Selling You Snake Short

[nicktreb]

I believe snakes can and do have emotions. They may not be nearly as close to emotional beings as humans, but to say they have no emotion seems sort of... ludicrous to me.

[jfreels]

What's the name of the song? You got the band right.......................

Disgustipated! Had to pull up my albums on iTunes to get it though. I'll rep the person that tells me who was the first "person" to coin the expression.

[xdeus]

Disgustipated! Had to pull up my albums on iTunes to get it though. I'll rep the person that tells me who was the first "person" to coin the expression.

Popeye! (And I didn't Google it... I Binged it.)

[jfreels]

Popeye! (And I didn't Google it... I Binged it.)

That shouldn't count, but OK. I use to be a vegan and one of my buddies loved that song for obvious vegan reasons and had told me that's where the word came from. Was it ever on the cartoon? I don't ever remember it, he said it was in the comics...he didn't watch TV.

[xdeus]

That shouldn't count, but OK. I use to be a vegan and one of my buddies loved that song for obvious vegan reasons and had told me that's where the word came from. Was it ever on the cartoon? I don't ever remember it, he said it was in the comics...he didn't watch TV.

Heh, that's okay... I'm not begging for reps. After seeing the answer, though, I didn't think anyone would have known that. I doubt if many people under 20 even know about Popeye.

[Elise.m]

What's the name of the song? You got the band right.......................

Gah, thought of the wrong song.

They got it right.

Edit: No, it's technically called track 69. At least in my Windows Media Player it is. Disgustipated is only 1 second long. Goes onto tracks 11-67 (Though I deleted all those tracks.) track 68 is 2 seconds, then track 69 is 15:47 mins long.

I didn't know this until someone pointed it out to me. It shows up like this in WMP, does it in iTunes?

[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.

[Beardedragon]

Heh, that's okay... I'm not begging for reps. After seeing the answer, though, I didn't think anyone would have known that. I doubt if many people under 20 even know about Popeye.

Hey you! When I was a kid ( Im currently 18) Popeye still came on cartoon network...or maybe Boomorang(sp)?! Who ever tells me what year it stopped coming on cartoon network, gets a rep point.

My snakes LOVE me! er... at least I tell myself that.

[BPelizabeth]

I think my snakes have souls....I also think that they love me almost as much as I love them. But then again....I also think I almost have them potty trained.......and they like to snuggle. Each one of them has a different personality and different likes. HOWEVER...they ALL LOVE their new tub enclosures. Its private...comfy...warm and humid. Just what they are use to if they were in the wild only without the dirt and misc. bugs crawling around. They also love the fact that if they do have an accident in their tub...it is cleaned within 12 hours...and the fact that I hand pick their food each week and give it to them on the same day. My snakes are love bugs in a tub.

[Seru1]

Honestly I love my sakes but I don't believe they have souls because in my religion only humans do.


Do they have emotions? Maybe. I'm not sure they are as smart as say, a cat.

Emotions or not My primary concern is meeting there biological and mental health needs with good husbandry, and hides, and privacy.