Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I've owned my ball python (I named him Regis) for a little over a year now. In the past two months or so, I've fed him by just placing his prey (pre-killed) inside his tank about three times. On top of this, I haven't handled him too often in that span of time either. Today I go to pick him up, and he hissed at me. I reached in his tank again, and he hissed again. I'm afraid he's become too agoraphobic now.... or something... really I don't even know what's going on, but I'm a little freaked out that he'll bite me. Any advice??

Pick him up and get him out of his cage. He'll chill out with time. Hissing is usually all talk anyway. The more you hover around him the more scared he's going to get. The more scared he gets the more likely he is to bite. If you leave him where he feels he can defend himself, he will. If you take him out for a few minutes, he'll want to explore his surroundings, and with regular, short, stress-free handling sessions he will calm down considerably.

Oh, and read the excerpt from NERD's new book thats posted about 3 threads down. Great insignt into why your snake would be so scared of you...

if you are worried about getting bit, you shouldnt be.
bps tend to strike and let go (in my experience), even if they think you are food. their teeth arent big enough to cause a serious wound, so nothing to fear. i have had a few bites (all my fault) and never had more than a nice oval of pinpricks, just whatever you do, dont pull away you could damage their teeth.
when mine are hungry or just in a bad mood they do hiss sometimes, to disarm them, i touch them on the side, or move their head a bit (not with m hand mind you) this makes them realize it is me, and they calm down enough that i can pick them up.
the key is to handle them regularly so they arent afraid or go defensive