I Know Why The Caged Snake Sleeps

We have a pet python. Well, they--as in, the rest of my family--have a pet python. I, myself, have nothing to do with it. Her name is Roxy, short for Roxalana. As a pet, she's as easy as pie---especially for me because, like I said, I have nothing to do with her. Simple care: she only needs to be fed once every two weeks. She doesn't need to be walked or groomed or cared for in any of those normal pet ways. (She gets "held" often---if you define being held as a snake winding its body around yours. Blech.) You can take a two-week trip and you don't really have to worry about her. Practically care-free, as it were. Which brings me to the crux of the matter: a snake's life is completely pointless. I guess I should say: a caged snake's life is completely pointless. It's possible that if she were out in the desert, out in the elements, she'd have a whole pointful routine. She'd be hunting and gathering and doing all sorts of snake-like activities, I suppose. She'd have a happy snake life and home and family. It's also possible that if she were out in the wild, she'd be dead. But anyway, as a snake who lives in a cage, her existence is fairly shallow as far as I can see. Often I go into the office where she lives...in her cage...and see her poised in some bizarre yoga-type position, staring at the glass on one side. She holds this pose for hours. I know this because I'll come back later just to check, and yep---she's still in the same position. Sometimes she hovers around, flicking out her tongue, and then withdraws quickly into her little log-like home. I think at these moments she's bored out of her mind and is playing imaginary battle with other ghost snakes. The more time that passes and the more I see her odd behaviors--or I witness as entire days go by and she does nothing but lie coiled in sleep or meditation--I begin to wonder if it's some form of animal cruelty. Does a snake like to be in a cage? Does a snake feel safer in a cage? And how would we know? I don't know anyone who speaks Snake (that would be Parseltongue to you Potterheads), so how do we really know? Until we do, I guess we'll all carry on with the status quo. But honestly, Roxy: get a life.