Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, if i buy a gravid wild caught ball pythons will the babies be friendly???? And if wild caughts have been treated are they ok?
thanks in advance

Wild or captive......some babies will strike.....I find they settle down after they know you are not going to hurt them. I have an adult female that wants a piece of me.
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RicK @ BbI

Ball Boutique,Inc.
The home of the singing snakes!

It doesn't make any difference whether the baby comes from a gravid import, is captive hatched, or from a captive bred parent; all ball pythons have different 'personalities'. Some may be completely 'layed back' - nothing phases them, or up-tight and strike at anything that moves. Some remain very cautious and try to get away from anything that disturbs them, even a live fluff in some instances! The safe handling of a snake depends upon how the keeper approaches the animal, move your hand directly towards the head, and the snake will see radiated heat - likelyhood - a bite! Approach the snake cautiously from the side and lift the snake at it's mid-section, without squeezing, and the likelyhood is that the snake will accept being lifted and enjoy the warmth of your hands.
Personally, I do not handle my snakes more than I need to. I don't see them as toys to be played with!

Wild Caught adults are hit and miss. If you have the experience and patience you can acclimate them. The proof is in the many morphs out there that originated from wild caught adults. Now wild caught babies are easier to acclimate and you can have much better success with them. Captive hatched babies are usually fine to if you get them the first couple of weeks they start to hatch. Later in the season you will get all the CH babies that have been held in dirty crowded conditions with no water or food for weeks. Not good.

If you get eggs from a wild caught Mom they should be just fine. No more or less mean than babies from a captive bred mom. What's cool is you don't know what might hatch. You may get pastels or something better.

Last April I bought 3 wild caught adult Pastel females. They were treated with panacur and flagyl. Two began pounding rats right off the back. The third I sold and don't know how she turned out. Here's one of the wild caught female Pastels I bought last April... she's gravid! Bred by a ghost... the other one has been bred too and I am expecting her to ovulate soon.

Good Luck,
Oz
OzzyBoids