I think my snake loves me

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Here are my thoughts, Ive only had a snake for 2 weeks but bare with me. I believe if it can show a preference of what it likes and doesnt like, and also get pissed off and annoyed which are emotions, then I can guarentee that it can love. Anger, hate, and fright are all emotions, if you can feel one then I think its safe to say you should be able to feel them all. Just my 2 cents.

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Our snakes are not getting pissed off, but are defending themselves which is instinct. When feeling threatened they show behavior which many people are portraying as emotions. This is anthropromorphising and this has caused dangerous situations with wildlife in the past. I am not claiming that it will with our herps, but it could.

The bottom line is they are not feeling emotions. They are acting on instinct.

As for recognizing certain people. This is easily explained. Each of us have our very own unique chemical scent, that only our herps will pick up on. If you are regularly in contact or near your snake, they may eventually realize you are not a threat. Though if another person, which will have their own chemical scent and would be foreign to the snake, the snake may act in a defensive behavior, which some have marked as an emotion.

in my humble opinion, i believe any of Gods creatures have the ability to bond with humans. I believe that it all depends on how the creature is handled from birth, and throughout their upbringing.

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Originally Posted by Shaun J

Snakes don't understand emotion other than "I'm gonna eat you!!!"

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HAHAHAHAHA:colbert::taz::rofl:

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Originally Posted by Maverick67

But do snake show preference over their handler? If my wife is holding Scarlett she will crawl off of her and to me if I am nearby.

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I would think this might have to do with the snake attempting to find a warmer place to be. Take my husband and I. Our house sits at around 75, which is a bit chilly to a ball python. If we were to take out a ball python and sit next to each other. I would not be surprised in the slightest if my snake preferred my husband to me. I run at a lower body temperature. My hands and feet tend to be cold if I'm sitting for long periods of time without socks on. My husband on the other hand, is a furnace. He gives off tons of heat. A snake will naturally try and find the warmest person.

Also on the subject of your snake turning to you because you laughed at it. They do not understand what a laugh is. They might sense the vibrations and turn to you because they are in hunting mode. I've had snakes protect their "kill" from me. If they had just constricted food and I move near their cage, they will let go and get into striking position. Its not emotion. It is instinct.

i think that snakes run almost exclusivly on instinct, and as such do not show anything we can precieve as love. i think it is all to do with humans easily anthropomorphising things. saying the snake feels sad or angry is a form of Anthropomorphism. I dont doubt for a second the snakes are able to recognize certain people with whom they have had past encounters, but i highly doubt the can show, or feel some kind of "love". in nature there are few forms of love which i know people will beg to differ about but when it comes down to it only a very few animals can show "love" and snakes are not one of them.

I think what matters most is how much you love your snake. They don't need to love you back.

I think snakes (along with other reptiles) are opportunistic. They "lick" you because you smell, not because they're kissing you. They sit on you or crawl about on you because you're warm. They accept you because for the most part, they get used to being handled and realize you aren't going to hurt them, therefore you are not a predator they need to worry about. Maybe they're smart enough to understand you bring them food...who knows? I don't think any of us are mindreaders here :P

I believe that snakes are smarter than some give them credit. They use vibrations, heat, scent, vision and pick up our attitude to form a decision of if we are a threat or not. They constantly evaluate their surroundings. Over time they remember those set of senses and associate them with individuals.
I believe they can feel calm, frightened, angry, hungry..etc.

sent from my EVO , with Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by JeffD

I believe that snakes are smarter than some give them credit. They use vibrations, heat, scent, vision and pick up our attitude to form a decision of if we are a threat or not. They constantly evaluate their surroundings. Over time they remember those set of senses and associate them with individuals.
I believe they can feel calm, frightened, angry, hungry..etc.
sent from my EVO , with Tapatalk

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Reminds me of my ex.....and he sure was a :snake:

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Originally Posted by redstormlax12

As for recognizing certain people. This is easily explained. Each of us have our very own unique chemical scent, that only our herps will pick up on. If you are regularly in contact or near your snake, they may eventually realize you are not a threat. Though if another person, which will have their own chemical scent and would be foreign to the snake, the snake may act in a defensive behavior, which some have marked as an emotion.

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That's like the viper boa I have...when anyone other than my gf or myself tries to hold him he does everything he can to get away and then poops on the person. Never does that with us.