Do snakes show affection towards their owner?

[*peeper*]

ok, my mom says that snakes do not show emotion, or love their owners. she says yes, they know and become familiar with who feeds them, but do not know love, or have the mental capasity to love. is this true? or can snakes love their owner? I have a Florida King Snake by the way :) named him Elvis lol

[Karen]

We do not understand the human brain well enough to scientifically prove "love" is something we feel, never mind the brains of reptiles. I believe they can, and do, show affection to the ones they love. Becuase it is solely a belief, and nothing provable either way, I know no one will prove me "wrong" - so I'm right! :D

[timeshift66721]

I would have to disagree with the notion that they feel love. Ive only had two snakes throughout my life (one a gopher and the other a mountain king) but I never felt like either one was showing a display of love. Snakes arent exactly known for pair bonding and caring for their juveniles or babies. Although my snakes didnt ever show affection towards me, I would say that they did show a genuine sense of contentment, or at least lack of fear around me.

Nice name for your snake though.

[mr. ian]

Originally posted by *peeper*
ok, my mom says that snakes do not show emotion, or love their owners. she says yes, they know and become familiar with who feeds them, but do not know love, or have the mental capasity to love. is this true? or can snakes love their owner? I have a Florida King Snake by the way :) named him Elvis lol

wow what a coincidence, i used to have a herp named Elvis, he's not a snake though...

[Godzilla]

My trinket snake, Irv, shows some tolerance towards me, but that's because I feed him. However, I do feel that, if not love, some snakes can become attacthed to certian individuals, namley their care takers.

[Queen of Poop]

We have 2 snakes. The rainbow boa hides all the time. The Mexican Bairds Rat Snake is another story. He's out most of the time. When I hover over his cage and tell him how beautiful he is he stretches up to be close to me and "listen". I figure he likes the tone/sound of my voice. I am not the one that feeds him so he's definately not expecting food from me.

[mr. ian]

ive been reading from the net that SNAKES do tolerate humans though they not actually become "attached" to their owners/caretakers because they LOVE them...