Re: Reptillian Theories
There's also the issue of brooding behaviour, e.g., the way a female python will "shiver" to raise heat for her eggs. This kind of behaviour fits with bird brooding behaviour, and birds certainly tend to show the close bonding we think of as "love".
While this is very rudimentary in terms of social bonds, it implies some instinct-guided capability to be aware of the well-being of creatures beyond oneself. I think snakes are pretty short on this capability, though other reptiles can demonstrate it to a surprising degree in parental behaviour.
As far as happiness in snakes - we probably do need to learn a lot more before we can even tell from a brain scan. As a keeper, I consider eating on schedule, being in good physical condition, and not engaging in obvious discontented behaviour to be pretty much a win! I don't know if we'll ever know when a snake is genuinely happy, if snakes even can feel what we consider to be happiness, but I don't doubt at all that I can usually tell when one of mine is *unhappy*.
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