Quote Originally Posted by Jmarshall View Post
Obviously reptiles are not mammals and should not be given emotion as such but there is research that shows a reptiles brain is not as simple as we once thought. I had read an article a while back that shows a study on reptilian brains and how they are not so different from our own.

https://massivesci.com/articles/liza...e-brain-human/

The study was done on lizards, not snakes, and what a reptile's brain is actually capable of is still TBD. I think the bottom line is we have no idea what they actually experience so it is important to treat all animals with respect and dignity. Do I think your snake experience "love" as you imagine? Absolutely not. Their brains are different and work in a different way than ours. I do think it is important to keep this in mind because, as was mentioned earlier, signs of stress can be missed. Your snakes "missions" could easily be a stressed out animal. Just food for thought.
Interesting article, if my snake isn't showing affection or love then he sure is showing respect for his care taker. I can assure you that my snake is not stressed out at all as he eats fine and seems perfectly healthy. When I take him out he seems to enjoy his time out and when I put him back he just "smushes" on the front glass like he wants to come out for more missions. To me that says having 3 hours out doesn't stress him out because after I put him back he just wants out for more. I gradually gave him more and more missions as he grew up so it's not like he started off getting 3 hours out a day, I know that would probably stress out a young snake but he grew into getting more and more over a 5 year period.