. It's not just a garter thing either, all 7 of my corns all do this when they come into contact with each other. It's the way snakes say "hi, i'm another snake and I'm not going to eat you, and if it's a male he's saying I'm also going to check you out as a potential mate now ::intense tongue flicking begins::"

I have noticed that king's don't do it to other snakes, mainly because many times they DO intend to eat the other snake and don't really want to hold a conversation with their next meal. If you are breeding kings, however, the male and female will usually do the twitch greeting before courtship.

having 36 garters, I will say that ALL of them do it!

[adamanteus]

In the process of "twitching", they often get carried away and swing their head towards the ground a few times. I don't think its visual at all.

Yeah... everything Shannon just said! I totally agree. I know Garters have better eyesight than many snakes... but I don't see this behaviour as a visual communication.

[Zephyr]

Hmm... Perhaps I should do some experiments with this this summer. Maybe do something along the lines of taking two wild garters, introducing them directly to eachother and observing, and then trying it with two other garters and put some sort of barrier between them that would allow their "smell" to pass through, but no visual cues that another snake is in the area.

[adamanteus]

That might not work, Kyle. I think it's probably a tactile thing... they need to touch each other.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

usually their tongue needs to directly hit another garter for them to give a good twitch.

[Zephyr]

So, we think that it's a response to the touch of another snake and the smell? It would have to be both, otherwise they'd have to know exactly what another snake feels like, or they'd do it when their handler gently touches them when they're off guard.
And do you think the smell stimuli has to come first in the process? *Edit- As opposed to touch being first.*

[adamanteus]

I think it's a combination of the two senses...... they recognise that another Garter is in the immediate vicinity. That's how I see it.

[Zephyr]

My other question is if it's a "Hey, I'm here" movement or a "welcome" movement followed by that. In other words, if the arriving snake is making its presence known, or if the other snake is recognizing the other snake's presence.