thank you all for your opinions!

i'm pretty sure snakes can form basic connections- there are PLENTY of reports of snakes handled less often snapping when their cage is opened just because they associate it with food. and though i've seen some keepers insist their snake "wants" out when it taps on its cage a certain way, that doesn't seem very objective... so i'm tempted to do a bit of an experiment. i'm thinking of suction cupping a small bell or rattly cat toy on a string to the wall of her tank, and jingling it a bit whenever i take her out, so she'll start to associate sound with being handled. eventually i'm hoping she'll start to mess with the jingler and, when she does, i'll take her out to be handled, too.

so the association chain is, sound=handling, snake can cause sound, snake will make sound when she wants to be handled. that or avoid the jingler completely. either way this'll either change nothing or i'll train a snake to "ask" to be let out, so i can't see much of any risks associated with it. thoughts?