Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello.
I own a boa and a ball python.I want to buy a Blood python.
I hear that blood pythons are not popular because they are aggressive - even the captive bred bloods. Is that true ?
I don't want to raise a snake that i have to fear from - every time i want to pick it up...

What say you ?

Thx
Adija

If you get a captive bred baby, then 99% of them will be great. My blood is sweeter than my boyfriends boas if that means anything to you....

Just get a captive bred baby, and use your head. Some babies can be testy, but work with them anyway, and you'll have yourself a wonderful adult in no time...

Any snake can be a demon from hell. Most CB bloods (and any snake for that matter) aren't aggressive. As hatchlings and young juveniles some will be nippy. If you get a WC blood (or any snake for that matter) they will be more aggressive than CB animals. My blood is much more defensive than my ball python because after a meal if i try to go near the cage she will strike (closed mouth) at me. If you treat your blood to inadequate care they will be more aggressive. If you give your snake everything it needs and handle (with gloves if need be) it regularly then i don't think it will turn out any meaner than your Ball python or BCI.
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0.1 Leopard gecko's
0.0.1 Ball Python's
0.1 blood python's
0.1.1 Crested Geckos

I hear that blood pythons are not popular because they are aggressive - even the captive bred bloods. Is that true ?

NOT TRUE in any sense! We have over 20 bloods and not a single one has an aggressive bone in its body. As a matter of fact, I have 5 baby female ball pythons and every one of those have tagged me since I have had them. Blood pythons are very misunderstood and poorly misrepresented. Blood pythons are a VERY vocal animal, always hissing or wagging their tails. Bloods hiss constantly, and they always will, its just their nature and a way of feeling tuffer then they really are. They put on a great act, but like the others have mentioned, CB babies are your best choice and as they get older, they become even more layed back. We have a 6 foot 15 lb Black blood male and his is just a big puppy dog. We are comfortable enuff with all of our bloods to just open the cage and pull them out.

It really chaps my ass when I see someone listing a blood for sale in the classified and they list it as having the typical blood attitude. What the hell does that mean? You have a nasty blood, therefore you stereotype it as being typicaly nasty ?? I dont think so. Because the typical blood attitude to me is a big sweet snake, that likes to talk to you and hang out in your lap. Most of the time when someone is selling a blood and uses that "line" its probably because they havent worked with the animal enough or mishandled it because of being afraid of it. Mishandling a blood WILL make it a nasty animal. If your constantly poking and proding it with a hook trying to get it out, I would bite your ass to! Bloods love attention and they should get it. They are by far my most favorite snake in the world and with good reason.

Dont let misinformation veer you away from keeping bloods. They are a very rewarding animal to keep, in so many different ways. But I must warn you, once you have one, your gonna want another, and another, and another....... You cant have just one... Totally addicting.

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Sam Craver
Cage Crafters and The Blood Bank

couldn't have said it better myself!

10x alot for all your comments!

Any and all snakes can and will on occaision bite. This said the blood pythons have an undeserved reputation as being aggressive and "strikey".This unfortunate rep probably started because for a long time the only bloods people came into contact with were wild caught adults That would defend themselves at all cost. Now that people have figured out how to breed these animals and more and more captive offspring are available,people are starting to notice that bloods can be quite calm if properly kept and handled gently. Remember bloods are ambush predators with a keen feeding response. If you have a hungry snake and just reach in to grab it ,You may be mistaken for food and biten. I personally own 25 snakes (5 of them bloods)and find blood pythons to be a joy to work with. They are the perfect large snake without being too big. Study up on the species before you make your decision ,You won't regret it!

Correct about WC animals. In the past (25-30 years ago), very little captive breeding of bloods was done, so most were wild caught. They wouldn't eat, and usually tried to take your head off. Things have changed greatly with CB populations. I can remember when feeding time consisted of putting the Blood in a trash can with mud and a rat, putting the lid on....and waiting for 2 days.

Bloods tend to be shy and insecure. You can't be as casual when dealing with them as you can with a corn snake, burmese python, boa constrictor, etc. However, their trust can be gained. It just takes patience and a steady hand.

CB blood pythons are not aggressive. You respect them, they respect you. I've been keeping them for about 12 years. My experience has been that they don’t care to be disturbed too much; they huff and puff and hiss when approached, but it’s all a bluff. However, should they start to vigorously wag their tail; they are no longer bluffing. Currently I have 1.2 red bloods and I see vigorous tail wagging only a couple times a year; I have more tail wagging days than they do. I highly recommend blood pythons to anyone who loves pythons, but doesn’t want a giant.

I thought I had replied to this once but it didnt show up. Heres my $2 spiel...

I have lots of bloods. They're just like people. Some are a little grumpy, some are sweethearts. I have a few, yes they are captive born, that shouldnt be trusted with kids or novices. Others can be hauled around the house by my kids and they genuinely seem to enjoy contact with people. I would tell you the same thing about balls, carpets or even kings and corns. The one difference I would note is that a cranky blood is a much more imposing thing. They do bite hard when they have the notion.

Any wild caughts that I have ever owned were in fact pretty aggressive and I strongly caution people against buying WC bloods. True all will calm down to some extent but very few become "pets". Some CBB that havent been raised and socialized properly will be a little testy, but MIGHT calm down with time.

Individuals from some bloodlines can be more temperamental than others. David Barker explained that in the early days some of the CBB born in his facillity couldnt be well tamed. They later figured out that individuals from certain origins (namely Malaysia) are more temperamental than individuals from places like Sumatra. My Malaysinas are in fact pretty jumpy. I have a big fat yellow CBB Sumatran female who has been handled by hundreds of school kids and has never hissed or struck anything but I also have a big fat yellow CBB Sumatran male that is pretty grouchy and will nip me if he can. Most of my Borneos are pretty sweet but I had a marbled female that was down right nasty. Thankfully I cant take credit for raising her.

I just really dont like getting bitten by snakes, any snakes. Yet I have quite a few blood pythons. They aren't as bad as most would have you believe. I think the secret to successes to buy a baby blood from an experienced and reputable breeder (not farmed or WC). That way you know the origin of the baby and the temperament parents, not to mention you have a reliable source of info if you get in a pickle. Handle the baby regularly and if it huffs and puffs or even gives you a nip dont back down but show him you aren't afraid and mean him no harm. They will quickly learn to trust you. If you do that I can almost guarantee you will have a quite docile and beautiful pet. If not
you can always blame me.

Steve

Thanks alot for all the info!
You were very helpful.
I'll keep on posting updates about my future CBB...