The way it was described to me and how I recall reading it is this. It may not be accurate, but makes sense to me. I am no means a brain surgeon (no pub intended ha).

The feeling of comfort, security, defensiveness, etc are all instincts that are from a different part of the brain. The part of the brain that is responsible for sentimental emotions (love, hate, happy, jealous, etc), our snakes lack.

They could have a 5 lb brain the size of a grapefruit, but if they lacked that part of the brain, they won't have those emotions.

i.e, a lot of behavioral issues in humans can be attested to damage or imbalances in parts of the brain that control said emotions.

So whether we like it or not, the part of a brain that controls said emotions (love, hate, jealousy, etc is nothing more than chemicals released in your brain) simply do not exist in our snakes.


There is nothing wrong developing an attachment to your snake and giving your snake perceived emotions. I do it