Reptile & Amphibian Forums

alright...i know this will probably sound weird...but i look at my reptiles as part of the family...and i was just wondering...how many people love, and feel that their snake, loves them back?

i have a Hogg Island... and i love her to death...she's my baby...and i was sitting here...feeling a little down in the dumps...and i decided to get her out...

...i placed her in my lap like i usually do, and i noticed her starting to move her way up my chest, and she stopped, and rested her head right on my heart....and she's been laying there for the past 15 minutes...

so my question is...who believes that emotions cross the species barrier?

N/P

Feel free to anthropomorphize at will if it makes you feel any better. But just because you're projecting a complex emotional state onto an animal with a peanut-sized brain consisting of nothing but a limbic system doesn't make your "connection" true. I mean, I find it hard to believe that an animal that will bite itself over and over and over because it has rat scent on it is capable of any higher order cognition, let alone interspecies empathy.

Marc

Jeez, don't be so cold, people!

Just because snakes aren't as smart as your average dog or cat, doesn't mean they cannot recognise and possibly have SOME kind of relationship with their owners. My ball python seems to enjoy a good chin scratch. No, they aren't puppies (though my ball python acts like one). They'll never come when called. But who's to say they can't recall their primary caregiver's smell? They do seem to get "stupid" when they smell food, but so does my dog.

I could say that my dog only likes to be around me because I feed him. But most dog-lovers would disagree.

Your hog will probably never gaze lovingly into your eyes, but enjoy its company nonetheless! We may never know what goes on in those little brains...
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Lauren Madar
www.ophidiagems.com
1.1 Hog Island Boas
1.1 Hypo BCI
0.1 Sorong-type GTP
1.0 Normal Ball Python

haha, i agree...

i love my snakes...and i find it kind of irritating when people look at them (or any animal for that matter) as anything less than a living, breathing, feeling, creature...

not to be disrespectful to snake breeders or anything, but i think they deserve a little more than to be treated as a means to make money...

so what if they have a peanut sized brain, and so what if they bite themselves...are there not dogs that chew on their leg, or chase their tails?...and are there not people that harm themselves for emotional/mental reasons? (i am not judging anyone, just stating a fact.)

I SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS 100%.
But for the past few years all I hear is this " What is the best investment".
Well if you are looking to investment I can help you get into Real Estate, still very Hot.
But that is just my Two cents on the matter.
And I totally adore my animals.
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Joel Pretz
JP Reptiles

I love my snakes, as much as I love my dog. I am sure my dog is a more complex being, but really who's to say one is more sentient than the other? They are just different. They have a different type of consciousness. I know my snakes recognize me, and they have a different, more cautious, behavior when someone else is holding them. I think in some way they are fond of me too. Maybe they are even more psychic than people and dogs too, I mean they have less ways of communicating than people and dogs. Maybe they have developed ways of knowing things like people who are blind, you know accomodating their own differences?

Caden

Fear is an emotion...do snakes show fear?...yep
Anger is an emotion...ever see an angry snake?...i have
Nobody and I mean no one but the snake itself knows how it feels,what its thinking...

I love my snakes too...they are family to me and I even talk to them (kinda like talking to plants) even though i know full and well that they cant understand me...if someone wants to think their snake loves them dont be a killjoy,how do you know they dont have feelings?...are you a snake?...didnt think so...

is all we have do go on. Snakes obviously dont appear to enjoy affection (in fact the opposite, stress), nor do they give it.

Quite the opposite with a more intelligent animal such as a dog.
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Take Care,

-Ryan Homsey

www.topnotchboas.com

I love my boa just as much as any other pet I've had, sometimes I think more. He is part of the family to me, and yes I talk to him to sometimes, telling him dinner is coming etc lol.

And yes he does know who I am and is always more comfortable with me than others, even sitting with me for long periods of time. Actually I would swear sometimes he gets jealous, it's hilarious - My Dumeril's tank is next to my crested gecko tank, and both are next to my computer desk, which I spend a lot of time at for work and stuff so they are used to me being upclose a lot, but whenever I seem to pay too much attention to my gecko tank (even if I don't open it up) my Dum comes out of his aspen and checks out what I'm doing and seems a bit restless until I take him out to visit with me. I know some people don't say snakes have emotions, but it's hilarious, it reminds me of a little kid looking for attention.
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1.0 Dumeril's Boa
0.0.1 Crested Gecko
...Not that the list will end there, got my sites set on a few others... snakes and other reptiles are highly addictive.

There was a very interesting story on the National geographic
website a while back about a baby hippo bonding with a
Galapagos tortoise. They would follow each other around.

They even vocalize between themselves which tortoises would
not normally do.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/01/0105_060105_hippo_tortoise_2.html

My Silverbacks & Hogs will hang out on the sofa with me for
hours without going anywhere. Scientists generally IMO presume
to know & understand much more than they really do...

I do not think most people give snakes the credit they deserve. My wife and I have a few snakes and the female Hogg has claimed me and the male Hogg her. If I am holding him he is fine and will rest on my shoulders or wrap lightly around my arm. But if my wife walks in the room he is all but throwing himself at her. He will stretch to his fullest to reach her. And when he gets there he will push himself through her hair(usually worn in a pony tail)behind the clip or rubberband so that when she wants to put him up she has to undo her hair. He is not hiding when he does this as most of his body is visible to include his head he just knows that if he is stuck in there it takes longer to put him up. It usually takes the two of us to put any one of our snakes away as they will tighten up and fight us going back into the tanks. I only have one that will make a run for the tank when he sees it. He does not do that with any tank just his tank. In fact he will not go into another tank. We usually put males in with the females to breed, well with him the female had to go in his tank since he would not go into her home.
Now given all that I do not see how someone can argue that there is no thought process going on. How can we say that they are dumb animals with the brain the size of a peanut. In comparison to some other large animals our brain is small does that mean that they are more intelligent? For crying out loud a cows brain is larger than ours. I do not think in this instance size matters. That is all my opinion I am not out to offend any one just tossing my thoughts in the wind to go where they will. Have a good one.
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Chris Warren

Like the song says I'm old enough to know better and young enough (Mentaly anyway) not to care.

A lot of people don't realize that this concept works both ways.

You can attribute human qualities to boas or animals, but you
can like-wise fail to see the non-human qualities because human
qualities are all that you take into account...

I see both frequently, but I see the 2nd is much more prevalent
with boas, oddly even with boa keepers.

I will buy that for a dollar. I think pet owners in general would all fall into that catagory. We all want to think that our pet(s) loves us unconditionally. I am not saying that snakes have human attributes I am just saying that there is definatly some intelligence there. For instance I feed in a rubbermaid tub. My snakes all know what is coming when they go into that tub. Now I know that this is a trained feeding response similar to Pavlovs dogs. But there has to be some sort of thought going on in order to be trainable. I hope this makes some sense that is what I get for staying up for 20 plus hours and then trying to get my brain and fingers to work together. Good night and agian these are just my thoughts on the subject.
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Chris Warren

Like the song says I'm old enough to know better and young enough (Mentaly anyway) not to care.

wow...my post got a lot of attention...and a lot of really good opinions and thoughts...

thanks to everyone that posted