Selling You Snake Short

[WingedWolfPsion]

I don't think soul is relevant, to be honest. It has nothing to do with emotions or 'feeling'. Those things occur in the brain.

I do, however, think some people sell snakes short.

They have been researched scientifically, and we can see what they are capable of from their behavior and from their brain structure.

Snakes are most certainly capable of emotions. They are not, however, capable of 'higher emotions'--the more complex emotions displayed by birds and mammals. Snakes are capable of fear, curiousity/interest, contentment/happiness, unhappiness, and anger. There's no question about it--they have the mental equipment for it, they display the behaviors associated with it--it's there.
Animals known to have emotional centers in their brains, and to display behavioral evidence of emotion: Cephalopods, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
Cephalopods and some lizards 'wear their heart on their sleeve' with complex color and pattern changes corresponding to their moods, as well as other stimuli.

As for snakes' reasoning abilities--it really depends on the species. Our ball pythons are not geniuses. They really aren't very bright animals. They don't have to be, in order to be successful. Other snake species aren't quite so dim--garter and rat snakes, for example. The obvious genius among snakes is the King Cobra.
To judge intelligence, look at the animal's behavior, and what it needs to do in the wild in order to survive. Ball pythons spend most of their time hiding, and are primarily ambush predators--they wait for prey to come across their path. Snakes that are more active hunters need to be smarter, both to locate their prey, and to avoid predators as they wander.

It should be noted that, in general, snakes are the least intelligent group of reptiles. Tuatara, lizards, turtles, and crocodilians all show much higher levels intelligence much more consistently than snakes do. Still, the intelligence of animals in general is something that has been continuously underestimated since scientific research of animals first began. We are continually revising our knowledge of their mental capabilities upward.

So in that respect, I have to agree--don't sell them short. Watch and see, and you will probably be surprised some day.