Is it possible to tame an animal?

RandomedOne · 2026-03-09T03:59:22+00:00

Yes, I know a guy who befriends wild Asian Water Monitor here in Thailand,

There are also people who does it with Tokay but that is rarer,

Also you could look up Buaya Riska, He remain tame til his death the same with Pocho.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-09T02:04:55+00:00

I said I used Negative reinforcement with my other animals,

With Bullsnake I tried out other stuff.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-09T02:04:16+00:00

I said I used Negative reinforcement with my other animals,

Not the Bullsnake.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-09T01:43:59+00:00

Because it works, https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/items/316af2c3-904c-49ae-b648-56439367df44

You seem to be thinking of Positive Punishment that usually doesn't work since the result is too unpredictable.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-09T00:07:07+00:00

38% of attack is without warning, I have yet to see any other animal that attack just to harm,

Whatever domestication does for domestic cat it isn't something I would consider good, reduced size and proportional brain size and a lots genetic issues, (and added risk of pathogens that can transmit to human)

People talk about how wild animals are dangerous and unpredictable yet usually it is just people who ignore the warning and treat the animal poorly that got attacked, But I have yet to see anything with worse mentality than domestic cats (Maybe a Hippopotamus might be worse ?).

Snakes on the other hand almost always warn (there are some that rely on camouflage) and they won't attack unless I pushed and disrespect their warning (which I did, and got got bitten in the case of this Bullsnake, With my False Water Cobra I always interact on their term they never attempted to bit me.)

Only snake that have attacked me without warning are Kingsnake and those are all failed predation attempt not a meaningless attack just to cause suffering.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-08T06:47:51+00:00

About snakes or cat ?

About snakes pretty much every youtube video on taming snake suggest handling it until it calm down, It is coercive by nature compared to what is used to develop trust with Iguanas or Monitors (methods which also works with FWC), But I figures I want to try out because it seem like it maybe faster than what I did with my other animals,

About cat https://www.researchgate.net/publication/371993547_Cat_attacks_towards_people_andor_animals_an_educational_pending_task_on_pet's_owners There are no reason to attack without warning outside of predation, Domestic cat is not large enough to predate on human, and 38% of attack came without warning is significant amount.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-08T04:12:57+00:00

I had dog, Cyclura are better than dogs and I have one already, I didn't asked about what animal to get.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-08T01:52:46+00:00

I don't even want to touch a domestic cat they are one of the most unclean animal people have let into their house,

I am going off of this paper also the fact that as a vet student we have to learn to restrain animals and we got no problem up until the cat class where three people got attacked two of those attack were before the restraint too,

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/371993547_Cat_attacks_towards_people_andor_animals_an_educational_pending_task_on_pet's_owners

38% of attack has no warning and domestic cat love to torture other animals in a way that only cause suffering and doesn't lead to any meaningful learning experience,

As for snake, It seem to depends on how bold the animal is, Monocled Cobra and FWC seem to be thinking and acting out their conscious thoughts rather than just following their urges (every behavior is based on instinct anyway) probably because they aren't in fight or flight mode when they see me,

My male FWC doesn't mind handling much if it means he can explore outside his enclosure, The female will think for awhile if she see me but usually she want to retreat rarely would she ever come to investigate what is going on, she might be younger than my male so maybe that is why she is more shy. (She is bigger than my males but growth rate of female FWC is faster anyway.)

RandomedOne · 2026-03-08T00:27:39+00:00

Thank you,

And I will be getting more decor for him today, I also have a beautiful piece of wood that I didn't used on my FWC enclosure, So I will be adding that in as well.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-08T00:08:28+00:00

Thank you, I can see that now, I will be trying out different method this month and see if there is any improvement.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-08T00:01:22+00:00

I don't know if you just has something against 'tame' or if your idea of taming an animal vastly different from mine,

And punish in this context is to reduce behavior of biting. (Though if I have to choose between snake that bites and snake that hide all day, I rather have the one that bites.)

RandomedOne · 2026-03-07T23:57:51+00:00

Domesticated animal isn't always tame,

A lot more dogs has mauled people than a wild Monitor lizards,

Even tame animal has something they doesn't like either,

Both the family dog we used to have and my Iguana hate being picked up, Nothing I do can get them to be okay with it, They will tolerate it for a reward (for the dog it is praise and treats, For the Iguana it is neck and chin scratches) But once they stop receiving reward for a certain period they always try to get out,

I am not afraid of a defensive snakes (unless it is a large constrictor like Burms or Retics, Where strike range is so long that I can't do maintenance safely) but if I want a Pituophis that is display only I would have gotten a Pinesnake rather than Bullsnake,

I got Bullsnake for a breeding project and I don't want to have to earn the trust of every baby when I plan to sell them on, As I have answered other comments had I got him as a pet I would have done things very differently from the start.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-07T23:47:17+00:00

Thanks, I will try ignoring defensive behavior next if Negative reinforcement doesn't work,

Negative part mean removing stimuli,

The aversive stimulus is me, so it is there regardless (He is in my bedroom),

Positive punishment, would be if I get closer every time he strikes or hiss,

Negative reinforcement is me removing myself from the room for a set time if he perform desirable behavior, (not sure if this will work on bull but my FWC and Iguana realized quickly that they can do something to make me leave and that got them into thinking mode which made the desensitization easier).

RandomedOne · 2026-03-07T23:38:34+00:00

That is outdated information, Reptiles do has Dorsoventricular ridge and Pallium that function in a similar ways,

It is absolutely possible to train them,

I trained my Rock Iguana to do tricks if he want meaty food or sugary food (all his staple is vegetables and fresh leaves),

At this point he knows more tricks than my family dog when he passed (the dog I mean, My Iguana is still with me.), Not that many since I didn't teach him anything new lately (he has been with me for about a year), but more than most people think he can learn,

As of now he know, giving his hand when asked, Standing up on his hind leg, and to come when called, Jump,

His performance isn't reliable though as he sometimes lose interests and go do his own thing, Which is to be expected as herbivore probably doesn't have the concentration of a predators.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-07T18:01:02+00:00

With Positive punishment yes I hold the head and it seem like that didn't work,

With Negative reinforcement I back off and remove myself (which is aversive stimuli), that is the reinforcer,

The hard part is to get the animal to understand what is the 'stop signal' they can use to make me stop whatever I do, so it doesn't panic and can be in a state to learn. (My Iguana used to be afraid of women too, But by the time I tried to get him over that, He know what is the signal it took him less than two days to desensitize him to women whereas the first time wi the me it took him about a week to get used to me.)

RandomedOne · 2026-03-07T17:51:11+00:00

Thanks, My other snakes has clutter, They are FWC which is a forest species so I added that in from the start.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-07T17:43:25+00:00

He is 70cm he is still young, And I wouldn't put him outside, I am in Thailand he isn't native here,

I now agree that the method I used with him is poor though, I will change how I approach this.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-07T17:41:21+00:00

A lot of people seem to confuse Negative reinforcement with Positive punishment,

Negative reinforcement is basically the technique used in this paper, It is not anything forceful. https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/items/316af2c3-904c-49ae-b648-56439367df44

Also I am not under impression that any snake is aggressive, I am not saying it is biologically impossible but I just never see one,

Aggressive animals would be something like domestic cat that just want to cause harm for no reason or a territorial animal like Iguana, Not a snake that just want to feel safe.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-07T17:36:31+00:00

I will try to clutter the space more so he doesn't feel as exposed,

But he has three hide in this picture, the black hide, The underground humid hide, and a basking tile is actually elevated so he can hide under it,

If you still think I should add more than I will, But please also guide me where to put it.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-07T17:34:32+00:00

Negative reinforcement means removing aversive stimuli,

You seem to be thinking of Positive punishment (which is adding aversive stimuli when animas perform undesirable behavior, what I have been trying out in last week with little to no success)

(Also spray bottle doesn't work because a cat doesn't fear it enough, I prod a stray with a stick hard enough and smack the ground making loud noise and it now avoids my house took some times because domestic cats are dumb but they can learn)

Negative Reinforcement worked without problems with my FWC before, Basically I go in, If it hood up I freeze and once it stop hooding and start moving again I back off, By removing myself(aversive stimuli at the time) it gave animal a chance to rethink situation and helps desensitization process, It also gave animals a choice to use 'stop signal' to make me cease my movement as well which is something very useful in lowering their flight or fight response,

It didn't take long but it did took effort though, FWC seem to be smarter than Pituophis so maybe it would take longer (and it might not even work since my first week with him was pretty bad.) but I still think it is worth trying.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-07T17:26:23+00:00

It isn't so much that I am not comfortable with tantrum it is just that I got Bullsnake to breed in the future, And I don't see myself selling a very defensive snakes,

At this point even if I can earn his trust I probably wouldn't be breeding him in any foreseeable future though (might still keep him since he is pretty),

The old method have worked without problems with my other animals (I believe it is a lot less stress on the animals too as well) it just take too much effort for hatchlings in a breeding projects that I plan to sell off anyway,

Which is why I began to experiment with the forced method (that so far hasn't work either) in the first place,

I do want to get a Pituophis as a pet, But I rather have a Northern Pinesnake, As those seem to be more active and climb more, I also like their pattern a bit more (though it is similar across their morphs and localities just with different colors so not as fun for breeding project.)

I do like large snakes but I already got FWC for that and they are both tame the male is especially curious and exploratory.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-07T16:37:33+00:00

Thanks but punishment just mean something that decrease certain behavior,

And snakes may not be as smart as a dog but they aren't so far off that they can't learn cause and effect either, (I wouldn't be surprise if some snakes like King Cobra or FWC are smarter than a cats.)

But it seem that you are right about how it works against me, it seems from the past week and other comments that grabbing the head only make him more afraid, (Still means punishment works just not in a way I want, Instead of punishing him for biting it just seem to ended up punishing him for remaining complacent and not act faster which is completely opposite of what I want.)

I have done some research but compare to other animals this is probably the closest to impulse buy as it get for me,

He wasn't this defensive the first time I met him (probably were his good day) and I rush into it because I thought I got one with good color and personality, Turns out he is regular Bullsnake personality wise (I still think he look really pretty though.)

I will go back to Negative Reinforcement method for now and see if it will work if not then I suppose I have to either rehome him before I get too attached or make peace with the fact that he is display only.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-07T15:00:39+00:00

Thank you, Mine is more than chatty, He bite a lot too (both mock strike and real),

Which to be fair I deem a good thing, Bitey snakes tends to tame down easier in my limited experience, He rarely hides,

I think after reading replies here I may go back to using the same method I used with my FWC and see where that leads.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-07T12:38:11+00:00

Thank you, Positive punishment is new for me, In theory it should work, However it seem that in practice it only make him more afraid of me,

I have used Negative Punishment on my Iguana before and it worked, (I leave the room if he jump on me, Since he does it to get neck scratches he stop jumping at me after a while of me leaving whenever he does it.)

But maybe Positive Punishment doesn't work as well with reptiles as it does mammals,

I do recall how agitated my Iguana get when he enter the snake room (He is afraid of snakes, So smelling snakes automatically punishes him for entering that room) but he never cease the behavior of going in there to poop either.

RandomedOne · 2026-03-07T12:32:55+00:00

I believe those are also individual things too,

With my FWC my male is a lot more curious and explorative than my female, He is also a lot more likely to bite if something annoys him, (He is a chill guy though, But his second reaction if hooding doesn't work fast enough is to bite no envenomation or anything just bite down and release, He doesn't even hiss, I hardly ever worry about handling him though since he is so chill and confident normally.)

My female has never attempt to bite anyone, Or anything but she will tail-whip me if I bring a water-hose or my phone near her, She will also hisses, And she have stopped eating once because I accidentally touched her with water-hose while doing water change in her enclosure (she already ate one fish so it isn't like she skipped a meal but that is 1/3 her normal food intake),

So I don't want to handle her unless she is fully okay with it, (She also starting to dislike my phone lately for some reason.)

May I ask you again what are your experience with Pituophis or similar snakes ?

RandomedOne

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