Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ever since I was bitten by my young ball I have begun to think about not keeping her. I just don't trust her anymore. I think that if she had struck at me or if she had smelled prey on me that would have something I could live with and made some corrections in handling her. But since that was not the case and she just deliberately bit me I have lost interest in trying to handle her. She is in her hide continually so I can't see her to observe in a display. I only have one so she won't be bred by me. And if I don't handle her, can't see her, how do I enjoy her? Anyone have any suggestions? Or should I just begin to search for a new home for her?

almost any animal is "tameable", all animals are unpredictable. if it's still young, you have a better chance of taming it down. start slowly, cover it's head with a towel and slowly lift it, but keep it in the enclosure. do this for just a few moments, and as you gain trust in it, begin taking it out of the enclosure. after maybe a few months, you should be ready to try it with out the towel, but its really up to you. it takes a lot of devotion to tame an animal, so you have to decide if you can spare the time. if not, find a good home for it.
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your head will collapse, but there's nothing in it, and you'll ask yourself, "where is my mind"

I agree with I Luv....

I would also suggest getting a good book on Balls. Taming and acclimating a snake are things that a good book, and or a care sheet on the web would fill you in on. These things do take time and are well worth it. As long as you really wanted the animal to begin with, and it wasn't a impulse purchase you should pursue this. Good luck and dont give up

Welcome to the club. The first thing to remember about handling snakes of any kind is that it's not IF you're going to get bit, it's WHEN. I used to pride myself on never getting bit by any of the snakes I've owned/handled. I have been bit by lizards of many varieties (most notably Alligator Lizards, do you wanna talk PAIN?), but never snakes. Not even the rattlers I encounter.

Last year, Mr. I-Never-Get-Bit-By-Snakes got tagged by Frank, my big male BP. My own darned fault. You know how you get when you're all coiled up in your nice, warm, dark bed, and some idiot reaches in and wakes you up? That's how Frank felt, and he let me know.

Sure, I was a little more careful with him afterwards, but that didn't make me want to give him up. For a while, I handled him only with gloves (I have a set of snake handling gloves from Tongs.com) until I was pretty sure that he wasn't going to turn aggressive. Now, I free-handle him all the time, keeping an eye on where that head is. I usually have the cage hook in one hand just to support his head, but he's calmed down a lot and more readily accepts handling.

The snake had a good reason to tag you, even if it isn't obvious to you. BPs, as you are well aware, are very head-shy animals and resort to violence only when they feel it's absolutely necessary.

I would recommend going to a place like Tongs.com and getting at least a cage hook. It's a "mini" hook that's perfectly sized for working in and around a cage. Also, get a pair of heavy-duty leather gloves at the hardware store. They will provide you enough protection against the teeny-tiny teeth of a python so that he can't draw blood. A bite will still hurt because it's a lot of pressure on a small area (but millisecond fast, as you found out!).

In addition, here's a couple of basic precautions to diminish the possibility of getting bit:

ALWAYS WASH YOUR HANDS. This has two good purposes, it cleans off any germs that you might transfer from one animal to another, and it cleans off any scent of food or foe that you might have on your hands. Snakes can smell better than we can; you don't know what your snake might be smelling on you. I have a bottle of sanitizing gel next to the snake cages that I use right before I handle the boys. Since they smell it on my hands every time I go to handle them, they've associated the smell with being handled.

Handle the snake at the same time each day as much as possible. This gets the snake used to the idea that when it's sunset (my usual handling time), it's time for the skin-monkey to reach in and grab him.

Try not to handle for at least 24 hours after being fed or after a major cage cleaning. Snakes in general and BPs in particular have a reputation for being nervous when their cage setup changes. They need time to adjust. As a predator still low enough on the food chain to be considered prey by bigger animals, snakes are most vulnerable right after they've eaten. They can get very touchy then.

I hope this helps!

>>Welcome to the club. The first thing to remember about handling snakes of any kind is that it's not IF you're going to get bit, it's WHEN. I used to pride myself on never getting bit by any of the snakes I've owned/handled. I have been bit by lizards of many varieties (most notably Alligator Lizards, do you wanna talk PAIN?), but never snakes. Not even the rattlers I encounter.
>>
>>Last year, Mr. I-Never-Get-Bit-By-Snakes got tagged by Frank, my big male BP. My own darned fault. You know how you get when you're all coiled up in your nice, warm, dark bed, and some idiot reaches in and wakes you up? That's how Frank felt, and he let me know.
>>
>>Sure, I was a little more careful with him afterwards, but that didn't make me want to give him up. For a while, I handled him only with gloves (I have a set of snake handling gloves from Tongs.com) until I was pretty sure that he wasn't going to turn aggressive. Now, I free-handle him all the time, keeping an eye on where that head is. I usually have the cage hook in one hand just to support his head, but he's calmed down a lot and more readily accepts handling.
>>
>>The snake had a good reason to tag you, even if it isn't obvious to you. BPs, as you are well aware, are very head-shy animals and resort to violence only when they feel it's absolutely necessary.
>>
>>I would recommend going to a place like Tongs.com and getting at least a cage hook. It's a "mini" hook that's perfectly sized for working in and around a cage. Also, get a pair of heavy-duty leather gloves at the hardware store. They will provide you enough protection against the teeny-tiny teeth of a python so that he can't draw blood. A bite will still hurt because it's a lot of pressure on a small area (but millisecond fast, as you found out!).
>>
>>In addition, here's a couple of basic precautions to diminish the possibility of getting bit:
>>
>>ALWAYS WASH YOUR HANDS. This has two good purposes, it cleans off any germs that you might transfer from one animal to another, and it cleans off any scent of food or foe that you might have on your hands. Snakes can smell better than we can; you don't know what your snake might be smelling on you. I have a bottle of sanitizing gel next to the snake cages that I use right before I handle the boys. Since they smell it on my hands every time I go to handle them, they've associated the smell with being handled.
>>
>>Handle the snake at the same time each day as much as possible. This gets the snake used to the idea that when it's sunset (my usual handling time), it's time for the skin-monkey to reach in and grab him.
>>
>>Try not to handle for at least 24 hours after being fed or after a major cage cleaning. Snakes in general and BPs in particular have a reputation for being nervous when their cage setup changes. They need time to adjust. As a predator still low enough on the food chain to be considered prey by bigger animals, snakes are most vulnerable right after they've eaten. They can get very touchy then.
>>
>>I hope this helps!
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your head will collapse, but there's nothing in it, and you'll ask yourself, "where is my mind"

If you’re going to keep any animal you must expect it to make a mistake from time to time. Did you ever look at your ball pythons head and wonder how big it brain is? No then I’ll tell you very small!! So you must assume that the IQ of a snake is VERY low, there for it will be prone to getting things wrong every now and again. It's sounds to me that this is not the first time you have handled it, but it is the first time it bit you. Ask yourself how many time's it didn’t bite you. Put this down to experience. If it bit then let go after you picked it up for a wile then it is properly just one of those things. Stick to it and your be able to read its movements and anticipate what its going to do next. This is the best you can do and to expect the fact that one day it won't be work.(they can always do the unexpected lol) Good luck and please don't give up snakes they're worth the blood every drop!

on the scale of human IQ's, i'd say a ball python is under 20. i mean, isnt it 64 that needs assisted living in humans? or is it higher? even those humans can kill a ball python in trivia games.
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your head will collapse, but there's nothing in it, and you'll ask yourself, "where is my mind"

I'm agreeing with the above post 100%. Also, it was your fault not the snakes that you did get bit; If you knew your snake, and can read it's body language, you would know when he/she is going to bite. You sound like a recreactional BP owner, and if this is the case, and you aren't going to breed her/him, and you are that freaked out by a first bite, sell it. You will always be nervous around the animal and that's not good for you or the snake. If you are serious about keeping her/him, ease into handling it. Wear gloves, and usually once the snake is out of their own environment and SAFELY in yours, they should calm down. Give it time, it'll take a while.

I don't mean to sound insensitive but I'm not sure what the big deal is about getting bit. How young is your young python? I got tagged tonight by one of mine and while it was enough to draw blood it hardly hurt at all. Haven't you ever gotten grabbed by a cat when you were rubbing it's tummy? Cat's claws can hurt a lot worse in my opinion. And haven't you ever had a playful puppy get you a little too hard? It sounds like maybe you got a little scared by the swiftness of the bite. Try to look at it a little less dramatically and understand that you're bound to have the unexpected come up when working with animals and especially with creatures that are closer to the wild then your average household pet. My advice is to decide if you even wanted a snake to begin with. If not, then find it a good home. But if you did, just keep holding your python on a regular basis. I second the advice of the garden gloves, I have some leather gloves that I wear when one of my adults is acting a bit aggressive.

Sijae

I don't think a lot of people realize how much body language translates for snakes. People who get bit and act freakishly cautious around them most likely make the situation worse.

It's worth noting that snakes bite as a last resort. Your snake is more than aware of how little a bite hurts you, and the danger that it entails (losing teeth, angring whatever it bit, etc.). Getting a snake not to bite is as much keeping it as comfortable as possible as it is convincing the snake that biting is a useless endeavour. If you come at the snake sheepisly, slowly moving in to grab it, pulling your hand back if you go near it's head, etc., you're doing what a predator would do. I sincerely think that if one acts with more... intention when it holds a snake, as in picking it up as if it were something accepted and everyday, holding it naturally/casually, but still keeping it comfortable and supported, etc., the snake somehow "knows" that it's ok.

I don't breed my snakes, nor do I display them. They sit out of sight, in a walk-in closet, and I keep them soley to entertain me. Thus, the only reason I keep snakes is to handle them, to be fascinated by them. I have been known to sell aggressive snakes (A hondo milk comes to mind. Of course I told the buyer, my friend who wanted her because she was a good-looking female to breed.). Still, I would not sell a snake because of one bite, or even 5. Snakes aren't exactly smart, expecting them to tame like a dog is just beyond their capacity. They will get used to handling, but they hardly *enjoy* it. Snakes just bite, and the reason doesn't have to be something that we think of as significant. Maybe it was a little warm at the time, the wrong time of day, or not feeling well, or stressed from people around. Hell, it could very well be something as insignificant and absurd as... oh, the snake was on it's way to take a dump, or maybe you just caught it at a bad time.

Regardless, a single bite isn't reason to sell the snake, or even change how you're doing things. Unless biting happens frequently or at least a couple times, chances are you're doing nothing wrong at all. Keep him, handle it every few days, early evening once it's been dark for a while. Use a hook or something hook-like (I use an old metal shishkabob skewer that I bent into one) to pick it up, and set it into your hand. Don't pet it, go near it's head, constrict its motion, etc., and I'll be willing to wager that he'll be fine. Eventually you'll be more bold, and you'll slowly figure out exactly what the snake will tolerate. It's not something you have to pay a lot of attention to; you just naturally learn. I've only had Isabel for a few weeks, and I know that if I hold her within two days of eating she's cranky, that if I hold her before 5 or 6 PM she'll probably bite, and that she's more calm if I wash my hands with unscented soap first (as opposed to this weird spring fresh stuff in the kitchen). OTOH, Taj, my Mex. black king, doesn't seem to care about the soap, hates sunlight, acts very aggressive but never bites (he always looks like he's ready to, but literally NEVER does)... and he'll musk if I don't pick him up initially with my skewer/hook.

Bottom line, you can sell it if you're truly uncomfortable, but your snake is not aggressive because it bit once.

Heh... I have a Honduran milk like that that I want to sell too. He bites AND musks. A lot. Of course, I never wanted him, we got him off of some neurotic high school kid. I'd actually keep him except I already have a kingsnake.

I have to say that when I first got my snakes I was pretty timid and afraid of getting bitten. Tonight I spent an hour tugging unshed skin off my hatchling who was having trouble, despite a good soak. I even had to get almost right on his head to help him restart the shed and he never even acted like he would bite me. My 2 yr old female is still more timid than he is. I always try to be aware of their body language and if they're acting iffy then I put them away, because it is pretty obvious that for whatever reason they're stressed. I'd give it a while if I were you. If not, send it my way

Heh, I don't know why, but I love helping snakes shed. It's a bonding thing, I guess. My old "chinese garter snake" (That's how it was sold to me when I was 12, it's actually a keelback something-er-other. I found out a while back in the forums; it's actually rear-fanged, but they're sold in the pet trade because they're freakishly calm, as in I could set her down in my backyard and go to the bathroom and come back, and touch her eye and pet under her neck. A wonderful snake) used to have [bleep]ty sheds, and I swear the snakes know when you're helping them.

Then again... the tangerine hondo, the [bleep], she really laced into my hand when I tried to help her. Chewed n' everything, it left a pretty ugly scar.

I have yet to get to help my BP, or any of my kingsnakes. I listen to all that humidity/temperature advice too much; they have perfect sheds :-P

Despite their all-too-obvious lack of advanced thought, I do believe you can "bond" with them to a certain point. They can't get to know you and whatnot, but they can recognize how they're handled (e.g., they react to how you're handling them in a certain manner that makes it look like they know you). And you can't really give a snake a "treat", but you can get fresh moss for them, take them out and let them "stretch", etc. Even if it's all in my head, the end result is that I like my snakes more, and they get particularly good care. Nothing wrong with that!

Thanks for all the comments and advice. Let me explain just a little more. I have a hook but don't need it to pick up this gal. She appears quite docile. Even when in my hands she is slow and deliberate in her movements. When she bit me I was completely relaxed watching TV and she was in my lap. She didn't strike, hiss, or give any warning. She just went up to my arm and clamped down. The next time I picked her up she did (in my mind) follow my hand and arm with her head and in my imagination was "thinking" about biting. I am a cornsnake person. I purchased her because I had always heard about how docile and gentle they were. She is a "thinking" snake unlike the corns who are active in my hands. So you can see by my comments that this problem is probably psychological on my part. I have received a couple emails about placing her. I feel confident that anyone who had a better understanding of these snakes would have no problem handling her and figuring her out. Thanks to all. I enjoy this forum emensely.

Man, if I got rid of every animal that ever bite me, I wouldn't have any pets.

I got nailed in the face a couple days ago (all healed, heh) and not I'M a little bit head shy, lol.

I've been struck at/bit insignificantly (ie, no blood) 3 or 4 times before I got nailed. Each time, I was a little bit skittish for a little while. So, I left the snakes alone, other than feeding for cage cleaning, for about a month. By that time, I'd pretty much forgotten about it and my confidence level went back up.

So, I'd just suggest keep her for a little while to see if you settle down.

I mean, would you get rid of a cat that bit you "for no good reason"? Unless it's a frequent occurence, most people wouldn't.

My 2 cents.
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-Irish
Email: animistdragon@sbcglobal.net
AIM: VoodooDragon137
YIM: [same as Email addy]
3.3.1 Ball Pythons

Voodoo, just curious but what other pets do you have? It seems like you have a lot of experience.

Rob Woods

Now I'm no expert but we sure learned 2 nights ago.

After playing with my baby balls for a while, a friend of mine and I tried to take out our 5 1/2 foot California Kingsnake. Well damned if the thing didn't start following my hand, and FAST too!!

Well, needless to say I got scared. Brent (being the one who owns the snake) thought this to be weird, so he pulled him out with no problem. Once we thought "Mr. Jones" was calmed down he was passed to Ryan.

We litterally watched Mr. Jones slowly open his mouth and strike Ryan right on the hand. First off Mr. Jones is 6 yrs old and has only bite twice before and both times were stupid feeding errors.

Well we tested this again. I put my hand out and watched Mr. Jones "smell" the air, he did a 360 towards my hand and started to open up his mouth again. He was put back fast. Tried to balls without washing my hands (kind of a test I guess) and my male came shooting out for my hand (and he's my chickensh!t).

My conclusion is they don't like the smell of eachother. Once we used hand sanitizer between handling they were fine.

Now it's mandatory in my house --> hand sanitizer must be used before and after handling.

Sorry about the long post...

candie

One possibility would be to stop whining, grow up, realize you've adopted a wild animal and accept that it might just bite you once or twice. Then strap on a set of balls and handle it until it tames down.

Just a suggestion.