Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just acquired a female ball python a week ago. She's imported, and meaner than anything. Is it possible to tame them? Or do I need to live with the fact that she's probably going to bite me one day? I dont want to get bit, and I hate seeing her so stressed out. Can anyone give me any pointers on what to do? Or how long I should wait until I try to handle her? Everytime I go near her cage she strikes at me. I have to put on a neoprene glove and use a stick to change her water every day. I just hate living in fear that she's going to bite! I am fairly new to ball pythons, and any advice/info you can share would be very much appreciated! Thanks and God Bless!

Melody

Well, first of all, you are going to get bit. If you go into it knowing that, you will be fine. Now, that isn't to say that you can't take precautions to minimize that experience. Other than strikes from irrascable babies, I have only ever been bitten by one ball python, and it was my fault. But I digress...

You can most likely tame her down a bit, but WC balls are notoriously difficult to fully adapt to captive life. Your biggest worry, really, is whether she will eat. In my opinion, you should set her up in her cage with some great hide spots, good temp and humidity, water, and leave her alone for at least a few weeks. Don't even spend a lot of time looking into the cage. Don't put it in a high-traffic area of your house, and don't have kids or dogs and cats around it. The point is to make it as low stress as possible. The hide boxes should be big enough to fit into, but small enough that she can feel at least two or three sides, and dark. I have found that cypress mulch works very well with new imports for some reason, and others recomend much and soil mixes.

If she strikes at you through the glass, cover the glass for a few weeks so that she can't see you. When you eventually do start handling her, increase it gradually. Maybe 3-5 minutes once or twice a week, increasing to more days a week, but not more than 5 minutes a time.

Now, to the bites. In my experience, most bites are extremely brief "tags", often without any tooth penetration. However, with a big snake, punctures happen, and even then, you only have a few pin pricks that don't hurt. But if you jerk your hand back while those needle sharp teeth are in your skin, you will get sliced, which is much worse. You increase your chance of being seriously bitten if you ignore the snakes posture (she will likely be in an S-pose before she strikes, often with her front 1/3 lifted off the ground), or if she thinks that you are food. Dont handle her or reach into her cage smelling like rodents, so wash your hands well. I don't feed in cage, as I believe this can train them to equate the opening of the cage with food and so go after my hand.

All of this is my opinion, and what works in my experience. Others feel free to disagree or modify my suggestions.

Hope this helps,
nate.

Wow, Thanks so much for all the info!! I currently am already doing most of what you put. The cage is covered with a sheet, the heat is on her she has a big bowl of water in there (which she sits in all the time) and I have a wood box in a corner for a hide spot. I am building a bigger tank for her, should be done early next week, so she will have more things to climb on and more hide spots. I dont know her exact age, but she's not a baby, she's around 840g, and 3' in length. My dad successfully held her last night, well, laid her on the bed and just had his hand on her, so I could clean her cage and refill the water bowl again, so its possible, for some reason she just doesnt like me. Thanks again for the info! Take care!

Melody