Do snakes reall smell?

Question

ok so every time i tell someone that i want a snake they say they stink. i understand that if you dont pick up its p**p, it can smell. but other than its p**p, do snakes smell like anything? i can remember being at a friends house and she had a snake, i dont recall smelling anything. so do they smell? if so, what do they smell like.

Answer 1

Snakes in their natural habitat do not smell. That is what makes them such successful hunters. Their prey never know they are being hunted because they cannot smell them.

Answer 2

I don't remember that snakes do smell.. I had a few different pythons around my neck in zoos and i don't remember them smelling bad.

Answer 3

Snakes dont really smell, if they are kept clean.

Your right about picking up there p**p, if you dont they will start to smell.

To smell my snakes i have to put the snake right up to my nose, i think they smell a bit like vinigar, but its not a strong smell.

Answer 4

nope they don't. i mean they have their own different smell but, i have a balled python and he doesn't smell bad. of course if you don't clean their habitat regularly it will smell but other than that they don't, most of the time you can't smell them at all.

Answer 5

wow I never heard that before snakes stink?

umm no snakes don't smell unless what you mentioned

that if you clean up properly after them.

but other than that no

Answer 6

No they don't. I own 2 snakes & i cant even smell there p**p (& my smell is pretty good) they are very clean animals.

Answer 7

they dont stink

Answer 8

u should ask the people that u r goin 2 get tha snakes 4rom

Answer 9

I have 2 corn snakes, and the only time I have ever smelled ANYTHING on the snake itself is when my cat grabbed one of the corns and tried to take it away from me.  He emitted an odor at that point, but we've had him since December, and that's the only time we've smelled anything.  Except, of course, when he finishes his digestive process on my shirt, but that's another story!

Answer 10

my actual snakes do not smell. i have 4 ball pythons and the only time its smells is when you clean the p**p or leave it in too long. but i have never held a snake that smelled.

Answer 11

Some snakes can produce an oily residue on their skin that is "different" in smell...  I wouldn't say it is really offensive, just different.  They are like most animals.  They have a unique scent and as long as you clean up after them you most likely wouldn't notice unless you are really sensitive...

Answer 12

No... I have a snake... and you are absolutely right... as long as you clean up after them they do not smell bad. If you sniff them closely (don't ask me why I did this, lol)... mine smells a bit like ???salt or a chemical I can't quite place???... not a bad smell, just kinda different.

I also have 2 dogs & a ferret... I can definitely smell them, but I never really smell the snake.

Answer 13

Reptiles themselves do not emit an odor. the only thing i can think of is musk. its a foul smelling substance secreted from their cloaca if they feel they are being threatened, mishandled, etc. that's probably what they were referring to.

Answer 14

I have an adult corn snake and it doesn't smell at all, as long as you clean up after it. I change my snakes bedding (shavings) weekly and you can't smell it at all in my apartment.

I think some reptiles do excrete a musky smelling substance when they are threatened, but I've never experienced it with my lizards or my snake.