#aside from my firsthand experience – @slushyseals on Tumblr

Sakura is now target trained!

Look to the left of the orange target I'm holding and you'll see her follow the target then place her nose on it. She's better behaved than some dogs! 😊

Many snakes at zoos are trained this way to get venomous snakes to move when needed, such as into holding areas out of the enclosure when it needs to be cleaned, or onto a scale to weigh them and check their health.

My girls aren't dangerous, it's usually the opposite problem! Often Sakura is very timid and shy, so she'll hide where she can see me but I can't see her. Target training her will get her to come to me when it is feeding day if I can't find her but she can see me. It's also to help her avoid any confusion between feeding time and handling time- no target means no food!

Just wanted to share something we've been working on, I'm so proud of her for learning this challenging exercise!

#not seals #snakes #look how smart #sakura #is!#She is so well behaved.#A lot of people don't know snakes can be trained #and they're very loving too!#Some people have long been spreading a rumor that snakes are incapable of emotion and that they lack the brain structure to do so #but research it yourself and i'll bet you'll find what i have #there's no basis in fact #people just get told snakes are stupid and unfeeling and believe it #and oddly it's harder to convince them they've been lied to than it was for the first person to lie to them with no proof #So where's the proof?#Aside from my firsthand experience #reading scientific papers supports they DO have brains similar to birds that gives them the same happy feeling we do with love #and they exhibit all the behaviors associated with it #They are smart and loving like any other pet #Reptiles just take a bit longer to trust #and some people are impatient wanting all animals to instantly act like dogs #Nah fam that's not the way #even individual humans are different #of course species will be too #anyway #find the love in the world #and when it's hard to find it #put more out there!