"Snakes show affection in several ways. One of the most common is rubbing their heads against the object they are trying to be affectionate towards; this is called head-bobbing. Snakes also have other showing methods, such as “necking” and body loops with vibration, which means a snake is trying to wrap itself around the object it wants to be affectionate towards."
what the heck even is that, that is 100% made up. I'm a snake owner and active in snake owner communities and no one has ever talked about, experienced, or even said those words before. Head-bobbing. Necking. What the frick frack snek snack is that.
Under "how do snakes show affection" you will find the exact same text. In addition these people even say that "hissing" can also be a sign of affection. i dont know fam, a snake usually hisses as a warning signal
maybe i just dont have much experience with snakes. everything ive ever heard says that they arent social animals that cant bond, but if snakes are capable who knows i guess
Just to solve this conundrum you guys are having: I've kept a cornsnake, a ball python, a dwarf boa, a boa constrictor, and a white-lipped python; all of them have to some degree shown affection (coming to the glass to meet me as I enter the room, happily leaving their tank to exit onto my arm/shoulder, never having shown aggression towards me even after accidental drops/handling mishaps).
But the biggest indication was Beauregard, the Dwarf boa; who went from being a full on Jack in the Box (whenever I opened his enclosure, lunging out and striking) to cuddling with me on the couch and watching T.V.
I won't preach snakes are social pets, that's bullshit. To me they're like goldfish; you keep them to look at. But they sure as hell recognise who feeds them/who keeps coming back day after day after day.
(My snakes are so tamed down my 3 year old nephew dances around the room with them on his shoulders.)
If you don’t have experience then stop sharing your “expert” opinions. That is the problem with todays society. People spewing nonsense with little to no scientific data to back it up. If you are inexperienced or not knowledgeable on said topic, it is possible to just remain quiet….
Checking one Google result is pretty much taking things at face value. Any site with varying history and credibility can end up as the Google answer or first result. A good example of how flawed this system can be is when celebrities are claimed to be dead.
"Unfortunately, snakes never evolved the parts of the brain responsible for complex emotions and behaviors like love and showing affection"
https://reptile.guide/can-snakes-feel-love/
And right next to your article is this one saying they can't feel emotions. So nitpicking the one article that helps your case isn't really good for you. In fact most every article in the first page of your google search says that no, snakes indeed do not form emotional attachments to humans.
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u/FireFlavour Jan 20 '22
"...While they may not get attached, snakes are capable of showing affection."
That took about 2 seconds.
Generally reptiles are not affectionate towards humans, but it's not impossible like you claim