I don't know how 'tough' snakes are... I don't mean this in a 'test how durable snakes are' but I have a baby-ball python maybe 4-5 months old 20"-ish long.... But it seems clumsy... It has fell off my bed like 2-3 feet high but seemed to get upand move fine after that... Is it bad for them to be dropped? (I mean I understand it is bad but I'm worried about permenant damage)
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Snake toughness?
xenostalgia
Jan 16, 2006 11:03 PM
Replies (4)
Kingofspades
Jan 16, 2006 11:07 PM
I wouldn't worry about it. I had a corn snake hatchling escape out of an open window...on the second floor.
We found it a few months later dead in the road...about 5 times as big as it was when it escaped. I knew it was mine because it was anerythristic AND corns aren't native to CT.
If he survived a 2 story fall...I'm sure a ball python can shrug off a 2 foot fall.
wftright
Jan 16, 2006 11:13 PM
Mine is a little smaller than yours. She sometimes climbs to the top of her 16" high aquarium and falls. So far, she hasn't hurt herself. I'd avoid letting her drop two or three feet if I could. When she's out of her cage and has exposure to more heights, I keep her controlled so that she can't fall.
Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.
u1sickboy
Jan 17, 2006 05:07 AM
It's not the fall that hurts .....It's the landing that gets ya!!
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Jason Jex
amarilrose
Jan 17, 2006 10:23 AM
Ball Pythons are ridiculously clumsy. Some like to climb anyway, but in general they are considered "ground dwelling" pythons, and for good reason, they don't belong off the ground. 
My first Ball (LTC) was kept in a huge cage (I'm really bad at estimating volume etc.), with a branch (maybe 3" diameter) to climb on that was a good 18" off the cage floor... and I can't possibly count how many times he fell off of it, only to climb back up and do it again. He liked climbing really well, but never figured out how to use his body to properly hold onto the branch. My current BP's show the same lacking learning curve while I hold them - they'll climb around on my arms, but I have to watch over them closely, because they are almost always bad about balancing themselves or holding on well. Both are rather fearless, as they seem to know that even if they start to fall, I'll catch them. 
I can't see how a fall of 2-3' would permanently harm a young Ball, but keep watching for anything unusual - which you should do anyway, regardless of the fall. Good luck to you!
~Rebecca
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1.1 Ball Pythons (1.0 '05 Ghost, 0.1 '03 Normal)
0.1 Dumeril's Boa '04
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40 lb darling lap dogs)
