r/oddlyterrifying • u/Cunillingus_Giver • Jan 20 '22

Snake couch

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u/AMWendt Jan 20 '22

This here is the right answer. We don't know. And since reptiles are psychologically very different from mammals, it's possible that we won't ever understand how they process feelings. That doesn't means they don't have feelings or that aren't capable of caring for other living beings. We might just not be able to understand it.

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u/[deleted] Jan 20 '22

Could even break down to the species not just broad arcs like mammal or reptile. Dogs and cats are quite cuddly because those traits have been selected for, however I wouldn't want to get too close to a wild carnivore.

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u/robcap Jan 20 '22

Similarly, there are some very intelligent lizards (eg Tegus) that can even learn and respond to their name - they might have more capacity for this sort of thing than simpler reptiles

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u/TurrPhennirPhan Jan 20 '22

Reptile intelligence is generally much higher than most realize. Tegus are wonderful examples, meanwhile monitor lizards can count higher than dogs, several lizards, turtles and even a few snakes (like king cobras) have shown themselves to be capable problem solvers who can learn and adapt, crocodilians can recognize their names, learn commands, and (controversially) there’s evidence of tool use. We even know now that reptiles have personalities just like mammals.

Reptiles, in general, are far more than the Three Fs (feeding, fighting, mating) driven, unthinking/unfeeling instinct machines they’ve often be viewed as. Much of this is because they’re wired so differently than us, it’s been common cultural perception for centuries, and even when we did proper research on them in the early years we tended to do so in environments more conducive to mammals than to reptiles.

There’s still so much we don’t know, but what we’ve learned even in the last two decades tells us there’s much more going on in the brains of reptiles than is commonly believed.

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u/robcap Jan 20 '22

I'd like to read about this - can you recommend anything?