There and (not quite) Back Again

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Digger the hognose snake was doing a great job following the target across her habitat for a tasty mouse reward. I figured we would move on to the next level of difficulty: following the target outside of her habitat. With a short table set up by her door, Digger eagerly followed the target to the threshold. But when I moved the target just a bit further onto the table, she stopped with her head hanging over the edge. Was she scared?

I also wondered if she just didn't feel stable with the 5-inch drop to the table. I took a large branch and propped it up like a ramp. I tried leading Digger with the target again, this time over the new branch. She rushed after the target and I presented her mouse. It worked! 


I figured I could do the same targeting behavior in reverse to move her back in her habitat. I slid the blue target up the branch, but now Digger had no interest in following it. I gave her some time to explore the table and tried again. Still no luck. I ended up picking her up and placing her back in her habitat. Now that I had solved the puzzle of moving her out, my next challenge will be figuring out how to get her back inside!

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