http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47?format=rss Tribe.net. Local Connections http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#c8794b36-e66f-41d4-a3c8-aa1d99c3e398 Alright, let's move this to a new topic. How about starting a topic on herpetoculturist perceptions of feeding and cleaning responses of reptiles. Anecdotal evidence is very useful for future research studies that deal with repetition under controlled environments. When I have some time, I will copy and paste all these comments onto the new topic and remove them from the Definition of Ethology topic. Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:52:19 GMT http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#c8794b36-e66f-41d4-a3c8-aa1d99c3e398 Wendy 2008-04-10T14:52:19Z http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#657b0657-b0a9-4004-a7b2-037b3648af36 I have kept all sorts of reptiles for many years. I have been in and around collections of snakes that number into the 100's with snakes as large as 16 feet and I have noticed that using a strike box makes absolutly to difference in you chances in being bitten while feeding. In general I would suggest that it is an extremely bad idea to move a very large snake prior to feeding. I have snakes that have never been fed anywhere but in their enclosures and most of them don't even look at me funny when I open their enclosure for other reasons. The use of strike boxes is based on the idea that a snake will not be able to tell you from a prey item. I have found this not to be the case. Most snakes can tell the difference between things like mice and rats. Some will only eat mice some only rats. Some seem to prefer prey items of a certain color or size. Some snakes seem to be able to tell the difference between people. The leading cause of "Stupid Feeding Accidents" is doing something "stupid" while feeding. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 10:49:15 GMT http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#657b0657-b0a9-4004-a7b2-037b3648af36 crowbar 2008-04-09T10:49:15Z http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#5262707c-dedb-4441-9d74-7c2c61cd628e The only snake that bites us, is the one we put in a strike box for feeding. Humm??? Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:02:05 GMT http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#5262707c-dedb-4441-9d74-7c2c61cd628e Darkdove 2008-04-08T20:02:05Z http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#83c0f55c-0ed5-43e9-b5ff-7f92b367ce0d Having been a snake owner and educator for many years, might I make a gentle suggestion. Never feed your snakes in their cages! This is the leading cause of SFA's, also known as Stupid Feeding Accidents. Always remove your snakes from their cages, place them in a feed bin (I used large clear Sterlite containers) and watch until feed is consumed. Then after the feeding aggression has calmed down, place them back into their bins. I know more people who have been injured because of feeding in the regular cage. Snakes are very good at learning where easy prey comes from. They watching is not really a form of anticipation like "oh goody, I am getting fed!" It is actually a signal you have created for the snake, you have created the template for the tiny snake brain, which means "edible prey is in front of me, how can I catch it." This is far different than "joy" expressed by humans at a restaurant. Reptiles create these pictures in their brain through trial and error, and through genetic "memory". This is why you see such vivid colors among reptiles and amphibians, and why you have mimics and models in the prey world. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:14:54 GMT http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#83c0f55c-0ed5-43e9-b5ff-7f92b367ce0d Wendy 2008-04-08T15:14:54Z http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#036b2675-5480-4506-b93d-0f862b9965a9 Tonight as I was feeding one snake another one was watching us through her glass between the tanks, As soon as I closed the other tank I opened hers and she was waiting for her food. I also fed one of my female Ball Pythons and she was following me up and down her enclosure to see where her food was. I am finding they know when they are being fed as opposed to just being looked in on , and holding/handling them. One snake knows only my hubby feeds her and if I try she won't pay attention but looks to him. LOL Tue, 08 Apr 2008 01:37:07 GMT http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#036b2675-5480-4506-b93d-0f862b9965a9 Darkdove 2008-04-08T01:37:07Z http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#917fceb7-aedc-47ea-95ca-d0cc0e3cdbeb I talk with the local birds, I forget what they are called, they are brown on the bottom and black on the top, a kind of finch. It may come to me later. If you sit really still, and talk to them, they will eventually land on you. NO, I don't carry food and yes I do shower lol so I believe there is a kind of communication going on Thu, 24 Jan 2008 06:59:08 GMT http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#917fceb7-aedc-47ea-95ca-d0cc0e3cdbeb $item.owner.firstName 2008-01-24T06:59:08Z http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#57ce0bd1-ac84-4cc5-ac9f-54658bd1f3f0 Sorry to annoy. All i can say is most people tend to speak about what they know. Few of us have the luxury to deal with much more than those animals whom we share their lives with...go fig. On the other hand if I were to introduce a new topic it would be on the use of tools in other species. It seems both language and tool use is not the sole domain of the humans any more. All we have left is fire making to separate the man from the beast. Sun, 13 Jan 2008 04:06:45 GMT http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#57ce0bd1-ac84-4cc5-ac9f-54658bd1f3f0 elf 2008-01-13T04:06:45Z http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#835d61c3-3536-48be-aa7e-066fc8f639c8 Sweet. I was reading The Handicap Principle and they were introducing intriguing new theories of signaling behavior amongst predator and prey. They particularly used the small prey bird against the big bad hawk. They thought there was something more to it than simply the little birds warning other little birds of a bad guy. David Attenborough has that video "The Secret Life of Birds" where under special light (similar to certain bird vision) birds have very distinctive color patterns that are invisible to us. Therefore, considering studies done with House Sparrows and their black chest patches, and this new fact of special "invisible" coloration, would we not have just assumed those "cheater" sparrows would be targeted because their colors were not natural? OOOOOOH I love animal behavior studies. Sat, 22 Dec 2007 19:06:24 GMT http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#835d61c3-3536-48be-aa7e-066fc8f639c8 Wendy 2007-12-22T19:06:24Z http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#907fe599-71d0-4ed4-a3ce-3231f7473f11 If it helps, my dad was working on his PhD in psycholinguistics, using common finches to study how they pass on distinctive vocalizations among separate species. I remember he had control birds and test birds and had each one banded and its genealogy noted meticulously. Unfortunately, he passed away when I was still too young to really understand his work. Just trying to introduce a bird behavior topic for ya. :) Sat, 22 Dec 2007 18:36:04 GMT http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#907fe599-71d0-4ed4-a3ce-3231f7473f11 Dr. SteveSS 2007-12-22T18:36:04Z http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#56214eaa-492d-429d-91e6-a566fba69d86 Ethology is the study of animal behavior. I mentioned that I wanted this Tribe to discuss mainly non-human animal behavior. It seems there happen to be an awful lot of cat owners on Tribe and they have found their way here. Since a domestic cat is in fact an animal, and that it has become the number one pet in America, and because the pet food and toys is a multi-billion dollar industry, there seems to be a lot of interest in cat behavior. Domestic cats are probably the most impossible animal to study. Those who live with people exhibit very few similarities globally. You have the basics of body language, particular in tail communication, and you have vocalization. Apart from that, there is no real way to create a study (and believe me they have tried for decades) that can give us a control and treatment groups in a real world setting. Each cat is an individual, each cat owner is a separate individual. I would desperately like to see other animals represented. I would love to hear about the aggressive mating behaviors of some ungulates. I would love to hear about signaling behavior and visual stimuli amongst bird species. I LOVE behavior research using sound science. Sat, 22 Dec 2007 18:11:44 GMT http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#56214eaa-492d-429d-91e6-a566fba69d86 Wendy 2007-12-22T18:11:44Z http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#e373be61-0f67-45dd-b219-915ef53da760 If I were to judge from most of the topics here, I would guess it's "dealing with problem domesticated cats". So, just what is it? This is a serious question - I have yet to see a decent one. Cheers! Sat, 22 Dec 2007 06:29:14 GMT http://ethologistsunite.tribe.net/thread/52adaac2-f064-4436-8cfe-6d7e0a3cac47#e373be61-0f67-45dd-b219-915ef53da760 Lorne 2007-12-22T06:29:14Z