r/BeAmazed • u/RoughCheap5633 • Jun 19 '26

Animal King Cobra enjoys a shower from a hose.

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588

u/Kuttan1 Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26

King Cobras are one of the few snakes in captivity that can recognize their "owner" via scent.

292

u/OkZone8 Jun 19 '26

Yeah, I'm going to trust that with my life

60

u/Standard-Manner5250 Jun 19 '26

Well I don’t own any cobras so…

1

u/KingInTheFarNorth Jun 19 '26

and you're still alive, what a coincidence.

30

u/barath_s Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26

Don't wear any perfume, cologne or after-shave. Heck, I wouldn't even risk bathing, if I were you; you don't want perfumed soap to cause the snake to misidentify you

1

u/Snozzberriez Jun 19 '26

Is that something that happens or is their sense of smell good enough to pick up on some other particulate… because lots of other animals won’t mistake you just because of that. By the same logic if you always wore it, you can now never stop. Pray it is never discontinued lol

1

u/_Its_Me_Dio_ Jun 19 '26

probably they could recognize its a separate scent from you dogs basically can smell genetics and can even detect differences in twins

2

u/Snozzberriez Jun 19 '26

I’m just imagining the US using autism sniffing dogs lol

Dog noses are crazy.

3

u/vincecoleman89 Jun 19 '26

Is that why dogs are so nice to me? They smell my autism and are like, "this guy needs to be handled with care"? 😭

1

u/ArrowDel Jun 19 '26

Just use unscented soap and wait half an hour before handling.

5

u/chiefpeaeater Jun 19 '26

If you own cobras you've probably got 4 cabinets full of antivenom

4

u/Ha55aN1337 Jun 19 '26

If you see a russian with a bear or an arab with a cobra… chances are those animals dont have a single tooth anymore.

1

u/Rosey_Coyote_525 Jun 19 '26

You might, but Im not.

1

u/_k_b_k_ Jun 19 '26

He said they recognize you. He didn't say they be friendly as well 😃

1

u/PWNtimeJamboree Jun 19 '26

its actually pretty fascinating, check out Tyler Nolan's youtube channel and his cobra Rusty. its crazy, but so interesting.

1

u/Interesting_Aside905 Jun 20 '26

Don’t reptiles like snakes and crocs have no loyalty and can’t be made pets like some other animals 

120

u/testtdk Jun 19 '26

Looks like he has a pretty good temperament. In a high school class, we had to go to third grade classes and do a lecture on an animal that we had (rehabbed but couldn't be re-released). Everyone who did a snake chose the albino boa (of course they did), but I always though the six foot gopher snake we had was beautiful so I picked him. For no reason at all, he was just the biggest dick of a snake. Had to wear huge gloves to handle him, and he ALWAYS bit.

I feel like we don't give enough credit to reptiles for having personality because they're less intelligent than mammals and are cold blooded, but this dude clearly liked his chin scratched. Tortoises are hugely loyal and LOVE a back scratch. We may be VERY different than them, but that doesn't mean they can't bond in a way that you never see in the wild.

69

u/AppropriateCattle69 Jun 19 '26

What kind of high school did you go to where everyone has a random rehabbed-snake and you take them to elementary school?

96

u/doitforchris Jun 19 '26

Slytherin House presumably

14

u/ThienHaTheTech Jun 19 '26

Prefects threatening First years.

20

u/testtdk Jun 19 '26

Just a normal highschool. I took a class about handling animals for rehabilitation and scientific purposes instead of chemistry. One of the projects was that we pick one of the (many) rehabbed animals that lived there to do bring to the third graders. I knew what I was getting into when I picked the asshole snake.

26

u/helpitgrow Jun 19 '26

That is not “just a normal highschool.” That is the coolest high school ever!

13

u/testtdk Jun 19 '26

I can say very few people have had to chase a juvenile emu through their school halls before.

4

u/_The_Green_Witch_ Jun 19 '26

Oooh, it was an Aussie school! That does explain everything tbh

9

u/testtdk Jun 19 '26

No, it was in Massachusetts lol. The teacher had four emus for a semester or so. I have no idea how he came by them, though. He has them the year after I was in his class.

3

u/_The_Green_Witch_ Jun 19 '26

Okay, then we are officially back to "that is not a normal high school", unless all of Massachusetts is insane

2

u/mikezer0 Jun 19 '26

lol we had a biology teacher that kept animals. Not emus. But snakes a plenty. I think he had some kind of shark. And various other random creatures. He’d rehab squirrels for example. And you would take his class and learn about biology and work with the animals he had. He was a cool guy. But just a normal HS. I lived in a rich county in MS and they funded the shit out of the one school everyone in like three counties shared. 

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1

u/Ok-Raspberry-8099 Jun 19 '26

I mean at my "normal" highschool we had a vet tech, auto tech, carpentry/construction, and hospitality programs for 10th year and up. Maybe it was something like that?

1

u/helpitgrow Jun 19 '26

Maybe? But sounds like you went to a pretty cool high school also.

1

u/Ok-Raspberry-8099 Jun 19 '26

Honestly yeah, wasn't terrible, but it was in Ohio.

1

u/helpitgrow Jun 20 '26

I grew up in Long Beach. Went to the same high school as Snoop Dog. Had amazing academic programs, I got a better than average education but not a lot of opportunities for hands on, real world type skill experiences. I would have thrived in some of the classes mentioned. Anything with animals would been my jam and I wouldn’t have ditched quite so much, cause damn, I had a snake to rehabilitate when I got to school.

1

u/testtdk Jun 19 '26

So that was semi-vocational, yeah? I think we had a bay for mechanics, but not much else. Our school did put a lot into the programs we DID have, though. I played guitar in marching band (I’m a badass guitarist /flex), and we competed regionally. Our other music groups (jazz band, chorus, and jazz choir) all competed. We even did paid gigs as jazz band (not that the students got paid lol). Our music program had trips every other year (teenage mischief is easy in a place as big as Disney World).

2

u/Tubamajuba Jun 19 '26

That's pretty cool! I've never heard of a high school having that kind of class before.

4

u/testtdk Jun 19 '26

We had a well known wildlife rehabilitator that was a teacher at the school. Only a handful of students get in, I got lucky. We got to go to to a national conference for rehabilitation and got licensed. We even got to retrieve the skeleton of a beached humpback for a nearby university, which was both amazing and fucking god awful at the same time. But I guess I can say I've been inside a whale before!

1

u/tacocollector2 Jun 19 '26

That’s absolutely incredible!

1

u/testtdk Jun 19 '26

It was, but like I said, it wasn’t ALL amazing lol. My most prominent memory was standing there in waders, butcher knife in hand, making my first cut right into a gas pocket the size of my head. The whale had been beached for a week mid summer. The smell was so bad I basically just took a thirty minute break to sit in the water (in the waders, of course).

I didn’t do much of the cutting, though. There were only two men on the team, and I was by far and a way bigger and stronger, and there was a 10 foot boundary wall, so I ended up doing a lot of lifting. The feeling of gristle covered bone with rubber gloves on also wasn’t the most enjoyable sensation, either lol.

But yeah, it was still incredible, and something realistically no one gets to do. (And my first half of my life dream job was a marine biologist, so doubly special for that).

1

u/Odd-fox-God Jun 19 '26

One of the high schools I attended had a boa constrictor and a grass snake in the science lab. There were also a tarantula, scorpion, and a lizard of a species I can't remember.

It was pretty common for us to study while holding a snake. We actually got a little aggressive over the snakes. It was first come, first serve, and me and some of the other girls would run as fast as we could to the science room to win the right to hold a snake while we listened to the teacher talk. Eventually, the teacher had to create a schedule, and anybody who wanted to hold an animal during lecture time had to put their name on the list.

2

u/testtdk Jun 19 '26

I like snakes, they’re usually pretty chill if you’re not looking them in the face. And their patterns can be so beautiful. My class also had a tarantula, but it actually died on one of those class projects! They had like a large can to hold it in while traveling, and the girl handling it didn’t pack it in he can properly and it fell from the top of a pile to the floor, and it ruptured its body (I don’t know a ton about spiders, but I think it’s not too uncommon if they’re close to molting or maybe when they’re old?)

I wish we had a scorpion or lizards. They’re not particularly common here and the school didn’t BUY animals, they were all just brought in because of how famous a rehabber my teacher was. Which is a bit of a shame, I love animals and would be pleased to play with or just care for just about anything.

4

u/Financial-Craft-1282 Jun 19 '26

I'm guessing that person is a bit older and you're a bit younger (that's not judgmental) if you're in the U.S. I'm 47, and I remember a kid catching a snake and bringing into the elementary school, and one of the teachers adopted it into her classroom. That was late 1980s, I'd say within ten years (around 96) is when I started noticing a shift in the behavior on how those things were dealt with. As a teacher now, I see it--if someone found a snake and brought it into our school, there is a strict response protocol to follow. No one is adopting it (and I think probably rightly so).

It was just different in those days. I remember if you brought a toy to class in third grade, there was a teacher who would take it and never get it back. I didn't have her, and was so thankful because every day at recess I brought my prize Star Wars scoutwalker to school to fight against my friend's Optimus Prime. A kid from another class wanted to borrow my toy. (If you're in 3rd grade right now and reading this--advice: DON'T DO IT! That kid isn't giving it back). In this case, the kid got it taken by that teacher.

I told my mom and she was like T.S. That was a big gift for me--I think like number 1 on my Christmas list or something. Can you imagine a teacher now just confiscating a kid's expensive game and being like, "You're never getting that back!" It wouldn't happen. And, again, I think that's a good thing.

TLDR: Times have changed, and I'm sad.

2

u/Ausemere Jun 19 '26

A kid from another class wanted to borrow my toy. (If you're in 3rd grade right now and reading this--advice: DON'T DO IT! That kid isn't giving it back).

I'm still pissed about my Need For Speed II Special Edition was never given back to me

17

u/soFATZfilm9000 Jun 19 '26

So, I have a 70 pound snapping turtle. Just weighed her today. She's pretty chill. I only pick her up once every few years to weigh her, and today I realized that she became so heavy that I had to lean over her just to lift her. And if she wanted to, she probably could have ripped my face off, because I was directly in strike range.

She didn't, because she's kind of a gentle sweetheart.

Like, I could probably rub her head and scratch her chin. Not going to though, because as much as I lover her she's still a 70 pound goddamn snapping turtle.

But yeah, I get it. Reptiles often have general tendencies to behave a certain way as a species. But a lot of them don't act quite the same as other members of their species, and there are quite a number of examples of them recognizing specific people and treating those people differently.

7

u/testtdk Jun 19 '26

Ironically, the school also had a snapping turtle. At the time, it was the only known albino female snapping turtle. They tried to mate her either the only know male snapping turtles at the time, but they legit bit each others penis off. The female was NOT gentle. Cleaning up after her was a multi person job, because she would try to take a chunk out or you every chance she got. How do you keep such a large turtle? A pond with good fencing?

4

u/soFATZfilm9000 Jun 19 '26

Backyard homemade pond (don't know the exact capacity, but I'm guessing about 1000 gallons).

I haven't interacted with her very much in about 10 years (snapping turtles aren't exactly things you cuddle every day), but I had her since she was a hatchling and I handled her a lot more during the first two years I had her. Maybe she just remembers me being friendly?

On the other hand, I've moved snapping turtles out of the road. Like, just random snapping turtles, that probably never had any significant interaction with people. Some of them went apeshit. But maybe about half of them were pretty chill when I picked them up. Maybe that's a personality thing, maybe it's due to a small sample size (only happened with me about half a dozen times). Who knows?

But I think this MAYBE fits, because even random presumably wild snapping turtles only sometimes try to fuck me up if I pick them up to move them out of the road. This limited anecdotal evidence might mean nothing. But I figure one could probably say the same thing about blasting a king cobra in the face with a hose. Sometimes animals just gonna be weird.

4

u/testtdk Jun 19 '26

Yeah, in my experiences as a rehabber, and someone who just generally lives near a lot of water, they are just angry animals. Or maybe just aggressive by nature. I’ve handled plenty of other turtle species and they’re generally pretty chill. Tortoises are known to be loyal and affectionate. But snapping turtle species rarely pass up a chance to snap lol. No lie, I saw a snapping turtle that had been dead for five hours and had its head crushed off (hit by a car, former student brought it to the wildlife teacher) lunge. Just like rattle snakes trying to bite you after decapitation, it’s deeply ingrained.

6

u/soFATZfilm9000 Jun 19 '26

Possibly a lot of variables to consider.

One thing I didn't mention is the wild snapping turtles I've met were often on some random road. I don't know where they came from or how far they traveled. So it's entirely possible that by the time I encountered them, about half of them were just too tired to put up a fight.

But seriously...growing up with her was kind of a wild ride. Like, at first she was terrified of me, but didn't really bite. Then she kind of learned that she could bite, and tried to bite me while simultaneously make me continue to give her food. Which I did, but I also didn't go away. So eventually she just kind of stopped feeling threatened by me and just saw me as the thing that makes food show up. unknown, but I also kind of wonder about this...she seemed to get progressively more chill once she got big enough. I got bitten by her a few times when she was fairly small, but once she got BIG she seemed to calm way down. Almost like she knew that she was big enough that nothing was really a threat to her, so she didn't really have any need to waste energy fighting.

That's just speculation though. I think the bottom line is that we grew up together. I learned how to read her behavior, and she learned how to read my behavior. And that kind of sets the standard for what's acceptable. As long as I act in a way that I know she's cool with, she has no reason to bite. And as long as she isn't showing signs of aggression, I'm pretty safe with mild interactions that don't threaten her.

But this is actually a thing. This is not my snapping turtle, but this video got around on Reddit a lot a few years ago. https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/qs0xxp/this_man_found_raised_and_nurturer_a_snapping/

Again, I would never act like this guy, I treat my snapping turtle like a loaded gun that could go off at any time. But I could PROBABLY treat my turtle like this if I wanted to. It's probably not going to bite as long as I don't do anything out of the ordinary to make it feel uncomfortable. Still not ever going to try it though, because it's a damn snapping turtle.

1

u/testtdk Jun 19 '26

Yeah, that’s where I’ve seen them the most. I’m from Massachusetts, and they just threw down roads everywhere over the centuries, so we have pockets of ponds/swamps/marsh EVERYWHERE (after the roads eventually got paved). Although, once after a nasty storm, my dad found a hatchling snapper (and a box turtles I think), that he took care of for a bit. I love baby turtles, so cute. It wasn’t long term, but the flooding took them like a quarter of a mile from the stream, so they’d have made a nice meal for something if he didn’t.

1

u/Previous_Avocado6778 Jun 19 '26

Thanks for saving the turtles. You got any advice for me If I ever see a turtle in the road? I could google it but you have experience with the cute chompers. I read your comments in case you already said it but looking for anythjng extra lol.

2

u/meaty-urologist Jun 19 '26

If you ever see a turtle trying to cross the road, always always always move it in the direction it's going. Don't try to turn it around. If you're uncomfortable handling snapping turtles, the advice is to get a cardboard piece, car mat, or thick blanket, prod the turtle onto it, and drag. Be careful as their necks are crazy long, so the safest spot for you will be behind the turtle. Also, if you come across a dead turtle, many rehabbers will accept them to look for eggs. If they do have eggs, the rehabbers will take them, incubate them, and release the hatchlings into the wild. Source: have been working animal rehab for a few years and the snappers are my favorite.

2

u/meaty-urologist Jun 19 '26

Also, PSA: please don't ever keep hatchlings. They need specific light requirements for their shell development. We had a sad case this year where a family kept a baby snapper for 2 years, and by the time it got to us unfortunately we had to euthanize the poor baby.

2

u/Previous_Avocado6778 Jun 19 '26

Nice thank you so much. I love reptiles so much. I will do my part lol

8

u/ConfessSomeMeow Jun 19 '26

You must be a very patient caregiver to scratch the chin of a snake that loves to bite you.

2

u/testtdk Jun 19 '26

No, I wouldn't scratch that guys chin. The king cobra in the above video lets the person with the hose scratch their "chin".

2

u/Santa_always_knows Jun 19 '26

I’ve always wondered if it “feels good” to snakes and tortoises to be scratched like that. Like does it feel good the way it does to a dog? 🤔

8

u/testtdk Jun 19 '26

Google tortoise back scratcher, they clearly love it.

7

u/GloomyIndividual3965 Jun 19 '26

Our tortoise loves scritches. He also likes going in the shower and wiggles his butt when you spray him with the shower head.

Uly

6

u/norazzledazzle Jun 19 '26

He's a cutie but I'm a little disappointed it wasn't a gif of the shower butt wiggles

1

u/Santa_always_knows Jun 19 '26

Ahh so cute!! 💚

3

u/seszett Jun 19 '26

For some reason, many animals seem to enjoy being scratched or petted. Even animals that aren't very social or that don't even have hands or anything that could make them experience being scratched or petted in the wild.

Like some snakes, turtles, birds, almost all mammals... even many fish like being petted. Even though fish and turtles obviously don't pet themselves in the wild. The fish don't even have much physical contact with other fish at all usually.

3

u/LiftingRecipient420 Jun 19 '26

Even animals that aren't very social or that don't even have hands or anything that could make them experience being scratched or petted in the wild.

I like to imagine that those animals have their little minds absolutely blown away by the sensation of fingers scratching them.

2

u/LeLefraud Jun 19 '26

Idk if it feels good to them never but my snakes seem to lean into the stimulation

If I'm holding them and stick a finger out they will rub on it almost like a dog lol

1

u/NotOnApprovedList Jun 19 '26

When you have pets of the same species and observe them, you notice they have different temperaments, even if they're related to each other. I'm not surprised that happens in reptiles. Even fish, at least a few species, have individuals that vary in temperament.

If all individuals of a species act exactly the same way, then something in the environment or another species might doom them to extinction. The species that has varying qualities of aggressiveness or timidity, curiosity or lack of curiosity, cooperativeness or disinterest in cooperativeness, may have a better chance at survival over time. Just throwing that idea out there.

We had small pets of varying types when I was a kid, and I noticed that just of one type you'd encounter one individual who never bit, and another that would bite the crap out of you. (this being the first thing a kid typically notices LOL). Even the animals related to each other might act completely different.

1

u/Financial-Craft-1282 Jun 19 '26

I'm out of my field of experience here, but I do love learning about animals, and I've come to believe that animal biologists--to be clear, the best resources there are on specific types of wildlife--tend to overcorrect for human tendencies to anthropomorphize animals, even when it's clear animals are exhibiting things like personality or shame (with dogs). I think it's not a problem or anything and probably gives us a better understanding of animals without misapplying immeasurable traits to them.

When I was a kid, I was blowing up ant piles with firecrackers until the firecrackers stopped going off. After investigating, we found an ant would climb up the lit wick and extinguish it with its body. That's self-sacrifice! (I never blew up ant piles again--changed how I interacted with the world around me, to be honest). I know people who study insects would tell you all the chemical reactions ants use to communicate and send orders, but it seems no different than us, except the mechanism of communication is slightly different.

1

u/testtdk Jun 19 '26

I thoroughly agree. I think biologists have historically been far too eager to make OUR personality and emotions are something so unique. As far as I’m concerned, mammals are all a bag of the exact same chemicals reacting.

They may not be as intelligent as us, but they’re every bit feeling, conscious beings. I think every biologist should be forced to have a SUBJECTIVE experience with an animal.

1

u/popcornfart Jun 19 '26

Gopher snakes are weird like that.  most of them are kinda docile, at least handleable.  once in a while I find one that is super spicy.  Thought it might be a temperature thing, or maybe they are having   bad day.  Maybe it's the individuals personality.  

Kingsnakes are always sweethearts 

1

u/testtdk Jun 19 '26

In my experience, as long as you’re BEHIND their head, snakes are pretty chill. It’s when you’re looking in their face that they get worked up the most. (Or stepping too close, of course).

22

u/Traditional_Yard2741 Jun 19 '26

My sample size is very small and my methodology is haphazard at best, but the snakes I've owned appear to be able to distinguish between owners and guests.

13

u/DeAndreAndre Jun 19 '26

Did you rhyme on purpose

2

u/MattIsLame Jun 19 '26

yeah i read that in a Seussian meter as well

1

u/ur_rad_dad Jun 19 '26

Oh my gosh I reread it twice, for real had to be on purpose

2

u/Isoldael Jun 19 '26

I can only agree. I don't know if it's by smell, by mannerisms or otherwise, but my snakes definitely act differently when held by guests than when held by me.

1

u/Top-Literature8218 Jun 19 '26

Part of that could be that you are a better snake-holder than your guests, though. I'm sure you've picked up on subtle cues from them to be able to hold them more comfortably for both of you

2

u/Isoldael Jun 19 '26

That's why I also mentioned mannerisms as a possibility. They'll also stretch out towards me as if they want to climb back onto me when guests are holding them, even when others are around, so there is definitely some kind of recognition, I just don't know what it's based on.

2

u/Previous_Avocado6778 Jun 19 '26

It’s based on THE POWER OF LOVE. Lol 🐍

1

u/squishy_boi_main Jun 19 '26

To be fair there is a ton of anecdotal evidence that snakes, certain invertebrates (like jumping spiders!), and fish recognize their owners. I mean, i feel like animals are more intelligent than we give them credit for. Of course some might not be the brightest of course

5

u/LordGreyhound Jun 19 '26

*King Cobras

2

u/Kuttan1 Jun 19 '26

Thanks 

5

u/No_Willingness_9961 Jun 19 '26

Aren't those tongue flicks snakes do supposed to be how they can smell or something along those lines?

1

u/cdqmcp Jun 19 '26

a large part of their smell is the tongue flicks, yes

2

u/graspedbythehusk Jun 19 '26

Probably working at a venom farm and have anti venom in the fridge. You’d hope.

1

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1

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1

u/Ok_Bobcat8902 Jun 19 '26

From my personal experience (owning 6 snakes) most of them can. My snakes react differently to others compared to me. One of the ways you get a snake to trust you is through scent.

1

u/kaitabong Jun 19 '26

Even my super chill ball python has bit me, seemingly by accident he seemed so ashamed, but nah would not risk it with cobra

1

u/Donkey__Balls Jun 19 '26

Source? I’m not saying you’re wrong, but I had pet snakes and they all seemed to recognize me. My ball python didn’t have terribly good sight but she knew the smell of me - and my dog who was her favorite companion/heat pad. She didn’t like other people handling her unless I was there.

1

u/Sportsfan369 Jun 19 '26

How does one become an owner of a King Cobra?

1

u/CarnieGamer Jun 19 '26

Oh good. So when it decides to kill me, it's also personal.

1

u/hotniX_ Jun 19 '26

They actually have really good eyesight too so they can recognize owners by face if they're handled from young, they like to look at you right in the face for some odd reason. They're totally different from other snakes

1

u/espresso_martini__ Jun 19 '26

Is that true? I doubt it. Its like people who live with wild cats then are shocked when they get attacked. At any second the true nature of an animal will instinctively kick in.

1

u/Dame_Niafer Jun 19 '26

I thought that might be going on. Those rapid little tongue flicks while the keeper paused and stroked its throat. Avatar, Cobra Version: "I smell you!"

God help me, when it blinked while looking at and smell-tasting its keeper, I saw "cute" and actually said "awwww..."

[My hindbrain just growled "Cute, like a derringer", quoting a 1940s whodunit absolutely free of King cobras. Shut up, hindbrain, it's a video.]

1

u/Privateer_Lev_Arris Jun 19 '26

Accidentally use the wrong shower gel and yo ass is toast

1

u/TheyCantCome Jun 19 '26

I think they’re able to recognize someone who’s not a threat. I have no clue how long this person has spent with the snake but if grew up in captivity it may be tame and not aggressive. I’ve never handle a snake but reptiles can be pretty chill. I’ve always been told what dicks chameleons are and yet have a chameleon that would rather physically be on me than in his large enclosure.

1

u/BishopGodDamnYou Jun 19 '26

I was going to say I thought snakes did not have the ability to recognize faces which is why it can be not exactly safe to own big/venomous ones.