I’m wondering if anybody else sees this with their chondros. Whenever food night comes around and he knows it, he wags his tail like an angry cat. I know of a few species that do but usually as babies. It’s quite interesting to see but I thought it was something that passed as they age. He’s 5 plus years old.
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My adult Florida Kingsnakes do it. Not really relevant to your GTPS’ behavior. 
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I don’t own any, but yes, that species is known to use luring techniques to attract prey…even with age
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Florida kings use caudal luring? Cool! So many species do. I wonder if it’s a lizard eating thing? My Dumerils boas as babies did it and the look like they were vibrating. As they grew they stopped but occasionally they come out, swing their tail in front of themselves and swish it once or twice. Like they’re asking if I have food. No food? Ok, coming out to explore. And for both gtp and dummy boas it’s different than what a baby copperhead does.
I have a friend who has several boa constrictors, I’m going to see if any of his do it.
Thanks for the replys.
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I don’t know about generally, but my pair do! And they are certainly not alarmed by me, so it’s not defensive. It’s weird and squirmy anyway, not a defensive rattle.
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So cool! My friends gtp, my gtps brother, also does it. So, it’s a normal thing. My white lips rattle their tails in alarm but will be interesting to see if they do it as they age in response to food. He didn’t say if his bc do it,though I have read somewhere that they do.
Could we call this use of tools? Like some birds use sharp stick or spines to extract bugs from holes in wood. Definitely something to explore.
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I’m not sure if this link will work, but many years ago, I had a wild caught Guyana boa that would use its tail for a lure.
Very bad quality video, sorry. This is from my website. Its 15 seconds long.
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My male Brooks’ Kingsnake that recently passed did it. But it was more of a violent shaking than a wag, every time it neared feeding day and on feeding day every time he’d see me he’d race around his cage shaking his tail trying to bite through the glass like an excited dog. It was pretty amusing to watch, I miss it 
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The world is full of interesting creatures doing fascinating things. I’d completely forgotten that there were snakes who did this. I love my corn snakes, but now I’m somehow feeling shorted since none of them use their tails as a lure. 
Sorry, no. Many species have adaptations to lure prey, from tails to tongues to tentacles and other things. These don’t count as tools. Use of tools requires that the animal use some object, such as the sharp stick you mentioned. Good question, though!
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Watched your vid. That is exactly what my Dumerils boas do.
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