Behavior changes- a newbies rambling thoughts

[HannaKonda]

Last night was the first time i had reasons to handle all 3 of my girls on the same night and i realized i have a favorite. Its my lovebug hatchling, Hazel. I feel a little guilty about having a favorite.

Since moving her from the 20 long aquarium to a rub, she seems so much calmer! She doesn't squirm off when I reach in to get her and seems to actually enjoy playing in my hands. by enjoy I mean there are other options- she could go to a towel or some other place nearby and repeatedly chooses my other hand, serpentine moving through my fingers gracefully with no apparent stress. I was showing off the snakes to a friend last night and even they noticed the difference between Haze's behavior and Nova - a yearling who always stretches out into the abyss as far away from me as she can reach when I pick her up.

In fairness I've only had Nova two weeks, but she was much calmer the first couple days i had her, even though she was in blue. I held her at repticon and inspected her at home that day. I put her in a faunarium for the first day until i got a rub for Haze and disenfected the 20 long viv/ set it up for the switch. I suspect she's been in a tub/rub at the breeders all her life.

I'm wondering if the difference in behavior is length of time she's had more time to become accustomed to me/ her surroundings, just her personality or perhaps the change from a large glass enclosure to a smaller rub. I can easily move Nova into an appropriately sized sterlite tub if she would feel more secure in it, but now that she's been in the viv 2 weeks, would another move cause more stress?

Thoughts/Opinions?

(And jic you are wondering- 1 month old kimi is just too young and tiny to pay attention to behaviors. She eats, drinks, makes lots of poo and grows and she gets an A+ for that right now)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

 

[hypnoctopus]

I have heard that some snakes do better in a plastic tub because it makes them feel more secure. I think some of the more delicate species definitely do better in them. I prefer glass tanks (for looks), but for the last 4 or 5 months, all of my snakes have had to be switched to tubs. It hasn't made a difference in most of them, except for two of them. These two are both 2 years old and they used to be very calm, nice snakes. But after living in the tubs, both of them now are quite squirmy when I hold them and one of them usually gets very defensive when I first go to pick her up. She has struck a few times, but usually she just rattles her tail. She had never done either of those things while I had her in a tank.

 

[HannaKonda]

Thanks for the feedback. I really don't have anything to complain about. I don't even get a tail rattle and everyone is feeding great, shedding perfectly, and growing. I have a "snake playpen" set up (a sterlite with an old sundress of mine on the bottom and a plastic pathos vine and a bowl of lukewarm water) for safekeeping while cage cleaning and I noticed less flight response with Nova when I pick her up from there. Of course that could just be coincidence, but that's what got me thinking that maybe a plastic rub felt more familiar to her than glass. I guess time will tell.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk