No, I wouldn't say that, and for you to ask me in an accusatory way is almost putting words in my mouth. My point is that we don't know if reptiles have anything close to emotions, but to say they don't because they lack facial expressions is not a decent explanation.
Well now your anthropomorphioghkr (what ever the hell that word is) my post. How you pick up an accusatory way is beyond me. Its great that you are so keen to get across your point (however, you admit yourself that you don't have enough experience to have formed an opinion.)
When it comes to showing emotion, it mostly comes from facial expression. I have seen drawings of monkeys with different fascial expressions for each of their emotions, it helps the zoo keepers to read the animal.
To "show no emotion" is a form of fascial expression. Its a blank look. People in court have it, as they hear their sentences being read out when they know they are guilty and have lost all control over their life. I am sure you have heard the term
'Showing no emotion'.
An emotion is not an act. I could do anything, or act out any number of nice or nasty procedures but without the facial expressions, in other words with a 'blank look' you would be wondering where my head was at.
Emotions, on the other hand, come from the heart, and without thought. This is transmitted through the face.
What I asked in those questions up there that you find so accusatory (in your brief moment of insecurity) are examples of a snake at what must be considered their most emotional time. (If they have emotions). Reproduction, protective instinct, nurturing of young.
To turn a blind eye to these questions is paramount to arguing for the sake of an argument, rather then actually being in the field and making decisions based on REAL time experience. You can sit on the computer and hypothesise, guess and be as intelligent as you like on these forums of free thinking experts, but until you have done your apprenticeship, and then some, don't discount what more experienced people have to say.
You will be very hard pressed to find anybody who deals with lots of reptiles, very often, for a long time, who will be happy to say that reptiles are emotional creatures, and there is a good reason for that.
If this explanation isn't decent enough, then bad luck. Go back to your snake collection and your wild reptile field work and in years to come when you've bred different species and dealt with hundreds of animals both wild and captive, then come back and we'll talk about reptile emotions.
Great thread Lonqgi! I can hear the cogs turning, as the young scientists scrabble for the dictionary's and smart pills. Lol!!
