Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. I just got a ball python about a week ago, I'm not too sure on it's age but it's just short of two feet long. The thing is, I'm a little wierded out from it... seems like when I reach in to pick it up I kinda get a little scared thinking it's going to bite me. It's not like it just sits there and lets me grab it - it turns toward my hand... I'm not sure if it might bite me or if it's just curious as to what the heck I'm doing. I'm guessing that I just need to get over my fear of it and just pick it up and see what happens, but I want to make sure that I'm going the right route. Any thoughts, ideas or input of any kind would be greatly appreciated. By the way, my roommate had a ball python a few years back so he's helping me out the best he can, I guess since I'm new to all this I'd just like a second opinion.

I thank you all in advance for any help.

While most ball pythons are unlikely to bite you, I for one have 4 of THE nastiest tempered females on earth. They have worse attitudes than retics, lol, and these girls ain't small. : )
So......what I do is have a towel handy and when I need to take them out of their cage for whatever reason I just lay it over then and scoop them up.
I've given up trying to tame those girls and am just content to handle my sweeter tempered ones. : )

Hope this helps, if not......shoot me an e-mail. : )

Later,
Jen
-----
HerpCrazy Reptiles

If you want a BP that is docile, you will eventually have to take the plunge and handle your snake. My advice would be to handle it for only a few minutes a day, every other day or even three days apart. If you over handle a snake that is not used to it, they can get very stressed and will sometimes strike or bite. Where did you get the snake? Your best bet is honestly to purchase a captive bred baby...they are very easy to handle and have no history that you would not know about. The snake you purchased may have had bad experiences with people, but you will probably never know. Good luck.

I've had mine for almost weeks now, and i had the same fear you have, when he turns around , i keep thinking he's gonna bite, but then i just said to myself, who cares let him bite if he wants, whats the worst that's gonna happen, i mean i don't fear getting bitten from a cat and they'll do more damage.

i think its good that he bites you once or twice (without you panic and throwing the snake on the ground), that way he'll know that you don't care about bites and he'll start to trust you.

My BP just bit me for the first time last week. Like a dope, I didn't wash my hands well after whacking the rat, and he was pretty hungry. He always gets jazzed up when he knows it's feeding time, and I move him to another box to feed. Anyway, he was VERY alert, and I picked him up, and he turned around and looked at me, and hit in between my thumb and forefinger. It didn't hurt (surprisingly), but did bleed. They have very sharp teeth. He let go immediately, realising that I wasn't a rat, and then had a hard time striking the rat after the incident. Probably making sure he wasn't making a mistake twice. He's a little over 1 year old, and about 2 feet long. This was the first time, and it was my fault for smelling like food.

Thanks so much for all your input (more is welcome, of course!) I feel better about it now and I'll be sure to always make sure my hands don't smell like food! Oh, and I got him (or her... whichever the case may be. Is there an easy way to tell?) from a shop around my house... it wasn't corporate though and they seem to take very good care of their animals... they even have a lot of animals in there that are their own that are not for sale. Maybe I should have asked more questions... I go in there a lot though, so maybe I'll see if I can find anything out next time. Again, thank you all so much!

You might want to fabricate some sort of hook to pick them up with. After having a pissy hondo milksnake and a king that goes into what can best be described as temper tantrums, I know that the initial grab is the most startling part of being handled. When in your hand, the majority of snakes are really not that bad, only getting aggressive if you mess with their head, restrict their motion, expose them to strange scents, etc.

I pick all my snakes up with an old shishkabob skewer that I bent into shape. I think it's more comfortable to them; hooks don't smell weird, shake, or otherwise feel living. A lot of people think it's a wussy way of doing it, but it frees you from that little bit of anxiety in initially picking them up. All that really matters is that the snake gets into your hand and back without feeling stressed or threatened.

Oh, and nocturnal snakes just shouldn't be handled that much during the day. You take a tempermental snake and try to handle them during their "middle of the night" equivalent while they're trying to sleep, and you have a very tempermental snake. Just a word of advice from a guy that's woken up one too many snakes before.

I'm having the same problem also. All my life I've loved snakes, but in all the times I ever handled one it was already out of the cage hehe. I took her out once no problem, but since then I've been gunshy. A hook might be a worthy investment just so getting the snake out is easier on both of you.

>>Hi. I just got a ball python about a week ago, I'm not too sure on it's age but it's just short of two feet long. The thing is, I'm a little wierded out from it... seems like when I reach in to pick it up I kinda get a little scared thinking it's going to bite me. It's not like it just sits there and lets me grab it - it turns toward my hand... I'm not sure if it might bite me or if it's just curious as to what the heck I'm doing. I'm guessing that I just need to get over my fear of it and just pick it up and see what happens, but I want to make sure that I'm going the right route. Any thoughts, ideas or input of any kind would be greatly appreciated. By the way, my roommate had a ball python a few years back so he's helping me out the best he can, I guess since I'm new to all this I'd just like a second opinion.
>>
>>I thank you all in advance for any help.