Quote Originally Posted by ApathyAngel View Post
Yep, exactly. You perfectly expressed how awesome that feeling is.

Even now, Jeffrey's been mellow and handleable for a few years, and it's still an awesome feeling when she just relaxes and curls up on my lap or draped around my shoulders.

She will never be as affectionate as a dog or a cat, sure. But it's just such an awesome feeling when a solitary animal who had a rough start to life decides to hang out with me for a little while. Definitely worth all the blood I lost those first couple of years.

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All in all, I've had very few bites from Mirikel, & they were only in her first year (thankfully because she was much smaller then), but I've had lots of practice at "keeping a light touch" for highly reactive snakes. I've "successfully" handled coachwhips & many more. It's a reminder though, just how scary we must seem to our slithery friends, & while they're not literally "affectionate", it feels awesome to be accepted by a wild thing, especially those that also had a rough start being mishandled by others. It proves they can learn- they're not merely "instinctive" creatures.