Get Some!

a) Pippin did a Gollum impression in the books

b) Pippin had never MET Gollum before that point and never would

c) yet it was an ACCURATE impression, as it startled and was recognized by the orc he was speaking to

Hello!

Snakes don’t feel affection in the same way a mammal does. Most of the species we keep in captivity are solitary in nature and do not form bonds or relationships. A few snakes, though, do live communally and have been observed creating what scientists strongly suspect to be emotional bonds, and we could even go so far as to view this as a reptilian version of friendship and/or familial attachment.

Snakes are very capable of identifying their keepers. I have kept snakes who prefer to be handled by familiar humans rather than strangers, and it’s comforting to think that they see me as a protector, a provider, a “safe” human.

When my big mama corn snake, Hatshepsut, escapes from her enclosure I always find her waiting in areas that I frequent, places where I usually sit, parts of the house that smell like me. She’s looking for me, most likely, because I’m the one she knows will bring the food. She’ll hang out with me while I watch television and feel safe enough to doze off, basking on my warm mammal body as she would a warm patch of earth. She’ll let me touch her face and pat her smooth scaly head without shying away or showing disturbance. 

I’m not sure that any of this falls under the heading of affection, but it is easily observed as trust. Trust is the small dense core of affection, upon which love can grow. Trust is the first emotion that we learn as tiny babies and trust is the basis upon which all other bonding emotions are built.

The fact that we, the dominant species on the planet, can learn to earn the trust of an animal that generally avoids interaction with others of their own kind outside of breeding is pretty stinking remarkable and special.