Do Corn Snakes Love?

So I've heard people say that snakes can't love, and I would like to know what everyone else's opinion on the subject is.

I know that my little guy always seems to come out when he figures out that I am home/awake and stares at me VERY INTENTLY until I open his viv, then he comes out of his own accord and goes straight onto my shoulders and is very snugly. In fact it seems he is always staring at me-- ALWAYS. He also seems to gravitate far more towards me than other people when I let others handle him (though he is very nice when handled by anybody), and he seems to seek comfort from me at times, like after being probed at the vet.

So I'd like to know-- is anyone else's corn so snugly and puppy-dog-like? I'd love to hear some stories of corns being adorable!! (OR snakes in general!)

"Love"? No. Dogs and cats don't "love" either, from my point of view.

I believe that Corns learn to know their primary care-giver and recognise them as a safe person to be near. I believe that given the choice, a Corn will go to their regular keeper as long as this is a trusted person.

I don't believe that Corns display loyalty or attachment in the same way as cats and dogs. But they definitely can form a bond with their owner, based on trust.

my opinion...human emotions are just that. human emotions and thats it.

my opinion...human emotions are just that. human emotions and thats it.

I think that there are some animals that have emotions, like dogs (because they evolved to suit us and evolved special ways of communicating with us. also dogs and owners alike release oxytocin, the same hormone released by mothers and babies during breast feeding, when we pet them). Also many parrots, from my experience, have a wide range of very intelligent and also terrifying emotions. They can go from being very attached and loving to having neglect issues and self-injury problems. There are actually psychologists for birds... I agree with bitsy that with corn snakes it's probably just a recognition of who's safe and who provides the food, but as far as some other animals go scientists are actually beginning to do a lot of research showing just how smart and emotional certain animals can be.

well tbh until people learn to actually speak to animals, i'll believe that humans invented emotions and only humans feel emotions.

Originally Posted by Forcedexile

well tbh until people learn to actually speak to animals, i'll believe that humans invented emotions and only humans feel emotions.

first we must define emotion:

e·mo·tion
   [ih-moh-shuhn]

noun
1.
an affective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, hate, or the like, is experienced, as distinguished from cognitive and volitional states of consciousness.
2.
any of the feelings of joy, sorrow, fear, hate, love, etc.
3.
any strong agitation of the feelings actuated by experiencing love, hate, fear, etc., and usually accompanied by certain physiological changes, as increased heartbeat or respiration, and often overt manifestation, as crying or shaking.


--so by definition a lot of animals, including snakes feel emotions. animals feel fear, grief/sorrow, (which would imply some kind of love, right?), hate (debateable), anger, aggitation, nervousness, stress, etc. etc.

"usually accompanied by certain physiological changes, as increased heartbeat or respiration, and often overt manifestation, as crying or shaking."
well when animals including snakes are scared, aggitated, or comfortable dont they show certain physiological changes? like the increased heartbeat and respiration when they are upset/nervous/stressed. dont animals show aggitation or anger by showing their teeth, rattling their tail, biting, growling, hissing, scratching etc. some animals show affection by nuzzling you, licking you, laying on you, and being so excited they can hardly contain themselves when you arrive home after being gone, etc.

i guess my point is animals are capable of some types of emotions. also humans didnt invent emotions, they just "exist", just as humans didnt invent fire. snakes loving though? no, im afraid i dont believe so. coming out when youre around is more of a sign of curiousity of whats going on around them.

Originally Posted by visceralrepulsion

first we must define emotion:

e·mo·tion
   [ih-moh-shuhn]

noun
1.
an affective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, hate, or the like, is experienced, as distinguished from cognitive and volitional states of consciousness.
2.
any of the feelings of joy, sorrow, fear, hate, love, etc.
3.
any strong agitation of the feelings actuated by experiencing love, hate, fear, etc., and usually accompanied by certain physiological changes, as increased heartbeat or respiration, and often overt manifestation, as crying or shaking.


--so by definition a lot of animals, including snakes feel emotions. animals feel fear, grief/sorrow, (which would imply some kind of love, right?), hate (debateable), anger, aggitation, nervousness, stress, etc. etc.

"usually accompanied by certain physiological changes, as increased heartbeat or respiration, and often overt manifestation, as crying or shaking."
well when animals including snakes are scared, aggitated, or comfortable dont they show certain physiological changes? like the increased heartbeat and respiration when they are upset/nervous/stressed. dont animals show aggitation or anger by showing their teeth, rattling their tail, biting, growling, hissing, scratching etc. some animals show affection by nuzzling you, licking you, laying on you, and being so excited they can hardly contain themselves when you arrive home after being gone, etc.

i guess my point is animals are capable of some types of emotions. also humans didnt invent emotions, they just "exist", just as humans didnt invent fire. snakes loving though? no, im afraid i dont believe so. coming out when youre around is more of a sign of curiousity of whats going on around them.

whatevs. i'm done having a discussion where no one knows the correct answer to. like i said...until i can get an English to snake dictionary, i'll believe that only humans feel emotions.

and just a side note to everyone. the question was "Do snakes feel love?". answering that with anything that has to do with another animal is irrelevant. I dont care if your dog or cat loves you, its not a snake. and if you want to call feeling safe around you love as someone did somewhere in this thread, then my goldfish must love me tons.

Originally Posted by Forcedexile

whatevs. i'm done having a discussion where no one knows the correct answer to. like i said...until i can get an English to snake dictionary, i'll believe that only humans feel emotions.

and just a side note to everyone. the question was "Do snakes feel love?". answering that with anything that has to do with another animal is irrelevant. I dont care if your dog or cat loves you, its not a snake. and if you want to call feeling safe around you love as someone did somewhere in this thread, then my goldfish must love me tons.

You know until the proof does come in, this is all a matter of personal opinion, and everyone is allowed to have theirs. Yours is that only humans can feel emotions, mine differs. No one is asking you to beleive our opinions on the matter, please don't expect us to just take yours.

Originally Posted by Forcedexile

whatevs. i'm done having a discussion where no one knows the correct answer to. like i said...until i can get an English to snake dictionary, i'll believe that only humans feel emotions.

and just a side note to everyone. the question was "Do snakes feel love?". answering that with anything that has to do with another animal is irrelevant. I dont care if your dog or cat loves you, its not a snake. and if you want to call feeling safe around you love as someone did somewhere in this thread, then my goldfish must love me tons.

YOU said animals dont feel emotions, you didnt say SNAKES. so you opened the door to this discussion. and you cant argue with proven facts like for example the fact the elephants experience sorrow and grief when a family member or "friend" dies. so be insolent, sarcastic and closeminded all you like, it just truly shows you are not wiser than your years. but to respond like you did wont get you anywhere, and it certainly wont earn you any education. you can say 'im done with this discussion' because youve been proven wrong, its okay, id be embarrassed too. why cant you have a civil discussion and not a black or white debate? are you too set in your own opinions that you can accept others perspectives, facts, and knowledge? if so thats pretty sad, you wont get far in life thinking the world revolves around you.

What do we know for sure about love? We know it's an emotion. What are emotions? Emotions are chemical changes in the body triggered by external stimuli. Adrenaline is produced during fight or flight, estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, are produced during times of need to procreate, etc... Now these are a couple of the chemicals in humans but all animals have chemical changes triggered by external stimuli. Even insects have them. So one can conclude that snakes like everything else living feel emotion based on their chemical changes. I think snakes feel a type of love but not like human's do. We have advanced brains that give us unique skills like loyalty, compassion, empathy and we have the free will to use them for our own purposes. Snakes may not have advanced brains but they do have emotions and I believe they have the ability to bond with us because we become part of their environment and they begin to recognize us as a necessary part of that environment.