Snakes have excellent hearing abilities, so you can rightfully consider that they can recognize the voices. Whether they are in wildlife and hearing to their prey or any predator, or as pets in captivity of their owners, snakes are good at hearing and recognizing voices. But the confusing factor is that they are not fast responsive or agile reactors. That’s why the thought of deaf snakes emerged, considering them unable to hear voices.
As a matter of fact, we know that the peak bracket of a snake’s hearing is 200 Hz to 300 Hz scientifically and the average human voice is about 250Hz. We can conveniently determine that pet snakes can hear you talking to them. This fact supports the stance of many snake owners that pet snakes can recognize the owner’s voice and pet names.
The extent of snakes’ recognizing ability of the voices is still debatable. But they can hear you out for sure with a sense of differentiating between many voices. When we measure snake’s ability to recognize a sound through their reaction to different voices, we get entangled in confusion. They don’t react to heard voices promptly like humans or other pets. That’s why some people think that snakes are even deaf. But this isn’t true, according to modern scientific researches. So, we should not go for reactionary gestures while talking about a snake’s sense of recognizing voices.
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Snake’s scientifically proven hearing and less responsive recognizability
In the absence of visible ears in snakes, it was a general perception that they are earless and only feel vibrations. The scientific studies have elucidated the reality behind this perception. They have inner ears and anatomy for hearing abilities. There are different opinions about their hearing capacity ranging from 50hz to 1000hz, yet 200-300 Hz is their proven peak range. So, it is understandable that they can hear human voices at 250 Hz and recognize them if they remain in a continuous companionship.
Snakes can hear human voices and recognize the owners with some other adjoining factors using the chemical scent recognition of their body, sweat, and fragrances. Their ability to listen to voices is not as simple as humans and other pets like dogs and cats. This confusion is because of their irresponsive behavior towards high-volume sounds. Someone might think that it hasn’t heard the voice and hasn’t got startled by a sudden sound, yet the snake cannot recognize the voice. But it is a proven fact that snakes even hear very low voices. Snake owners feel the affinity of their pet with the gestures of being comfortable, at peace, and with frank moves. These gestures are missing when a snake is uncomfortable or in the company of a new person.
To clarify, the snakes could hear sounds traveling through the air. A biologist, Christian Christensen of Aarhus University, studied one particular snake, the ball python, in Denmark. It wasn’t easy as he said, “You can’t train snakes to respond to sounds with certain behaviors like mice do.” Instead, the researchers used electrodes attached to the reptiles’ heads. They monitored the activity of neurons how are they connecting the snakes’ inner ears to their brains.
Whenever a sound played through a speaker suspended above the snake’s cage, the researchers measured whether the nerve relayed an electrical pulse or not because the snakes showed no outward response to the sounds. The researchers found that nerve pulses were most potent, with frequencies between 80 and 160 hertz around the frequency for the lowest notes of a cello, though not necessarily sounds that snakes often encounter in the wildlife.
Scientists have struggled to understand how snakes sense sounds without external ears. A new study implies that sound waves cause vibrations in the skull of a snake and then hear by the inner ear.
Christensen and his colleagues found that the snakes don’t seem to respond to vibrations that these sounds cause in the ground. These vibrations were too weak to cause any nerve activity when they were without sound in the air. However, the researchers attached a sensor to the snake’s skull. They surprisingly discovered that the sound waves produced enough vibration in the bone, directly through the air, for the snakes to sense it. The findings were published recently in The Journal of Experimental Biology.
Moreover, a snake’s affinity can also develop by other factors. Suppose it notices a person is feeding it regularly. In that case, that will play an essential role in the relationship between a pet snake and its owner. They also have the sense of feeling peace, care, and protection like any other pet. They are smart enough to be friends with the owners with affinity and comfort. But it takes time. It may be more than common pets like dogs and cats.
The anatomy of the snake
Before authentic research on the anatomy of snakes, they were thought deaf in the absence of external ears. But science has proved that they have inner ears, and they hear voices through them. Apart from their incredible sense of smell and feeling the vibrations, their anatomy renders proof of the internal hearing system.
Behavioral proofs are vital
Pet snakes’ owners have witnessed that snakes hear their voices and show affinity in their presence. They offer more moves and gestures to welcome their owners. Still, their motions are not comparable with other common pets. Snakes’ way of expressing affinity is not the same as that of other pets. They have different patterns and moves to show their trust and association.
Boden Whitmore shares his experience with his pet a Rosy Boa. He is convinced that snakes recognize you by all means. My Rosy Boa feels more comfortable with me than with any other family member.” (Nebraska Snakes and Reptiles 2020).
Summary
Do you still believe that snakes are deaf? No, they are not. It has become a scientific fact that snakes have the anatomy to hear voices. Their hearing abilities have proved they can even hear low-level sounds beyond any doubt.
Can you compare a snake’s voice recognition and reactions to other pets? No, you cannot expect a snake to show such gestures associated with the love and affinity of the common pets. Yet, you can feel their moves and witness their liveliness in your company.
