Bonding with a snake isn’t like bonding with a cat or dog.
You’re not going to have a pet that enthusiastically greets you every time you walk in the room, unless of course you’re there to feed on feeding day!
They aren’t going to come when you call, or miss you when you’re gone. Heck, most snakes don’t even look after their young once they’re born!
Bonding with a snake means having a pet or companion that is comfortable being handled, will rarely if ever try to bite, and actually seems to enjoy interacting with you. A snake that is used to your company, shows no signs of stress and that you can have a connection with.
At the end of the day that’s all that matters, right? You aren’t looking for a pet you can snuggle with, but you do want a connection; a bond.
In order to bond with a pet snake, you will need to do the following things.
- Handle it often
- Handle it in the appropriate way
- Understand when NOT to handle it
- Ensure it is healthy
- Ensure it is fed correctly
- Learn what it likes and provide those things
Will A Snake Recognize Its Owner?
Yes, snakes recognize their owners. They don’t recognize their owners by sight and sound like other pets however. Instead they recognize you by utilizing their Jacobson’s organ. A snake flicks its tongue to gather air molecules. It then puts the tips of the forks against this organ, located in the roof of its mouth. This registers as a smell more so than a taste. Your snake can differentiate these smells, and recognize when it’s you.
Talk about an impressive sense!
The Jacobson’s organ is so sensitive that it can tell which fork of the tongue has more molecules, and guide the snake to find what it’s looking for! It can easily distinguish the difference between you and another person.
Once you’ve handled your snake enough and have started bonding with it, you may find that it is relaxed when you handle it, but may become shy or skittish when other people do.
You might even find that your pet perks up and becomes a little more active when you’re in the room.
It recognizes you, and will start to want what you have to offer.
Whether that be food or time out of the cage to explore, it can learn that when you are around good things are going to happen.
Starting The Bonding Process With A Snake
I know this is hard for some people, but the first thing you want to do when you get a new snake is to leave it alone.
In order to start the bonding process, you need to have your snake as stress free as possible.
When you first get your snake, it is in a new environment. It doesn’t know you, it doesn’t recognize its surroundings and it certainly doesn’t associate its enclosure as “home”. Not to mention the importance of quarantining, which I explain in an article about keeping pet snakes.
Your new pet needs to time to acclimate to everything before it will be able to bond with you.
I recommend giving your serpent two full weeks, and one good meal before starting to handle it in any significant way.
Handling a snake can cause stress. This way you only have one source of stress to contend with rather than the added strain of its new surroundings.
How Often Should You Handle A Pet Snake?
Once your snake has been given a couple of weeks to acclimate, and has shown that it is relaxed enough to eat, you will want to begin handling it.
How often should you handle a pet snake? You should handle a pet snake twice per day for around 15 minutes at a time in order to get it to bond with you. You want to interact with it long enough for it to relax. Handling a snake causes stress because it is out of its safe home. The goal is to teach your snake that your handling is a good thing.
As time goes by, usually just a couple of weeks, you’ll find that your pet relaxes more quickly. It won’t be as tense when you take it out, and it will begin exploring its surroundings more readily when it is out of the cage.
This is exactly what you are looking for!
A snake that is exploring is relaxed.
When it’s moving around, flicking its tongue in and out, and not flinching at movements, it is happy and in its element.
When you reach this point, you can begin taking your pet out for longer periods of time.
The Right Way To Handle A Snake
In order to reduce stress and have a chance at developing a bond with your snake, you need to handle it the right way.
Here are some steps you should take when handling a pet snake.
- Grab your snake from the side rather than coming at it from above. A predator would grab it from above.
- Don’t pet your snake before picking it up. Some people believe that petting will calm the snake down and prepare it to be picked up. The exact opposite is true. It raises the stress level of your pet, and puts it into a state of defensiveness.
- Pick your snake up with confidence. Don’t be tentative or hesitant. Your nervousness will be passed on to the snake if you act scared.
- Avoid touching your snakes head. They might become accustomed to it with time, but in the beginning it’s best to leave their head alone.
- Grab your snake around a third of the way down its body, and if it is longer than a couple of feet, use your other hand to grasp it about a third of the way up from its tail.
- Keep as much of the body supported as possible. Hold the snake in your arms and close to your body so it doesn’t feel as if it might fall.
Some arboreal snakes like green tree pythons have to be coaxed off their perch. The easiest way to do this is to remove the entire perch from the enclosure while the snake is on it, then coaxing it to move on to your hand and arm.
Other snakes like the blood python prefer to have as much of their body supported as possible. They actually do better on the ground, so you may want to get them out of their enclosure and immediately sit down with them in your lap.
Learn about your species, and observe your pet when handling.
Keep the sessions short and sweet, and always try to end them on a good note while the snake is relaxed.
When To NOT Handle Your Snake
When bonding with a snake, you want all of your interactions to be pleasant and stress free.
There are some times however, when you should avoid handling your snake no matter how much it is is used to interacting with you.
- Don’t handle your snake when its eyes are milky. It can’t see very well, and will already be defensive.
- Avoid handling your snake when you have been touching its food. Its instinct to hunt overwhelms all others. If it smells food on your hand, it might bite. At the very least it will probably go into hunting mode.
- Allow your snake to rest without being bothered for two days after it has eaten.
- Limit handling if it seems unhealthy. Obviously you will need to handle your snake in order to diagnose and possibly take it to a vet, but you want only want to handle it as much as is absolutely necessary when it is sick.
Here’s an extra tip.
If you have a snake that is hyper, timid and/or likely to bite, leave it alone when it is active. Instead, try handling it during the hours when it normally sleeps. When they are sleepy and less active, they are also more relaxed and calm.
Ensure Your Snake Is Healthy
A sick snake is often times an aggressive one.
Not to mention, if you want to bond with your snake and gain its trust, you need to do your best to provide for it and keep it healthy.
- Start by keeping a record of your snake’s weight.
Occasional decreases in weight are normal and nothing to be alarmed by, but continued weight loss is a sign of potential health issues. You’ll catch this a lot sooner if you are weighing your pet once per week and tracking it. This also gives you additional bonding time with your pet.
- You’ll also want to make sure you are following the best husbandry practices possible.
Maintaining the optimal temperatures and humidity ranges, offering the right amount and type of lighting and providing the proper diet are crucial components to your snake’s overall health.
You can find all of my care guides here.
- Diet is especially important.
Obesity is a common problem with captive snakes, and usually leads to health issues and a shorter life span. We all love to spoil our pets, but health has to come first.
- The final step to this is maintaining a clean enclosure.
Snakes defecate in their cage and then crawl through it, making every square inch of the inside and all of the substrate a contamination zone for all kinds of nasty stuff. They can’t get away from it like they do in the wild.
If you do find that your snake is losing weight, acting differently or in any other way seems sick, take it to the vet as soon as you can. Most issues are easily resolved if they are caught early enough.
Learn What Your Snake Likes
The final step to bonding with your snake is simply observing it and learning about it.
Some snakes enjoy slithering through your fingers or hands, while others prefer to curl up around your arm. Some want to be held while others prefer to be given room to explore. There are snakes that enjoy access to water like in the bathtub, and there are some that can’t swim.
I have had snakes that get nervous if they feel too exposed, and so they prefer to curl up in the fold of my clothes. I’ve also had snakes that want to be outside, crawling through the grass and enjoying the sun and fresh air.
Some of these characteristics are common to specific species, while others are just quirks and traits to your individual snake.
The better you can learn your snake, the more you can provide it with the activities that it enjoys.
When you get to this point, you are well on your way to bonding with your snake.
Summary
Pet snakes are so much more than boring reptiles who sit in their cage sleeping all day.
Bonding with your pet snake simply takes a little time and effort.
After a few weeks you will be well on your way to having a long and rewarding relationship with one of the worlds most awesome creatures.