Do you want to know if snakes can get depressed or not? I was asking myself the same question and decided to do some research online. In this article, you’ll find an in-depth answer to this question and I’ll also give answers to related questions so make sure you keep on reading!
Can snakes be depressed? Snakes cannot get depressed as they don’t have the intellectual capacity to feel human emotions like depression. So, you should keep in mind that whenever you’re seeing a snake that looks depressed that it is not and probably just doing fine.
Characteristics of depression can’t be linked to snakes
There are different characteristics that we human beings link to depression-like feelings like feelings of sadness, feelings of hopelessness, pessimism, heightened self-deprecation, and lowered self-esteem. After naming a few of the common characteristics that can be linked to depression you can immediately tell that a lot of these characteristics cannot be seen in snakes. If, for example, your pet snake is laying in a corner of its enclosure all day without moving you could get the feeling that the snake is depressed because for a human being it would be quite depressing to sit in a corner of the room all day without moving. But that is exactly where the way of thinking goes wrong because snakes are not human beings and human beings are not snakes.
Their behavior could mean something else
Now you know that the behaviors of a snake cannot be linked to depressed behavior. But there are surely things that snakes do that could be linked to certain diseases, to the snake wanting to have an environmental change of, for example, the temperature of the enclosure or that the snake would like to have better hiding spots within its enclosure so that it can feel safer. Another aspect that could play a role in its behavior is that you’re, for example, handling the snake too much which results in him/her not having enough privacy.
Signs of disease in snakes
There are so many different signs that you could see in a snake that could be linked to diseases. Here I’ll name a few.
Mouth breathing
Just like human beings, snakes should be able to breathe in the air normally through their nostrils without requiring open mouth breathing. Also, it should not be gasping for air either, so if you see your pet snake open mouth breathing or gasping for air then make sure you see a veterinarian as soon as possible so that the possible disease can be controlled or prevented early on.
Its skin is not smooth and shiny
The skin of the snake is supposed to be smooth and shiny, and should not have any swelling, lumps, scabs, or lesions. As all of these signs can be linked to common snake diseases that have to be treated by your veterinarian. Also, small red or brown dots on the skin of the snake can be linked to mites. Thankfully, mites can be treated very well in snakes, and are most of the time linked to the snake having a poor diet, or poor living conditions.
Shedding problems
A snake has to shed several times throughout its lifetime and every time that it does shed then the shed has to come off all in one piece. If the old skin is, for example, in pieces or if you have noticed that the old skin is not coming off your snake then you should see a veterinarian as soon as possible as well because this could also potentially be linked to a snake disease.
Check the video below if you want to see a snake shed.
Loss of appetite
Snakes don’t have to eat every day and it also depends on their age, size, and what kind of species it is to know how much and how often it should be eating. If you, for example, notice that your pet snake doesn’t show any interest in food when you know that it should be eating then it can be that your snake has an underlying sickness. In this case, you should once again see a veterinarian as soon as possible.
If you can’t get enough of learning about snakes then I encourage you to check out the “Snakes Category Page” which consists of various articles that give answers to snake-related questions.
Lack of energy
Snakes are very developed in noticing what is going on in their environment and it is therefore very common to see snakes react to the slightest movements in their environments. If you, however, notice though that your pet snake isn’t reacting to movements in its environment anymore and that it is besides that, not active at all then it could be that your pet snake is sick as well. In this case, you should see a veterinarian.
Weight loss
Every animal on this earth has to eat to survive, so if an animal is either not eating anymore or losing a lot of weight then it can mean that it is sick. A healthy snake should look robust and not bony.
Signs of required environmental changes in snakes
The environment of the snake plays an important role for the snake as it needs places to hide, spots where it can go when it gets either too hot or too cold, and nice levels of humidity within its enclosure are required (which helps the snake to easily and successfully shed during its shedding phases). There are certain signs you’ll see in snakes whenever it is unhappy with its environment, let’s name a few below:
- The snake may refuse to eat.
- The snake may start hissing.
- The snake may start striking.
- The snake may start rubbing its nose against objects within its enclosure.
You handle the snake too much or incorrectly
A snake is an animal that mostly doesn’t like to be handled by people. Yes, they can get more used to you handling it from time to time but the snake will need a lot of privacy to feel safe and be happy. If you handle the snake too much then they will start becoming more aggressive as you’re depriving it of its freedom too much or what can also happen is that the snake will stop eating. Handling the snake incorrectly is another aspect that will result in the snake seeing you as a treat and once again the snake will start being aggressive towards you.
Can the snake show any other emotions?
Snakes don’t have the intellectual capacity to have emotions and therefore they won’t be able to consciously show them. What can happen though is that the snake gets more used to you and will therefore stop being aggressive towards you as you’re not seen as a treat anymore.
As humans, we’d like to think that a pet snake will show emotions when something is either wrong or right but in reality, the snake is just reacting to what’s happening to it. So, if, for example, its enclosure is too hot then there are certain signs that we as humans can pick up that will tell that the snake is having it too hot. As you can see in this example, it is not giving off any emotions it’s just their natural reaction to a certain circumstance.
How do I know if my snake is happy?
There are so many signs that give away that the snake is happy. Examples of these signs are:
- Relaxed movements.
- Relaxed levels of alertness.
- When the snake gently grips your hand when you’re holding it.
- Calmy flicking its tongue in the air.
I’m certain there are a bunch more signs out there that will give away that the snake is happy. In general, you can remember that a relaxed snake is a happy snake. Now, it will not show a happy emotion though because they can’t but these are all signs that we as humans can pick up fast, thankfully.
Can a snake kill itself by biting itself?
Snakes can kill themselves when they bite themselves but they can’t die from their venom. They can only die of the wounds that they inflict on themselves. These wounds can be so deep that they won’t be able to survive or an infection could take place within the wound which can be lethal too.
Now, it’s important to remember that snakes, in general, don’t have the wish of killing themselves and that’s also why you won’t see this happen much. I was, however, able to find a video where a snake did kill itself after biting itself. Check out the video below if you’re interested to see for yourself what happened.
Is it possible for a snake to eat itself?
A snake can eat itself but to a certain extent of course as it won’t be able to eat itself completely. Also, it is questionable that the snake will even go further than eating, for example, its tail because by then it should’ve already found out that it’s not eating a prey but itself.
Sometimes snakes eat themselves when they get confused. This can happen when their environment gets too hot. Snakes can also not see that well and can therefore mistake their tail for food and start feeding on it or it might come in such a confused state it will start eating everything that moves (including its tail).
Related questions
Can snakes feel sad?
Snakes can’t feel sad because they don’t have the intellectual capacity that humans have. There are however signs that we human beings can pick up to tell that a snake is probably sad or unhappy with something, like, for example, when the snake refuses to eat.
Do snakes have feelings for their owners?
Snakes do not have feelings because their intellectual capacity is limited and cannot experience any emotions that we as humans know so well. So, no they can’t have feelings for their owners but they can get used to you and your touchings.
Can snakes feel pain?
Snakes can feel pain. You can pretty much see this if you, for example, accidentally step on one. They will not just sit there gently like this is cool but will crawl away fast or become aggressive because it was a threatening and unpleasantly painful experience.
Conclusion
Now you know that snakes cannot get depressed. They can’t show any emotions because their intellectual capacity is limited and can therefore not experience the same emotions that we humans can.