can a python tell whos its owner is?

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Originally Posted by Mindibun

It seems to me that you feel very strongly about your views on the matter, and so you're presenting them as fact. I respect your views, and happen to agree with some of them. I also understand that we all have a tendency to blur the line between opinion and fact from time to time. But in this instance I wanted to speak up about it. The examples that you've given there are completely dependent on each individual snake and handler. When you say, "If your snake recognizes you as the warm object that does not drop him, then kudos! That's all he thinks when he smells or feels you." Well, you don't KNOW that's what he's thinking do you? This whole debate got started because NO ONE knows what the snakes are thinking.

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I know I'm a PITA and I do blur the line. It's difficult on this and many subjects.

When it comes to this topic, when we start to question whether or not our snakes really feel something for us, I have to go back to their physical anatomy. Can they feel any sort of emotion? I would say not. Others say, "How do you really know?" Well, it's true I don't talk to my snakes.

We can compare the two like evolution and religion. Evolution is still only a theory. A theory that is taught as a fact in most of the world. How can I as a Christian contend against it? Well... all I can really say is "Were you there? Then you don't actually KNOW."

Now I know how silly of an argument that is against all of these facts and findings that support the theory of evolution, so what am I really left with? Faith. This faith that many just don't understand.

Now leading back to your rebuttals that I don't actually know what my snakes are really thinking or feeling. I can take a pretty educated guess based on behaviors and anatomy and come to a neat conclusion that no, my snakes don't "feel" anything for me; but truly I have never spoken to them.

I've said it before in this very thread, I think they can tell the difference between 2 different people, and may prefer one over the other based on past experiences and associations, but not because they like you as a person, but because I believe they prefer you as a handler based off the trust you've built and the associations that come with it. (if it matters at all, I did vote yes to the initial poll question.)

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

We can compare the two like evolution and religion. Evolution is still only a theory. A theory that is taught as a fact in most of the world. How can I as a Christian contend against it? Well... all I can really say is "Were you there? Then you don't actually KNOW."

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You're thinking of the 'layman's' meaning for theory, which is more like a hypothesis. (Basically a 'guess' before you do the proper testing and such)

A scientific theory is 'an explanation for a set of established facts'.

So, we know, without a doubt, that species change from generation to generation, often diverging into new and different species given enough time and other factors.

The theory of evolution is trying to find out the 'how and why'. The current accepted theory is natural selection. But there have been old theories in the past that have since been disproven. (Like Lamarkism... He thought that, say, if an animal stretched its neck a lot, it would have babies with longer necks! Of course, now we know that's just silly.)

Sorry for the derail. It just irks me to see people parroting incorrect information.


So... it may be a fact that a snake will react a certain way to one person all the time, and a certain way to another person all the time. As for how they know, or why they know, or what it 'means' to them... We can only speculate. All we can say for sure is they can tell the difference and react differently.

So my answer to the poll is yes, snakes, and other lizards, do show the ability to distinguish between different human beings and react accordingly. We're just parts of their environment after all. It's no different than a snake differentiating between types of prey or a potential predator.

(If you have a snake that will eat rats but not mice, you can say the snake knows the difference between a rat and a mouse, yes? So in turn if your snake bites you but not other people, couldn't you say that your snake knows the difference between you and other people?)

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Originally Posted by Ivyna J Spyder

You're thinking of the 'layman's' meaning for theory, which is more like a hypothesis. (Basically a 'guess' before you do the proper testing and such)

A scientific theory is 'an explanation for a set of established facts'.

So, we know, without a doubt, that species change from generation to generation, often diverging into new and different species given enough time and other factors.

The theory of evolution is trying to find out the 'how and why'. The current accepted theory is natural selection.

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I know what I meant when I wrote that, it was an example to make a point, perhaps rereading it will help?

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

I know what I meant when I wrote that, it was an example to make a point, perhaps rereading it will help?

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I reread it several times, and I still see the 'evolution is only a theory' line. If you do actual recognize that evolution is an accepted scientific fact, and were only using that awful false line as an example, then I apologize. But I only tend to see that line used by people who don't understand what evolution is.

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Originally Posted by Ivyna J Spyder

I reread it several times, and I still see the 'evolution is only a theory' line. If you do actual recognize that evolution is an accepted scientific fact, and were only using that awful false line as an example, then I apologize. But I only tend to see that line used by people who don't understand what evolution is.

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There ya go ;)

Careful there guys you may be accused of hijacking this thread if you dare to discuss evolution.

I think they definitely can have a preference for one person over another, and can get used to their owner, However; I think it more likely to be conditioning or that they are choosing the lesser of 2 evils...the known vs the unknown.

When one of my children says " look he likes me!" because one of our animals has decided his loose sleeve looks like a dark cozy warm place to hide, of course the answer is " Yes sweety,he most certainly does!"

I'll admit to projecting emotions on to my reptiles, to cooing and occasionally scolding them... But then I do that to my car too. In reality I have zero faith that my esteem is remotely returned ( by either), as much as I would like it to be so.:oops:

The only time I see my reptiles waiting excitedly at their door for my arrival is on feeding day (God willing with ball pythons!)

I agree with what others have already said. We all like to think ourselves 'special', and our animals are 'exceptional' ( which they are of course) but to believe that the emotions we project on them are what they truly feel, is in my opinion extremely naive.

I believe that all reptiles know who their owner(s) is. My Ball Python is PRETTY good with everyone, not too shy, not too agressive, but he does seem to explore around a lot more with my step-dad and I who are his normal care-takers and handlers. Also, my Chinese Water Dragon does this as well. He is super calm with my step-dad, me (Normally. Heh. But I hold him a lot. ;D), and my cousin that loves him to death.
It could possibly be that they are just calmer around people that are calm but I've had very calm friends and family try to hold my CWD and he is like ten times more jumpy.

There is also another thing to consider.. even though I do think they can tell differences through smell and movement what about sensing feelings of US?
There is scientific backing that animals have the ability to sense or intemperate emotion/fear from humans and use it to their advantage. If you approach a snake with fear, and lets say it senses that fear by feeling your blood pressure, heartbeat, and breathing rate wouldn't you be more jumpy too? If I were the snake, it would make me feel endangered and either cause me to strike or attempt to get away.

About the animals having emotion.. I don't know with reptiles, but this is my general theory.
If animals have the ability to be ANGRY and the ability to clearly be AFRAID or UPSET. Where is there no emotion? I think that if you scream at a dog and it cowers, it is showing submission and the behavior of fear. Fear is in fact an emotion. So is happiness, which I can see in my dog. When I come home runs down with her camel toy in her mouth wagging her tail furiously jumping all over. This to me expresses happiness or excitement. All of these are emotional properties.
For snakes? I think that it's a step lower from mammals almost.. I think they have the ability to feel specific emotions but like dogs and cats, maybe not the same ones we have come to feel, but that doesn't necessarily mean they have NO emotion to them. After all, it's the initial fear that causes a snake to tag you isn't it? :]

So basically I think due to intelligence levels, mammals (humans included) and reptiles have a different set of emotions and different ways of showing them. Do I think that reptiles can love or hate? Not really, but that doesn't mean they can't be afraid or happy either. :]

I think they are familiar with us, as they see us most often. But they don't know us like a dog does.