Who says snakes can't love!

pythoncrazy · 10-20-11, 08:48 AM

I hear all the time that snakes are not capable of love, that they don't feel emotion and their survival instincts outweigh everything else. I think that this is wrong, and that snakes are intelligent creatures. I have a friend in the U.K. who would they that at the very least you can build a relationship of trust and understanding with your snake, if not even love. She has a 15 foot albino burmese python that has slept in her bed with her every night for over two years and he has never ever crossed the line, not one time. If anyone touches her and she makes a sound at all he'll rear up and start hissing at them very violently and bite them if he gets the chance as if he's defending her. If a snake is intelligent enough to be very protective of his owner then obviously he cares for her in some way and in that case a snake is intelligent enough to feel some kind of emotional attachment to a human, why not love? Tell me what you think. I think this is undeniable proof that a snake can love.

SkYyaMe1623 · 10-20-11, 09:18 AM

Snakes and people can't sleep together without one getting an RI lol

blindfireak40 · 10-20-11, 09:27 AM

I don't personally feel that a free-roaming giant is a good idea either, but if the snake stays in bed the person is essentially a 98.6-degree radiant heat panel; I'm not sure that it would be that detrimental to the long-term health of the snake. I'm getting mid-to-upper-eighties for healthy temps for burms.

infernalis · 10-20-11, 09:42 AM

I think I'm going to just watch where this goes for a while before I comment.

**millertime89** · 10-20-11, 09:42 AM

I doubt its love, however I think the snake is reacting on two factors in an incident such as the one you describe. First off, its territory is being invaded. Its ok with the owner being there as I'm sure it has built up a good deal of trust around her and knows she won't hurt it. Second, the creature doing the invading is completely new to it. A new sight, a new smell, a new experience.
I don't think snakes can love as we define it (I don't think any animal really can), but I think they are capable of trust and are more intelligent than most humans give them credit for.

infernalis · 10-20-11, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by millertime89

I don't think snakes can love as we define it (I don't think any animal really can),

I assume you have never had a pet dog before?

Ours will wag and get so excited when we come home, they are so clutchy that they even guard the bathroom door when it's in use, and my little girl Diamond (The brown and white one) even mimics my gate when I walk.

To test that, I walk fast, she walks fast, I stop she stops, I slow down she slows down.

They sit in the window and stare out waiting for my return.

and they raise hell all night unless they can sleep on the bed with us.

Diamond even gets jealous when I kiss Dorothy, she will try her hardest to interrupt it.

Lankyrob · 10-20-11, 09:54 AM

I wont be the one to pussy foot around - that idea is STUPID. The snake needs a PROPER environment to live in, it could easily kill the owner without them even waking up, the only reason it stays where it is is because of the heat.

If this snake either kills the owner or escapes and kills someone else then once again our hobby has something else for legislators to knock us back with to make it more difficult if not illegal to keep exotic creatures.

Jay · 10-20-11, 09:56 AM

Is this joke? If not, I don't even know what to say… very irresponsible imo

stephanbakir · 10-20-11, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkYyaMe

Snakes and people can't sleep together without one getting an RI lol

How right you are, burmese pythons are INCREDIBLY sensitive to low temperatures, and while they can survive at low humidity it really isn't healthy for them.
IF what you say is true, then I'm assuming its either word of mouth and your friend lied, or this animal is incredibly sick.
From a husbandry point of view, keeping a snake in bed with you (long term) is idiotic at best, you can't hope to maintain a stable temperature/humidity in the average house, unless of course your friend has her bed set up in the snakes enclosure...

stephanbakir · 10-20-11, 09:59 AM

Forgot to add,
Regarding your second statement of "Trust" I do believe this is possible. I know of 3 snakes who I can work with who have never shown me any sign of aggression (Can't believe I said aggression, meant defensive), 1 reticulated python, 1 copperhead and 1 king cobra. With me they are "dog tame" but bring another handler into the mix and they get defensive... Do I know for sure if this is trust based... no but at the same time I also can't deny that this has been happening for close to 2 years.

alessia55 · 10-20-11, 10:03 AM

I personally wouldn't let a snake that size sleep with me and pose a danger to anyone who comes near me by being so defensive.

Can snakes love? Well, I like to think that I have a close connection with my adult ball python Kaybe. I think he definitely picks up on my energy. When I'm happy, he's normal and slithers around and explores while I'm handling him. When I'm sad, he sits quietly on my lap and lets me stroke him. In fact, I've worked with a few friends of mine who wanted to get over their fear of snakes, and I showed them Kaybe and he seemed to "know" to keep his face facing away from them, and to move slowly, which calmed my friends down a lot. So yeah, I think some snakes can develop close bonds with their keepers and a mutual level of understanding and respect.

infernalis · 10-20-11, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

I wont be the one to pussy foot around - that idea is STUPID. The snake needs a PROPER environment to live in, it could easily kill the owner without them even waking up, the only reason it stays where it is is because of the heat.

If this snake either kills the owner or escapes and kills someone else then once again our hobby has something else for legislators to knock us back with to make it more difficult if not illegal to keep exotic creatures.

This.... once again Rob said it all and quite nicely too.

Jay · 10-20-11, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephanbakir

Forgot to add,
Regarding your second statement of "Trust" I do believe this is possible. I know of 3 snakes who I can work with who have never shown me any sign of aggression (Can't believe I said aggression, meant defensive), 1 reticulated python, 1 copperhead and 1 king cobra. With me they are "dog tame" but bring another handler into the mix and they get defensive... Do I know for sure if this is trust based... no but at the same time I also can't deny that this has been happening for close to 2 years.

I don't believe it's trust. The reason they are not defensive is most likely you know what your doing with them and how to properly approach the snakes.

**millertime89** · 10-20-11, 10:10 AM

Wayne, I have had several dogs, I'm not sure what to call that, perhaps love is the correct word, but I would lean more towards a pack mentality of devotion.

Alessia, most animals can sense moods of each other, it wouldn't surprise me that a pet, even a snake, that you've had for some time is able to pick up on your moods more acutely than those of others.

pythoncrazy · 10-20-11, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jay0133

I don't believe it's trust. The reason they are not defensive is most likely you know what your doing with them and how to properly approach the snakes.

So your saying any other handler doesn't know what they're doing or how to approach them and this is why they react defensively to any other handler?