Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering what type of snake would tolerate handling the best?

I just got a ball python and she is extremly shy. I have been reading and a couple of books have said that you shouldnt handle ball pythons more than twice a week and then only 10 min or they might get over stressed.

I know that no snake enjoys being handled but what type do yall think would tolerate it the most? I guess the best i could hope for is curious. I thought about a jungle carpet python but if it were to bite me when it was full grown it looks like it would hurt REALLY bad. I dont mind getting bit as long as it wouldnt require stiches

All snakes are different. Some will take alot of handling and some won't like it at all. If you don't have a rattlesnake, start out just a few minutes a day. It can be every day or just a couple days a week. You'll learn to read the snakes moods, and when it's had enough just put it away for the day. The more often you handle it, the sooner it will become used to being handled. Most Balls take it pretty well. Good luck.

Quig

A big carpet wouldn't require stitches, unless you pulled away. Trust me, I know, I had a 9'er tag my elbow for no apparent reason and it hardly broke the skin, just a few prics and a couple drops of blood.

By saying you want something handleable I think you mean a little more active than a ball python. Some ball pythons are more active than others, but most won't move around as much as some of the other snakes.

If you are only considering pythons here are my suggestions:
Any of the Liasis species(Australian/ New Guinea pythons i.e. macklot's pythons, water python's, savu python's etc). They aren't an "overplayed" snake and although most are nippy as babies they calm down well and don't get too big.

Carpet pythons-Jungle's tend to be the feistiest but they will calm down and are beautifyl.

Jampea Dwarf retic(male's)- Tend to stay small(6-7') and are beautiful and docile. Actually, almost all CB retics are calm but the mainland forms and other islands just get too big. My personal favorite snake is the retic so maybe I am biased but they are very, very, active.

Many people will say burms are a good snake as far as handling goes, which is true, until they are 15' and see you as a tasty treat.

Hope this helps, consider your choices and make the decision on the snake that you prefer most, but don't let the potential of a bite scare you from working with any beautiful snake, as almost any snake can be calmed with time and patience.

Cole Maas

Thanks for an interesting post. When I bought my ball python, I was looking for something that would eventually sit on my shoulders or in my lap while I read or surfed the computer. I really don't want active snake. I just want one that will be mellow and give me gentle squeezes from time to time. I don't know what the original poster was thinking, but your post makes me feel even better about my choice.

Bill

"Jampea Dwarf retic(male's)- Tend to stay small(6-7') and are beautiful and docile"

My friend loves the big snakes, and he also breeds the dwarf retics.
His dwarfs are not docile. In fact they are not handleable at all.
They are beautiful though.

TomChambers

really? I've handled probably a dozen dwarfs and they all seem to act just like tiger retics, docile and easy going. In all honesty, I think retics have a bad rep as a whole, as the only snakes I've owned for a long period of time that never showed me any aggression were a pair of sulawesi retics I had a few years back.

I can see how they could become "aggressive", as they are always hungry. Generally speaking, if you keep them well fed and handle them with some frequency they stay pretty tame.

Cole Maas

Yeah I don't like the big snakes, I think you would need a spotter with you whenever handleing for safety; and I just don't have that luxury.

My friend breeds super tigers, albino, and some unnamed/unproven project retics.

But he can rarely take out his dwarfs without using a hook, they are that aggressive.

And his are huge, not 6-7 feet, more like 10-14 feet (males on the lower end females on the higher end).

Anyway, just like any species, maybe his are just the oddball mean ones.

Oh and yeah he says they are always hungry LOL.

TomChambers

descendents of Clark's original line? Jampea dwarfs are often bred to normal retics to produce a normal retic that stays slightly smaller and has the appearance of a normal.

True Jampeas have a silvery background and males rarely exceed 8'.

There is another from of dwarfs that Bob Clark, Eugene Besset, and a few others are working that stay tiny. Eugene Besset has a female that has proven herself out two years consecutively and is just a tad under 9'.

As with any large constrictor, using a hook to remove them from the cage is a good idea. Retics have a very strong feeding response(as you know), but once out of the cage most aren't too bad.

Cole Maas