I feel like I should chime in because this is such a longstanding thread here!
I didn't answer the questions in the original post because neither option worked for me. The current science is absolutely clear - snakes definitely feel emotions. But love? We have no way of knowing that. Heck, we can't even know for sure if the particular combination of mental and physical responses that one person calls 'love' are really the same thing as what another person labels as 'love'. So I just don't think we have the capacity, language, or understanding of their cognitive processes to know about other species' experiences of emotion.
I can't judge keepers who believe their snakes love them; I can't judge keepers who believe their snakes don't love them (I will admit to being a little judgmental about those who claim that snakes are basically just instinct-driven tubes with no emotional responses - only because the science that claimed that is so, so outdated and disproven). But I do know that my snakes recognize me and trust me. A few of them (not all) actually seem to seek out some contact with me.
Achieving that degree of trust not only across species, but with an animal that is not domesticated, is an incredible experience. And it's enough for me.
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