(09-18-2012, 04:03 AM)ACSAPA Wrote: When I read the OP's post, it reminded me of a snake in Japan named Ao-chan that adopted a hamster named Gohan-chan that it was originally supposed to eat. I found the video here:
I'm sure the snake in this video has been fed other rodents during the time this hamster has been living with him, otherwise he would be dead, but he still lets the hamster live in the same cage with him and doesn't eat him.
In life, anything is possible. So who knows. And a snake that size, if its healthy, and otherwise had all it's needs met, could go months without food. He also may just not like hamsters. Many snakes can get stuck on certain prey items, in captivity and in the wild. But, again, I will bet almost anything, that hamster would not live in that cage for a year with that snake, while the snake was being fed other hamsters of the same species.
And it never says how long they are together, and the body language of that snake is NOT happy. Hard to say from such a short video, but that looks like a wild caught, stressed out, japanese rat snake, Elaphe climacophora. They are considered semi-arboreal, and he had absolutely no climbing areas that I can see, and no hides. In the wild many animals also prey mainly on birds, eggs, and other reptiles. While they will eat rodents, he had probably never seen a hamster before. All this, if he's wild caught especially leads to a very stressed out, mistreated animal, which wouldn't be surprising at all if he wouldn't eat. And if that's true, probably won't live more than a year, if that.
Not trying to rain on the cute parade, but I am always unamused with abused reptiles because people don't understand their needs, and then make videos and pictures of them
