I think my snake loves me

[maudie]

if you feel that snakes are so awful and stupid maybe you don't have any business on this site let alone owning any snakes. lol. breeders that think like you produce messed up snakes, and that's what truly is sad. if people feel as though their snake loves them, then that's great for them. because the people that have that mindset are the people that are giving their snakes the BEST care.

[maudie]

yeah my snakes love me. case closed.

[Bluebonnet Herp]

I feel like i can be unbiased as i haven't had a snake before, I've got a question for this thread lol.

do any of your snakes tolerate or even seem to want to be out around you, but when a approached by another (Experienced handler, not talking about toddlers or anything) gets defensive, hides, or even strikes at them if they try to pick them up?

Yes! I've been told that even when I let another person hold my friendliest one, she always made her way towards me. My boa will hiss at anyone or anything she's unfamiliar with if they bother her in her enclosure, but she calms down as soon as she recognizes me. My other two are just hateful little hermits though.
I wouldn't say they are affectionate or that they bond with people, but mine do learn to recognize, trust, and tolerate me and that's good enough for me.

[nightrainfalls]

they have very few ways to communicate their internal world with the external world. We have very little insight into the snake's internal world, because our biology is so much different from theirs. Unfortunately snakes are a black box, that we cannot pear into. Those people who say that snakes are the reptile equivalent of feeding robots with no emotions, do not have any evidence to back this assertion up. On the other hand, those of us who claim that snakes do have emotions and bond with us may be misinterpreting the very few clues snakes can give us.

I offer the following as evidence. Those who have kept many snakes of many different species will notice that individual snakes seem to have personalities. Some are inquisitive and other secretive. Some are adventurous and others stay in their cage even if the door is open. Some snakes will leave perfect husbandry conditions and venture out into an environment that is not correct for them, and spend time with the humans who share their homes.

Anyone who has ever dealt with a Retic knows that they have favorite people. The can be very picky about who they tolerate, who they like and who they hate. I have heard a Retic make awful growling sounds when a disliked lab attendant walked by his cage, but he scarcely made a sound or movement when I walked by. I could reach in and clean the cage whenever, but if Tina put her arm in she was going to get tagged. She hated the snake, and he hated her.

My BCI loves to explore. If I leave the lid off of his cage, he will be out in a few minutes. He frequently sits with me when I am on the computer. He has an entire room, but he stays near me. Usually on the desk, or curled around the back of the wooden chair next to me. My Balls Python will never leave her cage by choice. My BRB is kind of in the middle. My Corn snake is a ball of energy for a snake. She has a strange habit of hanging upside down frown the lid of her cage. There is no real reason for her to do this. I have never seen another snake do this, but apparently she enjoys being upside down. She may spend twenty or thirty minutes in this position before returning to her hiding spot.

With all the variety of behaviors and temperaments, I think there must be something going on in the heads of these cryptic animals. I do not believe that they are simply robots that eat and breathe and poop following some ancient program. Of course I cannot know if they experience love the way we do, probably not, but I am sure they have a far more complicated mental life than many people give them credit for.

As an aside, decades ago when I was being trained as a Biologist, I learned that sharks were robotic eating machines of the deep. Now research seems to indicate that they are mentally sophisticated, curious, trainable, and even intelligent. These animals are far more ancient than snakes, and the anatomy of their brains relatively simple. The more I spend time with the animals of the world, the more I suspect that the scientific tendency to deny the emotional lives of animals is wrong.

I suspect that even ancient lineages with anatomically simple brains, are far more sophisticated than we give them credit for.

David

[highqualityballz]

IMO i personally believe a snake and its owner can bond and the snake can grow to love you.

[anicatgirl]

Heh, I got a new story for this. My little girl is in blue. She has never been grumpy while in blue, so I hold her for a bit and we watch Youtube snake videos Last night we were doing this usual, and she had wrapped around my hands and was apparently asleep. I stroked her side and she woke up, turned my way, touched her nose to mine, gave a few tongue flicks, turned back around, and went back to sleep. I know it was probably wondering what touched her, but seemed like "Mom, are you still there? Oh, OK, good... zzzzzzzzzzz"

[lizzy_troy]

heh, i got a new story for this. My little girl is in blue. She has never been grumpy while in blue, so i hold her for a bit and we watch youtube snake videos :d last night we were doing this usual, and she had wrapped around my hands and was apparently asleep. I stroked her side and she woke up, turned my way, touched her nose to mine, gave a few tongue flicks, turned back around, and went back to sleep. I know it was probably wondering what touched her, but seemed like "mom, are you still there? Oh, ok, good... Zzzzzzzzzzz"

Love!

[midgard]

I don't think a snake will love you. But you can bond and it will see you as a food source. They just don't love us back like we love them. They go by instinct. Loving is not an insyinct for them.

[Jhill001]

Ah, the great non-debate.

[CourtneyG01]

My mother rescued a snake and the snake would alwayse search her out if other people were holding him he would stretch his neck out and look for her and as soon as he found her he would immediately try and get to her.

Not sure if it was that she was the food source in his life or what it was that made him want to be near her.

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