I think my snake loves me

I seriously laughed so loud at the second part...baha

I know as soon as they see me they're like "sigh this guy again"....

I think they love it when I feed them.

I love my snakes, and those that enjoy my companionship and seek it out...well, they love me back. 8^)

Wuv, true wuv...

I adore "The Princess Bride"...
so to those who say snake emotions are INCONCEIVABLE, I say, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." (Indigo Montoya). 8^)

My bp is perfectly willing to sit chill and occasionally beat me if I am too slow offering food. She almost certainly loves me as her servant.

I think they may have somewhat of an ability to love..?

Some snakes could have the ability to recognize the people who frequently feed and handle them...

And I think some snakes do like certain people more than others.

I guess this could be showing love?

I don't know ... i'm not a snake expert this is just my opinion...

And I don't care what people say, I refuse to accept that my snake doesn't love my back...:P

Science gave us the "fact" that animals are dumb, until they had empirical evidence to the contrary: dogs, wolves, dolphins, whales, elephants, and now cows are quite intelligent and loving; they feel emotional pain and joy. Now the big new thing is interspecies affections: deer and dogs, chimps and kittens, lions and foxes; and unlikely animal bonds with people. When science finally gets around to really studying the intricacies of the reptilian brain, I believe scientists will discover what we already know. Some of my snakes do love me or my son. Some couldn't care less... but people, dogs, cats ...are the same way.

I know my snakes loves me. I give them sloppy tongue kisses on the face and they smile and kiss me back and give me a HUGE hug all around my head......I didn't know love could hurt so much though......;)

Lol! You're such a dork!!!! :rolleye2:

My snakes don't love me, they worship me. I am a giant and the giver of all things good. I am know by many names in the universe of the snake room.

the giver of food,
the remover of waste,
the keeper of heat,
the holder of the liquid
mostly just sssssssssssssssssssssssss! (no upper case letters here, I am just a minor god)

All things come from me as long as the yearly offering of eggs is made. There are rumors between the racks that if the proper offering is not made, the offenders tend to disappear only to emerge again in the afterlife as apparel for said god.

:O That's disturbingly creative.:weirdface

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Originally Posted by DLena

:O That's disturbingly creative.:weirdface

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LOL. I was bored. I was actually going for absurd. I left out the part where my worshipers must crawl on their bellies before me.

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Originally Posted by JodanOrNoDan

My snakes don't love me, they worship me. I am a giant and the giver of all things good. I am know by many names in the universe of the snake room.

the giver of food,
the remover of waste,
the keeper of heat,
the holder of the liquid
mostly just sssssssssssssssssssssssss! (no upper case letters here, I am just a minor god)

All things come from me as long as the yearly offering of eggs is made. There are rumors between the racks that if the proper offering is not made, the offenders tend to disappear only to emerge again in the afterlife as apparel for said god.

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Hilarious!! Thnx for the laugh.

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Originally Posted by JodanOrNoDan

LOL. I was bored. I was actually going for absurd. I left out the part where my worshipers must crawl on their bellies before me.

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It worked!! Lol

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XD that was a great read. It was certainly absurd, but also very creative ^_^

--- think its a bell curve---Most snakes are in the middle, just do not care about humans much at all, one way or the other.
They can 'become tame'(*), or learn to be Hostile ( if repeatedly teased and harassed)

(*) they get used to people, put up with being handled, relax while being handled, may even enjoy exploring..
( I think they may be able to tell us apart, seem calmer with folks they know)
most even learn that mice appear After the humans put them back in the cage...


Some just *Do Not Like* humans, Never settle into being handled, will bite and 'run away'. Every time. Never get used to it.

Some (very few) *Like* humans. They are calmer, even as hatchlings, do not hiss, or offer to bite.
These snakes will seek out a 'known human' ( familiar smell?) crawl Towards them, if being held by a stranger--- Not 'love', like a mammal, I think, but more like " a Known, safe, warm, place"
( We become a favorite den?)... and mice often appear, when we have been around

All I know is
1 Salazar Slytherin doesn't care if I exist only that I feed him
2 When I handle Sal he doesn't enjoy it, he simply allows it.
3 Sal gets annoyed when I stare at him for long periods of time.

I'm pretty sure it was only a hypothetical question

Of course I agree snakes don't love or hate but every now and again you will get one that truly likes being handled. I've had a few over the years that see you and literally do everything they can to get you to take them out. When you come in the room they watch everything you do. Only had a couple like that of course. I had an Argentine Boa male that I swear a few tubes I said to myself did a human die and come back in this snakes body lol, he made me feel he had me on display. Unless he was in a shed or digesting he wanted to hang out with us all day and let us know it, he was miserable in a shed. Seen a few carpets like that too, but man that boa was something lol tripped me out.

If a snake can know fear and pain why couldn't it know other emotions? There is no way of knowing what a snake feels or not or what kind of connection it makes with someone or something. To say its a fact that snakes can't "feel" is wrong. There have been many studies on animal behavior that back me up. Just because we can't understand the inner brain of a snake doesn't mean it doesn't have the ability. It just means we aren't advanced enough or have the resources to understand them

Even if snakes can't love could they not possibly rationalize a symbiotic relationship with instinct? For example the old saying "don't bite the hand that feeds you". By providing heat, security, food and not attacking them ourselves could our snakes possibly see us as co-habitators of the same area? Could they not see us an necessary to their survival and thus act in ways that we see as "loving" because they can see that WE like when they act that way (like a dog shaking for a treat...they don't want to shake)

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Originally Posted by Zach_este93

Even if snakes can't love could they not possibly rationalize a symbiotic relationship with instinct? For example the old saying "don't bite the hand that feeds you". By providing heat, security, food and not attacking them ourselves could our snakes possibly see us as co-habitators of the same area? Could they not see us an necessary to their survival and thus act in ways that we see as "loving" because they can see that WE like when they act that way (like a dog shaking for a treat...they don't want to shake)

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I think they know who we are. Especially when they know the difference between your hand and food. Do they love us? Likely not. But they put up with us. We give them a nice warm home and a nice warm rat every week. I think that makes them a little happy lol.

this seems like something fun to chime in on :) I'm very new to the BP community and just purchsed my first baby Kova (.1 Butter Pastel Lesser 6 months old) I've been doing bunches of research and watching every reputible vlogger out there and while I don't believe snakes necessarily "love" or "hate" I do believe they establish a sense of comfort and familiarity with their handler. they learn our smell and touch and the way our voice sounds. I've read that snakes can in fact hear noise and not just sense vibrations, while it may be very slight I believe they recognize our tone and the way we speak just as a dog would. which would explain why some snakes are finicky when someone other than their owner is handling them :)

I know my snakes love me, because they sometimes give me that puppy dog look, and sometimes lick my face, and wrap around my neck, and sometimes they send me greeting cards, and roses. :rofl:

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Originally Posted by jcorsaletti

... while I don't believe snakes necessarily "love" or "hate" I do believe they establish a sense of comfort and familiarity with their handler. they learn our smell and touch and the way our voice sounds. I've read that snakes can in fact hear noise and not just sense vibrations, while it may be very slight I believe they recognize our tone and the way we speak just as a dog would. which would explain why some snakes are finicky when someone other than their owner is handling them :)

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I mostly agree with this, except you lost me at snakes hearing & recognizing our voices. When snakes show preference for handling by their owner versus strangers,
it has everything to do with familiarity of our touch & scent (their best senses that we know of) & nothing (IMO) to do with our voices. I say this because I've had this
happen, but without talking, and even IF they can hear a little, it would hardly be their best sense. I don't think snakes love or hate us...they either learn that we are
safe to be around or that we cannot be trusted and they resist out of instinctive fear. Then again, there was that one very misguided male rosy boa that kept working
his spurs on my neck...:rofl:

I do know that snakes learn & remember us though, which suggest a little more intelligence than many want to give them credit for. And I say this because if they were
simply "instinctive" creatures, wouldn't we have to re-tame them with every approach? But that's NOT the case...my snakes are not handled often, much less "constantly"
-yet they obviously "know" me and aren't afraid & defensive. And another thing: it appears this suspension of instincts holds for meeting other people...most of my
snakes have done "meet & greets" with total strangers (including chaotic children) and have been fine with it. That suggests "trust" to me, & trust requires thinking, ya?

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Originally Posted by Godzilla78

I know my snakes love me, because they sometimes give me that puppy dog look, and sometimes lick my face, and wrap around my neck, and sometimes they send me greeting cards, and roses. :rofl:

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My snakes suck! They never buy me anything!
They just leave me poop, pee, urates and the occasional crappy skin they don't want anymore. :rofl:

The poll choice was a bit limited, so I went with the first option. I don't know if reptiles feel love or not, I think they do have emotions and can learn to enjoy things, human company included. I simply think that reptiles are so different, that they may even have emotions we do not have the ability to feel, and visa versa.

I’ll be honest, I know it sound silly, but like when itcomes to behavior, most animals it can be “trained” into their behavior... Not easilybut you know what I mean… even with your noodle, using Maslow’s hierarchy ofneeds... I have found – even in my fish! I had (large S. Am. Cichlids- Oscar andJag) I read something about it being as difficult as making a fish do a “loop-D-loop”…so I tried it … it took almost a year of constant practice almost daily before feedingsbefore they stated to do it but eventually .. a tap on the glass and now withoutthem chasing my finger around for the loop, they would do it on their own !!...I read in my phycology book,” …if you can identify the needs that are mostimportant to the living creature you could create a behavior…” – plant = sunlight,animals= food, humans = love – IMO ... They start off snippy or scared... Eventuallythey realize – they get fed by these means. So they become more receptive tothe smell... Tapping... Whistling/ humming – is what I do before I feed mysnakes. I like rituals
My Spell is a 2016 hatchling and though I knew enough aboutBPs to feel comfortable investing in her in hopes to enjoying my big whitesnake – like I do now:D ......
Don’t hate me but I do think it helped with her identifyingwith me more, as for whatever reason I did not want her to identify me as the food,rather the provider, I also read some threads where ppl have had snakes foryears and did the same so I went with it too.
I fed her in separate enclosure for her 1^st year.I know, I know... stress, it can take them out of food mode, etc.… she and hercomrades are all in a front facing rack set up now and are eating out of theirenclosures, she very quickly realizes when it’s feeding time or if I ambringing her out for a stretch… I swear…She looks for the exercise sometimeslol... Or just trying to escape every time I’m in the room but she has the besttemperament towards me... Sometimes when she is on a family member of mine shewill not sit as still or for as long for them as she would for me and when I amnear she reaches for me ...I did an experiment with my twin, and she deff wentfor me each time lol… I think its just ability know the smell they are familiarwith... Maybe in hopes of food (Eventually), but to put up with our big, scary,human selves as they do, but “LOVE” is for mammals and birds lol... negative onthe reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates... I think it’s just a familiarizationthing... I’m sure some zoologist will clarify this for us lol… but it’s alwaysgood to have something to believe in, even if its:P love from a serpent:snake:
:salute::salute:

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Originally Posted by Godzilla78

I know my snakes love me, because they sometimes give me that puppy dog look, and sometimes lick my face, and wrap around my neck, and sometimes they send me greeting cards, and roses.

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What morphs do you have Godzilla :O? i need to make a purchase off you... your snakes have manners :gj:
lmfaO!!!:rofl:

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Originally Posted by Shaun J

To those who answered, My snake loves me, how did you come up with that conclusion????

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It is all the wonderful hugs they give! Don't you hug people you like?:rofl:

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

It is all the wonderful hugs they give! Don't you hug people you like?:rofl:

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We also hug people we don't like though ...


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Originally Posted by Zincubus

We also hug people we don't like though ...


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Not to mention that "snake hugs" usually mean something else entirely...:rofl:

Look, logically, I know that my snake is a snake and only has the capacity for certain things in life. Love likely isn't one of those.

But.... she comes out of her hide when she hears my voice. So that's enough for me.

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Originally Posted by alittleFREE

Look, logically, I know that my snake is a snake and only has the capacity for certain things in life. Love likely isn't one of those.

But.... she comes out of her hide when she hears my voice. So that's enough for me.

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That's kinda how I look a it too. I don't think they're capable of emotions beyond fight, flight, and food. Mine seems to act differently with me but I also handle her regularly and on top of that the hand that drops in delicious rodents is attached to me. She's extremely comfortable with me and she knows that I'm not a threat and on the other hand I still make sure I'm aware of how I'm handling and moving about when around her to not invoke an instinctual response whereas with my German Shepherd I know without a shadow of doubt something like a sudden movement won't get me bit. When I'm laying in the lovesac watching the tube my bp lays on my shoulder or sprawls out on the top of my head and seemingly watches tv. I highly doubt it's because she likes to or loves me. I think she just knows that she's safe and it's probably just a nice warm spot. As for the tv it's probably just the heat coming off it or something that has her interested I'd imagine. I think as humans we have a tendency to interpret that extra comfortability or odd behaviors as "affection" when they aren't capable of those emotions per se. But if we perceive it that way then is there really any difference anyway?

If they can express aggression, become defensive, or become calm, something has got to be going through their heads. I agree that they dont love tho

I think they can have feelings of trust for certain people, and they can associate handling with being able to explore or play. Love is a pretty deep word to associate with a snake, though. They do have feelings. They may not be very advanced feelings, but there are still some feelings there.

I 100% wouldn't say love, but one of my BPs seems at least somewhat fond of me... in the way his cute little dumb head can be, anyway.

Extremely interesting how this poll has changed over the years. The top bar is slowly but surely catching up with the bottom bar.

Is it bad that I can remember when this was started??

I think it's like one of those people that owns a pet bear. The owner trains them pretty well so you can feed them and maybe even can handle and play with them; you think they're tamed like a house cat. Then one day, the owner is dead. At the end of the day, they're wild animals.

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Originally Posted by wnateg

I think it's like one of those people that owns a pet bear. The owner trains them pretty well so you can feed them and maybe even can handle and play with them; you think they're tamed like a house cat. Then one day, the owner is dead. At the end of the day, they're wild animals.

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SPOILER ... gruesome ending. !


That reminds me of the incident in the States about ten years ago ... it was a fairly well known celeb as I recall and they had a pet ‘chimp’ that had free roam of their home !!

One day she had a fancy doo and it ripped the face of one of her friends !!!





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Originally Posted by Zincubus

SPOILER ... gruesome ending. !


That reminds me of the incident in the States about ten years ago ... it was a fairly well known celeb as I recall and they had a pet ‘chimp’ that had free roam of their home !!

One day she had a fancy doo and it ripped the face of one of her friends !!!





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Yeah, I remember that one too...pretty awful to have to live with that, either as the badly-injured friend OR the guilt-ridden owner.

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Originally Posted by wnateg

I think it's like one of those people that owns a pet bear. The owner trains them pretty well so you can feed them and maybe even can handle and play with them; you think they're tamed like a house cat. Then one day, the owner is dead. At the end of the day, they're wild animals.

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Dogs kill people as well, including their own owners of many years. Cats will eat their owners when they die, and would most likely kill you on a nearly daily basis if they were capable of it lol. People frequently kill other people as well; in most cases, people kill their loved ones. At the end of the day, we’re all at least a little bit that bear. Don’t know that that is very relevant to a discussion of love, sentience, or intelligence. It might actually be more of an argument for intelligence in that my snake and I are capable of killing one another and yet we choose not to on a daily basis.

I think my snake loves the fact that I feed her :rolleyes:

I dont think love in the way we feel it is a thing for snakes, but I dont think my snake is indifferent to me. Its weird because my female BP is very mellow, for the longest time she wouldn't even strike at her food, she would just gently take it out of my tongs. When ever I come by her cage and she sees me she will peek her head out. If I stop and open the door she will peek out a bit more. This happens almost every time. I though it might be that she thinks shes getting fed but she is an incredibly poor eater, when she was a baby she didnt eat for months and even now often wastes the rats and if she does eat them its after a few hours and usually shows little enthusiasm for them right away.

So my current theory is maybe shes just kinda checking out whos at her territory, kinda like "whos there".

Funnily enough she is kinda fat right now and I took her swimming for exercise a couple of times and she was definitely not a fan of that, since then when I come by her cage she ignores me.

TL;DR maybe she doesnt love me but is at least positively curious about my presence.

I know that my snake recognizes me, reacts differently to others, however, I am hard pressed to anthropomorphize her behaviors. I do not think she loves me, I think she recognizes me as a source of food, she is perhaps comfortable with me and handling her, she will almost always periscope when I come home and often will watch me if I am in the same room. Is it recognition, probably, scent possibly, but I am not sure they feel love in the way a domesticated animal does, that has bonded with humans over hundreds, if not thousands of years. See: dogs, cats, predominantly mammals that seem to have been domesticated. It is not impossible, but I do not think it plausible that they "love" you.

My BP went from an occasional stroke when she was around, to she is pretty okay with it (though I do it rarely, maybe once a month), she doesn't show joy, but she no longer recoils and often will poke her head out from her hide and watch me. Much as I have heard two entry hides, say a half log, is something they do not prefer, she now avoids both of her single entry rock hides and primarily uses the two entry spots, the half logs, and I often catch her poking her head out from one side or another, and figure possibly she has a preference to the versatility! Or.. it is anthropomophism.

Just my two cents, the article is an interesting read as well, please see it below:

https://vetmed.tamu.edu/news/pet-talk/reptile-emotions/

I dOnT oWn a sNaKe yEt XD

Sorry if this has been said before but I am not reading 61 pages. To the best of scientific knowledge Snakes do not have the ability to show "love" as defined by humans. That being said that does not mean it's impossible for them to have something like "love" in their own way. Lastly Given the rather complex and revelatory state of neuroscience that could all change at any time. Put another way you are mostly (likely to the snake) a giant warm snake the brings a "easy" meal, so it prefers you is what I would say, as apposed to love or like.


KL

I voted yes, but for a reason I will explain. one day I was cleaning my ball python's enclosure and I had him in a snake bag, the bag was far away from me and between me and him was a vent blowing warm air that was around his enclosure temps. the vent was closer to him than I was, like way closer, but instead of going to the vent he went to ME. and crawled up in my lap and looked up at me and curled up into the "my body is my pillow" position WHICH MEANS IT IS RELAXED AND CALM. and yeah every will say "Oh that's because it trusts you" well, doesn't trust have to do with love, like seriously! you trust something because you feel calm and good around them and you love them. and seriously how does the scientist that found out they're missing a part of their brain not know if they might have a different part of the brain that allows them to feel the emotion? and plus, scientists thought they didn't have ears, but they were just covered by scales. and so many people have TRIED to make me think other wise, but what about the time when I was crying because I got to stressed out about something, AND THIS LITTLE NOODLE, looked me in the eyes, and pressed his nose onto mine and held it there for a little bit. THIS LIL DUDE BOOPED ME. and another time when I was upset he went around my neck and started flexing his muscles (keep in mind he's only a year old this wouldn't be some sort of mating thing or whatever) and it was like he was massaging me, he's done it to my dad as well but the things he does, it's so obvious. you can SEE IT, in his eyes and his behavior. and when at the vet they came out and they were like, "he was so behaved! usually they're a bit like 'ew no get away' but he didn't care!"


Again it's my opinion and my proof and so many people can give different things of why he does each thing but honestly I don't see it as anything else because, when your family member is sad wouldn't you hug them? maybe give them a neck massage! also Beans let's me Boop his nose whenever and he let's me pat him on the head and pet under his chin, he'll afterwards even go into the "body is my pillow" formation, believe the stories or not, I know some of you won't, but hey if you don't want to believe me that's your loss not mine.