are ball pythons dangerous to children.

Dogs and cats are far more dangerous to children than ball pythons. There's never been a recorded case of a ball python causing permanent injury or death to anyone, children or adults.

My sister has permanent scars on her face and chest from a friend's very trusted and "friendly" pet cat.

Life is full of little risks....we don't even think about them when considering a pet dog or cat...the risk that comes with them seems natural and easily accepted. The risks of injury from a ball python are almost nonexistent....just not so easily accepted, for whatever reason.

I concur with what has been said above, your ball python would be in more danger than your son. If anything, your snake would seek out some dark cramped corner of your house to curl up in. I trust my snakes around my kids alot more than I do my mom's 140+ pound mastiff! I've seen the damage a dog can do as well and it is far worse than any ball python!

I have had my BP's for almost 3 years now and I have never once been bitten.
I had a roomate with a cat and I have 5 different scars on my leg because the cat attacked me without reason twice.

BP's are FAR less dangerous to anyone, not even just children, than your houshold cat or dog.

The children actually pose a risk of injury to the BP :P Not the other way around.

Agree with everything mentioned.
Big snakes require supervision with children, but to have a ball python actually leave it's home and seek out and hurt a child is pretty unrealistic, they tend to curl up and hide when they get loose.
My daughter LOVES this big male.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d1...un31Medium.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d1...5607Medium.jpg

My Daughter was 5 when I started getting into ball pythons. She now 9 and since she was 6 she has been keeping Kenyan Sand Boas of her own and they live in tanks in her room. She has been nipped by her kenyan sand boas, we wash the wound (pin pricks basically) with dial and water and she doesn't even need a band-aid. She knows how to wash her hands properly and she does so after she cleans, feeds and handles her snakes or mine. Education is the key. If your child is an infant/toddler I would not let them hold the snakes but I would say from the time you can teach them to be gentle holding the snake with supervision shouldn't be a problem at all. Just make sure that you wash your kids hands after touching the snake.

For the snake killing the child fear it is really unfounded. If you are on here you should know how to keep your snake in a proper enclosure which prevents escapes. Even in the event of an escape I just can't see the snake seeking out the child to hurt it. Honestly snakes in general are safer than pretty much any other household pet (as people have already stated.).

one amazing characteristic of a BP is its being docile. that is why this species is popular and is claimed to be "the best beginner snake".

should a BP escapes, it will only look for a dark hiding place and will only attack if it feels threatened or is hungry, otherwise, it will just curl into a ball. that is why they are called BALL PYTHONS :D

yeah, it is safe for children, go and grab one now! :gj:

Get one. I think its a great pet for a kid, I wish my parents had got me one when I was younger instead of rodents. Extremely docile, good size, not skittish like a corn snake. IMO, if your going to get your kid a snake, get a ball, not a corn snake. Corn snakes are a lot more flighty in my opinion, ball pythons are very chill, hangout in your laps. There excellent! I got my first one a few months back, a month later got another...and now I'm in the process of getting a third. Catch my drift? ;)

Which one has the size advantage...
A: a bp
or
B: a child.... I would think the child, just a creative guess:gj:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by allyfair

one problem she has is that she thinks that if it escapes it will attack and kill my son. are these fears justified or not, i believe they would rather curl up in some corner and wouldn't go near him but am open to any other theorys or advice.

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Tell her that a ball python is not a burmese. From the sounds of it, she is freaked because of what happened to the 2 year old little girl down here who was killed by a burmese. What the news stories don't say is that the snake was not in a secured tank and had not been fed in over 2 months as per my source at the local police department here. Here are the links to the story, the second one has a picture of the snake and you can tell its a little on the thin side. the parents are now being charged with first degree manslaughter according to my source.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...by.html?cat=53

http://stupidcelebrities.net/2009/07...a-hare-photos/

Ball Pythons are not dangerous to anybody, they're quite possibly the most benign snake you can find anywhere.