Need help (advice)

[Steve1980]

Hey everyone this is my first post and not the way I wanted to post my first time but I need advice. I'm a first time ball python owner, just bought a spider ball from a good breeder. Anyways he's 6wks old, amazing animal abd I totally love him, super docile, never bites, but first time I fed him he went for my hand, didn't bite, it was my fault, I dropped the thawed hopper and kept my hand and tongs in the tank and he went for my hand. My noob mistake, anyways, i had him out tonight crawling around my arm, my wife handled him for a bit and then I was going to put him back in his tank. I had the hide out of the tank and as I was putting it back with my left hand, he was atill hanging in my right, he got spooked by something and snapped back, didn't bite just recoiled hard and it startled me cause I was recently watching youtube vids of ball pythons biting or snapping at owners and it was still fresh in my mind so I accidentally dropped him into his water dish upside down. Its about and inch deep and he just sat there, upstide down and I was panicking cause I wanted him right side up and out but was afraid to reach for him cause I thought the experience spooked him and he would bite or try to if I reached, so he sat there for about 15 seconds before I just reached in and flipped him over. As soon as I did he stuck his head out flicked his tongue and slowly made his was out. Now I have some stupid noob questions but you guys must forgive me, I love him and want nothing but his health and happiness and that's why I'm here to make sure. He crawled out of his bowl and slid nice and calmly back into his hide, his favourite place. He seemed fine but I need to ask a stupid question, what are the odds of permanent damage? He was upside down in the water bowl for 10-15 seconds before I flipped him over. Is he gonna be ok? And is he still gonna be calm and trust me when I'm taking him out, or is he gonna want to strike because of my screw up? Like I said he's super docile and never bites (so far lol) but what are the odds that episode will change his demeanour towards ne and handling him, it's the first time I dropped him, and it wasn't from high or anything, but the upside water bowl episode has me feeling bad and worried about him, and his attitude towards me. Please, any help is much appreciated. Thx guys

[Zincubus]

It's very late ( UK) and I'm very tired so Ill keep this short in case you're feeling anxious and awaiting a reply ..

First off he will be fine .... they're very tough !

The second strike sounds like a little defensive strike from a nervous little guy... he may also be going into shed mode which would also explain it . I'd relax and leave him alone for a week or so to settle down ..
They can stay underwater for about 30 minutes apparently so that 15 seconds is nothing ... They remain still as a defence reaction .. they often ball up hence the name ( which I hate ) . I prefer our UK version of Royal .

[Kittencaboodles]

my cat clocked my baby ball right on the head a few weeks ago when i wasn't paying enough attention and she was a little jumpy after that for a couple days, but since then everything has been totally fine. thats my guess for your guy too, maybe give him a couple days off from handling to chill out, but I don't think he'll have breathed in a bunch of water or anything like that.

[Steve1980]

Thank you so much for the quick reply! It's great to hear he'll be ok, but the second time wasn't even a strike, he just made a quick move, recoiled fast from something, maybe his face was close to the fake log and made a sudden move, startling me and causing me to drop him. It won't happen again, he's awesome and hasn't bit once and I'm not gonna let my noob nerves get the best of me again, I'll trust him, and if he bites so be it. Lol, thanks again, anyone else got any views on my situation? Is his attitude towards me gonna change, will he be different? Will he still be the awesome docile ball he was?

[Steve1980]

Thank you guys so much for your help. I love this forum and I'm happy to be a part of this community @bp.net . I felt so bad and worried but you guys have put my mind at ease. I'll be alot more careful, and will continue to learn and love my spider bp. Thanks again guys!

[wolfy-hound]

He'll be fine. Generally speaking, he shouldn't think you had anything to do with him falling into the water bowl. To his mind(tiny that it is) he may think he jerked back and fell off his "branch" instead of thinking that the big human dropped him.

Being in the water dish underwater is something they do voluntarily for much longer than a few seconds. They're remarkably sturdy.

It's good to see a BP owner who is so caring and worried over his pet. Keep up the good work and don't forget to post lots of pictures!

[SamO]

Spiders tend to jerk their whole body back when startled. More so than other morphs. I haven't seen any come out of that violent recoil striking. Where a non-spider morph will duck it's head when scared a spider morph will duck half it's body.

[nightwolfsnow]

Like everyone else said, you don't have anything to worry about. I feel bad for saying this, but I actually started laughing at the image of him falling in his water bowl upside down, even though I know if I was in your shoes I would have been freaking out too. The first month whenever I would put Orochimaru back in his tank he would stay frozen in whatever position I set him down, which was sometimes awkward and hurried because I was also afraid he would bite me again. I think they do that when they're unsure if everything is safe or not. After a few seconds or minutes they start moving again. As for getting bit, I promise it doesn't hurt at all, its more surprising than anything and happens so fast. You'll learn his body language, an S shaped neck is a good sign that he's looking to strike. Also, my snake just grabbed his mouse and plopped into the water bowl with mouse and all, he stayed coiled and killed it. The water doesn't seem to bother him, I actually saw a cool video on here of a BP swimming in a fish tank of his own volition!