Visually, I like snakes over other herps and mammalian pets because they are unusual, streamlined animals with beautiful colors and patterns to choose from. They are mostly easy to care for once you set them up in the right environment, and they're variable even within the same species, whereas I honestly couldn't tell two of the same specie tortoise or something apart if my life depended on it.

Emotionally, I enjoy that they are extremely predictable, schedule-able animals (IE next Tues I need to feed, next Sunday they're due to shed). They aren't needy nor are they untouchable as some delicate animals are. They live quite some time, which is great for me because I get really emotional over pet deaths.