Spent a bit of time with my girls yesterday after cleaning their tubs.
There’s this moment whenever I take them out, after they’ve done a bit of exploring where they will come back to and settle on me, yawn, and not move for about 10 to 30 minutes.
It’s an incredible feeling to experience trust like that. Cats, and dogs, and other mammals, they all communicate on a similar level as us, and we can earn their trust rather quickly and easily through that kind of innate body laguage. Many of them have evolved along side us, and know us as companions right down into their genetics. But a snake, a species that is as much prey as predator, especially ones as shy in the wild as ball pythons? Dang, what a rush, man. What an honor when they see you as the safe place where they can relax.
They might not feel love or attachment the same way other pets do, but in its own way keeping reptiles is extremely rewarding. This is the thing I want to show the clueless people at HSUS when they say things like, "there is no good reason to keep a reptile." I get just as much- heck more- satisfaction from my snakes seeking out my company as I do my dog or cats.