Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Please share exactly what you mean when you say "handle" in reference to a P. regius. When I "handle" my tame snake I mean that if he's awake I offer him my hand and if he climbs aboard I take him out of his enclosure and let him have some supervised exploring time in the room I'm in or on the piece of furniture I'm occupying. I really don't hold him. In reference to my new snake, if she is handled it is to have her injection of antibiotics. I'd like to hear some qualifying statements from others now.

when I "handle" my BP, it means that at night when he is active in his tank I will open the top to let him crawl out on his own. Then I will pick him up and check him for anything out of the ordinary. After that I will just watch TV and set him on my stomach or lap and let him crawl as he pleases, when I am done I put him back in th tank.

mine is small enough to wrap itself around my hand. so thats what he does. when he tries to escape my hand, i untangle him and then wrap him back around. he seems to stay in my hand for like 45 mins till he wants to explore. although he only gets like 6 feet away from me for 10 mins (while eating, and after eating). i dont like my snake away from me for a long period of time.

I toy with all of my balls, they come out of the cage, willing or not, every couple a days, and I just wrap them around my neck, or arm, and go about whatever it is I am doing. It's good to handle them, as they tend to be less stressed when handled more often.

I agree with Mykee....Jake and Sunny come out when I want to play with them. I usually just hold them, and let them crawl around on arms, hands or necks, and I check 'em over after shedding to make sure they shed completely. I also like to "know" my snakes. so if something changes, I can tell pretty quick.
I think that breeders and pet owners handle their snakes differently. What is considered "handling" by a breeder is probably different than "handling" by a pet owner. If you have 20 or 40 snakes, you probably aren't going to take each of them out to play with it every day, for any amount of time. They sit in a sweater box, and maybe retain more of their "wild" state than a frequently handled pet ball. I handle my snakes after feeding because they are out of their cage, and I have never, ever had an animal regurgitate it's meal. Most of the time, they don't want to go back IN the cage. It's all in what they get used to.
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1.1 Ball Python
0.0.1 corn snake
1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.0.2 fish
1.2 cats
3.1 kids
1.0 husband

Kikai;
Well I agree with you agreeing with me, but I have 19 BP's and ALL of them get attention, I handle each of them at least 3 times a week for 15-20 mins' each. I figure if you can no longer handle all your snakes, they are no longer pets and/or you have too many. I think, for my collection, that I am at the maximum that I can have without them suffering because I have stretched myself too thin. It's a very fine line I believe.

Right! That's what I meant by the difference between pets and just another investment. You still consider your animals pets, which is why handling them is important to you, irregardless of the number of animals you have.
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1.1 Ball Python
0.0.1 corn snake
1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.0.2 fish
1.2 cats
3.1 kids
1.0 husband