Another dumb question

I will probably be asking some pretty silly questions until I know everything I think I need to about burms. This one I actually researched but got conflicting information, and after watching my burmese I wonder if it is true or not. Anyway, I've read on several different sites that burmese pythons are not only almost blind but they cannot "hear" via vibration either. If this is the case, how do they read their environment? My burmese always seems to know I am there, even before she can possibly see me. Her glass cage is covered on the outside except for a small area. The covering helps the temperature to stay constant, as the weather is cold here and it's impossible to keep the cold from seeping in through walls and windows. I don't walk like an elephant, so it seems to me that she is feeling the vibration of my footsteps. I know that some SFEs occur because the python mistakes the keeper for food (i.e. the keeper didn't wash his/her hands after preparing the meal, still smells like prey), but I would swear that she can see for a limited didstance at least. I have started driving truck again and I set up a cage in the truck for her, but since I team with my husband there is ample opportunity when I'm not driving to let her free-roam the sleeper (supervised, of course). I have a polar fleece throw that she seems to like hiding under, and when I take her out the throw can be on the other side of the bed and she still makes a beeline for it. It would seem to me that she can see at least three feet and make out colors, how else would she tell the throw from a pile of coats or clothing at that distance? Does anybody have any information or opinions about this, maybe contribute your own observations? What I'm looking for is how far burmese pythons can see, what colors/spectrums, if they see in infrared, if they actually DO "see" via vibration, and if they have any other way to "hear" their environment.

On a seperate note, why do breeders immediately rush to put the eggs in incubators after they are laid? Doesn't the mother do a good enough job taking care of them? It seems to me that if she kept her eggs she would sort the bad ones out for you. The only reason I could think of is that maybe the breeders don't want their female to stop eating while incubating? I'm not being obnoxious, just ignorant, and I'd really like to know.

Thanks all,
Athena

Anyway, I've read on several different sites that burmese pythons are not only almost blind but they cannot "hear" via vibration either.

Both are inaccurate. While all snakes lack external ears, their stapes (a bone connected to the inner ear) connects to the quadrate bone in the jaw, allowing vibrations in the ground to be transmitted through the jaw bones to the ear.

As far as sight, while they aren't exactly eagles and visual accuity probably varies widely between species, there's no reason to suspect your python of being almost blind. In fact, I recall a recent paper showing that they are able to target prey on visual information alone.

Additionally, the nerves from your python's heat pits go directly to the optic tectum, which suggests that the infrared information from the pits is integrated into the information from the eyes, allowing them to actually see in IR.

It would seem to me that she can see at least three feet and make out colors, how else would she tell the throw from a pile of coats or clothing at that distance?

Possibly scent, but that doesn't preclude good vision. AFAIK, there has been comparatively little done on what spectra snake eyes can detect and how far they can see for.

I do know they have very weird eyes, containing cone cells found in no other species, and focusing by moving the lens backwards and forwards (like a camera) rather than by deforming the lens as most other vertebrates. I don't know how either of these affect vision, though.

On a seperate note, why do breeders immediately rush to put the eggs in incubators after they are laid? Doesn't the mother do a good enough job taking care of them? It seems to me that if she kept her eggs she would sort the bad ones out for you.

In a natural situation, the female selects an optimum nesting site for temperature, humidity, etc, while in captivity such choices are limited. By incubating the eggs on their own, keepers can more precisely regulate humidity and temperature to ensure an optimal hatch rate.

Henry

I don't know about burms, but our retics, Moluccans and short-tailed pythons will track us moving around the room with just their eyes.

Thanks both of you...I have read that ONLY BURMS lack the ability to sense vibrations, but if they in fact have the same internal anatomy, the information must have been wrong...

I have read that ONLY BURMS lack the ability to sense vibrations, but if they in fact have the same internal anatomy, the information must have been wrong...

Well, I've got a Burm skull on my desk, along with 4 other snake species, and in all cases, including the Burm, the stapes connects to the quadrate, which would allow transmission of vibrations. Most likely the information you got was faulty.

Henry

Originally Posted by ldydrgn

I don't know about burms, but our retics, Moluccans and short-tailed pythons will track us moving around the room with just their eyes.

I've had burms (and rocks) do the same thing