Selling You Snake Short

[Tochigi_R]

It's fair to believe that snakes don't feel, because that's the way things are. When I first got into snakes, it was hard for me to accept after years of owning parrots and cats and dogs (oh my! ), because they all get so attached to you and you to them. Believe me, once you accept the fact that your snakes are basically on "auto pilot" it becomes a whole lot easier to understand and respect their needs.

It has been proven that snakes do not have the intellectual capacity to experience emotions as we do. Their limbic system - the part of the brain that registers emotions - is very, very basic. I'm sure that they have felt fear, and more of the baser emotions that stem from instinct, but if you are implying that snakes are capable of love, joy, sorrow, or anger then you are unfortunately wrong. As much as I'm sure we'd all like our snakes to love us as our dogs do, the fact is they don't nor will they ever... unless another 80 million years of evolution decides to change that. Some people will say that one snake or another has it's own personality. They either have a really grouchy snake, a shy one, or a really calm tempered little guy, but those observations are all just differing levels of aggression, indifference, or fear - something that is instinctual, not emotional. As far as the indifference goes, the snake doesn't see you as a threat and is just putting up with you.

Actually, the more I think about it, I would rather my snakes' emotional capacity stay the way it is. I have a feeling that if bp's or any other snake acted any other way, the appeal of them would not be the same. I like the indifferent attitude they display. I feel like if they did display emotions as other animals do, it'd be the same as owning the reptilian version of a cat.

As far as souls go, I'm afraid to touch the topic. Spiritual topics tend to get very touchy, and I'd be afraid to say something that would bite me in the bottom later...