faithful snake|مار باوفا

really depends on what you mean by “loyal”.

Snakes aren’t dogs. They don’t have a doglike social structure - many species never even meet their mothers, because mum laid the eggs in a safe place and left them there. So they don’t have a concept of “this individual protected me when I was small and helpless, I should protect others.”

So, if you’re asking “will a snake defend my home loyally from intruders” … no. No snakes are capable of that.

Will a snake recognise the scent of their regular handlers? Yes. Absolutely.

Will a snake that has a regular handler prefer to be on their regular handler than a stranger? Generally, yes - I’ve had animals that know me very well and that have been ambassador animals in schools and other outreach functions, where those individual animals will allow themselves to be handled by strangers - but if they have the opportunity they’d RATHER be on me (or, better yet, their favourite hide in their enclosure, and they prefer the hide to the person, if they’re given the choice.)