How do you tell if a snake loves you?

[Catherine]

I will give Jake a kiss and a special snuggle from you. He is a sweetie.


I brought home a little snake I called Firebird. After a year it turned out that Firebird is male and I need him to be female. He is a special colour and I have a male lined up for Firebird. Also since he is a male he will need a separate tank of his own soon.
The litter mate still at the reptile Centre is a female. They let me switch them, but you see, pretty as she is, she is not my Firebird. Still he would be going to a good home as a pet and that would be nice.

A week later when we were sitting around talking after the centre closed, as usual, we end up holding different snakes and lizards. I got Firebird out of his tank and he wrapped around my hand and clung to me. He was missing me as much as I missed him. I started to cry and they said just take him back. So now I have both of them, the little female and my dear little Firebird, with the bird marking on his head.

I have never actually ever been able to return a snake like that. I am too bonded. In Firebird's case he was too bonded as well.

Reptiles like their people and even love them in their own way. People who don't get involved with their snakes and just keep them as specimens, miss out on what makes snakes special pets.