Training Tuesday: Let’s Discuss Royal Pythons

Welcome to Training Tuesday for August 6, 2024. Several people have asked me lately why their Python regius doesn't seem to be catching on to target training or why they are progressing so slowly, well . . . not all snakes are motivated to the same extent to work for food and the natural biology and natural history of Royal Pythons may play a role in why they seem to be less inclined to perform during training session. It doesn't mean they can't learn or that they aren't learning, they must may not be motivated to train. I find that they learn very quickly that the target predicts food but Royals take longer to learn they must work to earn the food and they may be less willing to travel as far or do complex behaviors as other snakes like Bredli, other pythons, or boas. While other snake species perform complex task while targeting, it takes a lot of work to get Royals to do similar behaviors. Why? It could be an artifact of captivity, feeding too much too frequently and not raising the snakes in a manner that requires them to work for food or simulate hunting. It could be due to the fact that biologically as they age, they move shorter distances and strike slower when hunting. Whatever the reason there is scientific research and data to back up that Royal Pythons get worse at prey acquisition and strike performance over time, not better as most snake species do, so don't get discouraged or think you're doing something wrong. Be patient, keep at it, your Royals are learning. I have found that target training improves their feeding consistency and their strikes.

Check out this article in the journal Zoology to learn more about the natural decline in Python regius strike performance!

Ryerson, W. G. (2020). Ontogeny of strike performance in ball pythons (Python regius): a three-year longitudinal study. Zoology, 140, 125780.

Thanks for watching and until next time, always be kind and love your animals.
Lori Torrini, CPDT-KA, AAB-UW, FFCP-Trainer
AAS Zoo Keeping, BSc Animal Health and Behavior
www.BehaviorEducation.org
www.Patreon.com/BehaviorEducation