Can reptiles sense our emotions? V 1.0

[mpgt]

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I'm not saying they have emotions or that they don't. That's a different thread. I often wonder if they can somehow sense our emotions or state of anxiety through our pulse rate, blood pressure, pheromones, or some type of "sixth sense".

[spix14]

I think they can sense when you are tense and nervous. I've seen a few very calm snakes get agitated when handled by someone halfway scared of them and not used to handling snakes. Then again I've seen some that take no notice. I guess it depends on the snake but I do believe some of them can pick up on it.

So far as any other emotions...back when I was an Emo teenager I used to hold my BP Kain and bawl all over him whenever I was upset, the same way some people will cuddle their cat or dog when they're upset. He always sat there being calm like he always was but I doubt he sensed that I was upset and was trying to make me feel better.

[John]

Maybe he just thought that if he didn't respond you would go away sooner.

[Stargazer]

I have read that some animals can smell fear (sorry, can't cite the source). "Smell" is a sense, so I think it is reasonable to consider that reptiles can smell fear. I have not seen or read any evidence that reptiles can sense aany other emotion. This question, however, definitely overlaps with the question of whether reptiles can feel emotions (e.g. whether they can love us or know we love them). My only evidence in favor of this is Louise and Chance. I do believe Chance knows Louise loves her.

[razeraze]

Depends on the reptile. Cues like sweat may get it alarmed or for the thermal pitted monsters a rise in your body temperature may give your fear away.

I am not sure how I feel about this question. There are so many reasons a snake may lash out or be skittish, so narrowing it down to your own anxiety may be difficult.

[Rachel SS]

If they lack the proper brain function to produce emotions, then no they can't.

[TalismanK9]

Not sure on this question. I know if I put my hands into a nippy snakes tank with slow but steady confident movement I've been less apt to be bitten, where as with the same snake if another person goes to put their hand in with hesitance they have been nipped, not sure if its the movement or the snake sensing the confidence. Judgment call on this one.

[TammyJamaica]

I have never seen any evidence to show that reptiles can sense fear itself. What they react to is a physical manifestation of our fear, like our shaking, hesitation or jerk reactions. In a way maybe it is always something like the smell of fear-induced sweat, for example, that tells a horse that we are afraid of it.

Even if reptiles could indeed sense fear, how would we know that that is why they are behaving in a certain way? As has been suggested here already, we might quite mistakenly attribute their reaction to the idea that they are sensing our fear. An ant may have just bitten them or they got a sudden belly ache, or nothing at all.

[razeraze]

After talking to a polygraph specialist from the B.A.T.F.E. and the canine unit at my local police department it is easy to see the physiological cues that will trigger the fight or flight, or even the secure response in a reptile's brain. The canine unit likes to send the rookies out, for the dog to look for because the rookies are frightened and nervous making thus their scent stronger because of perspiration. The Polygraph machine has no brain it simply responds to sweat, pulse rate and respiratory fluctuation and it is very accurate and testing for anxiety, fear and deception when done correctly.
Anyone who thinks a reptile (with better sensory devices than our own) cannot pick up on these cues is sorely mistaken.

[Kiote9]

I think all living creatures have the ability to sense changes in us caused by our emotions. I do not think they all respond to them. Not even other human beings will respond to them all of the time.

If this is true, it kind of makes it a moot point.