http://www.kgw.com/video/index.html?tn&nvid=276967&shu=1

a good snake story in the news!

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I dunno if it posted as a new one or just got recycled but check it out anyway. Also if you mention you are on my RG friends list it is worth a 10% discount on used supplies. does NOT apply to Lazy Slither Merchandise!!  Hope to see you all there!

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Hey all Oregonians and any one else close to Portland metro area. OMSI is having their Reptile Amphibina show again and NEEDS some cool animals for display. Hit their website for an application and come to one lousy meeting to hear about the rules and you can show off your herps to all who enter OMSI!!

 Gotta have your own cage and its gotta be secure (a lock is tops) no venomous this year (lame) but Bubba's cage is open if you have a "Biggun" to show off.

http://www.omsi.edu/visit/EventDetail.cfm?ID=123 there is a link to the PDF file here for the regestration form.

Show me what you got!!

p.s. if you are interested in the handling area, put in for that also. I'm supplying all the pettables for this round and you definetly gotta make a meeting for this gig. See you there.

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Well isn't life peculiar. We will have used supplies at the show on August 16th, I will also have a small selection of my jewelry as well. If you are in the market for breeding age corns or newer combos on babies then this is the table to come to.Look for the Lazy Slither Ranch table and we hope to see you there!

August 16th, 2008
January 24th, 2009 Time: 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Location: Holiday Inn
25425 S.W. 95th Avenue Wilsonville, OR 97070 Admissions: $7.00 adults $3.00 kids 6-12 under 5 free

Tags: Supplies Corn Jewelry Used Show

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So, most of us know that reptiles have a reptilian brain and that a reptilian brain mainly covers instinctive behaviors such as eat, hide and attack if you get messed with to much. What a few more of us know is that few animals have what is called the mid brain and that this deals with more complicated things like emotions and the responses to stimulus beyond instinct and nearer to intuition. This is how humans became the superior species because we were able to create, logic and reason our way to the top of the food chain.

I know that to ascribe humanistic behavior to animals is anthropomorphism and that people tend to do this commonly with dogs. Dogs however are credited with more cerebral activity than your common ball python.

So how DO you explain all of those peculiar behaviors that many of us reptile owners encounter?

Why is it that I have a ball python who thinks she is a jack in the box and after popping up, will continue all the way up my arm, around my neck and then hang out like she is the epitome of scarf fashion.

How did my skink learn his name? and why would he respond to it even if he does know it. How come none of my snakes will eat sick rodents. even when you can't tell they are sick so you pull them and then they are dead the next day.

Why does my tortoise only eat the red and green lettuce and leave the purple for the other one?

Is it possible that after so many generations of captive breeding that these animals may be developing a "higher brain"? Fifty years ago only reclusive men and circus people kept any kind of reptile in captivity. The recent increase in demand for the pet trade has led to a hundredfold increase in importation and captive breeding. Look at all the new types of morphs across all the species. Could all of the sucessive inbreeding and "taming" of these animals be integrating a whole new set of instincts and behaviors or even developing a new type of brain function?

I am not a biologist by any stretch (not yet anyway!!) so I lack the scientific basis for proper speculation. And I don't have it in me at this point to dissect some ones beloved pet merely for the sake of scientific curiosity. So I study behavior in my own collection (57 ball pythons alone at last count) and ask lots of questions.

Now for the questions...

are there any true scientists out there with any physical documentation of any sort of difference in the size weight or composition of reptilian brains for comparison?

Any pet owners with "anthro" pet behavior stories they are willing to share ( meaning I may print and cite them)

Is there any one who has been in this for over twenty years who may have the slightest tendency to agree that they see a little difference in the behaviors of animals that have been the result of generations of captive breeding?

And any thing else any one may feel inclined to share

thank you for your time and Happy Herping!

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