How often can i handle a royal python?

[Kaali]

Hi people, since i'm planning to get a royal python i have a question according your experience of course : how often can i handle this snake in order to acclimate it to being handled, considering that too much handling is stressful not only for this species but for all snakes species, handling it after feeding cause regurgitation (i will normally wait 48 hours) and handling it during shed is not a good idea? Thank you.

[chrid16371]

I'm on a 5 day feeding schedule so if I feed Monday I'll handle Wednesday or Thursday and then feed Saturday and then handle Monday...you get the idea. So I only handle once between feedings. This way I'm not over handling them and not handling to close to a feeding day. If I was on a 7 or 10 day feeding schedule I would probably handle twice between feedings. I only handle a max of 45 minutes also. Its usually around a half hour though.

[Kaali]

Thank you! I will do in this way

[Hammertime1977]

We're a little different.

We also pretty much ignore him for 2 days after a feed. His feed cycle is around 10 days, we wait for the 3rd night of active hunting to feed him. The first night he gets lazy and gives up after an hour, last night be was hunting for about 2.5 to 3 hours. Tonight he will be out a bit earlier and we will feed him around 10pm.

He was out 4 times during the last cycle, which is 1 more than normal. We changed the bedding in the tank, so he got an extra play.

Removing pee-pee's is a good excuse to pull him out for a quick play.

But our playing sessions are kept to a 5-15 minute time frame depending on how much is being done in his tank. I don't mind giving him fresh water every 2-3 days instead of top ups. When the gf is playing with the snake, I'm free to run downstairs and clean the bowl and re fill it.

I can't stress it enough, you'll read a lot of stuff here from a lot of people who have studied their life away on this stuff. But what matters is the snake in front of you. As long as you read the snakes body language correctly, you in theory shouldn't ever run into any problems.

So much depends on the attitude of the snake.

I have read....and I say that while rolling my eyes as I'm a big practical guy that hates theories. I have read that if you go 2+ weeks without handling your Ball / Royal Python you need to re adapt with caution.

I have only gone into my tank once when I was unsure of his posture. I actually waited and talked to him (I know what a stooge) until he started moving around and flicking his tongue out. When he was in a better position, I was able to scoop him. Every other time, he has pretty much assumed the position and waited to curl up in my hands.

Royal / Ball Pythons are great pets, they are far more smart and far more predictable than I think most people realize.

When people ask me a question about animals, I always ask them this..."Well, what's your animal telling you about this...and why are you asking me" :p

It just takes time and practice.

Kaaii...

Can I ask you, what kind of a set up do you have planned?

You're in a great position here to have everything set up heat/humidity wise before you bring your snake home. This will put you at a huge advantage. I did about 2 weeks of research in the evenings before buying and was tinkering with the heat/humidity the week before surprising my girlfriend with a snake.

Just browse these forums and see the silly questions asked by people who impulse bought their snakes and it takes them 3-6 months to learn, while they make posts about their snake not eating every week :p

You can follow my path and nail it all on the first try

Some may say small sample size to me, but I've excelled at everything I put effort into...so I say skill :p

Best of Luck my friend!

I can't wait to see what kinds of snakes you're looking into 6 months from now when you realize how quickly and easily you mastered Royals

[pariahdog]

I don't handle 2 days after eating but other than that I don't care lol. I handle my snakes whenever I want.

[Snoopyslim]

I'm with Pariah, we leave her alone for 48 hours after feeding then handle whenever she's out of hiding and seems like she wants to explore. I try to handle at night and never on the day of feeding. We never pull her out of her hide since I would never want to be pulled out of my home. Hope you get one, they are incredible pets.

[Kaali]

We're a little different.


Can I ask you, what kind of a set up do you have planned?

You're in a great position here to have everything set up heat/humidity wise before you bring your snake home. This will put you at a huge advantage. I did about 2 weeks of research in the evenings before buying and was tinkering with the heat/humidity the week before surprising my girlfriend with a snake.

Just browse these forums and see the silly questions asked by people who impulse bought their snakes and it takes them 3-6 months to learn, while they make posts about their snake not eating every week :p

You can follow my path and nail it all on the first try

Some may say small sample size to me, but I've excelled at everything I put effort into...so I say skill :p

Best of Luck my friend!

I can't wait to see what kinds of snakes you're looking into 6 months from now when you realize how quickly and easily you mastered Royals

Thank you for advices and your experience, i think practise and patience are the key since every snake has its own personality and the owner must adapt to snake need in order to understand it better, plus it's like ethologist: you obeserve, you make hypotesis, your verify them, you study snake behaviour etc. it's really fun for me!

My set-up is divided in many parts, since i am a really patient person:

1) try to convince my mother to keep a royal python (i suceeded due to subliminal messages XD like snake videos, snake drawings, snake facts etc. even if my mother is afraid of all animals she loves me and a day, after an argument and how i feel like snakes when people makes me angry, she ended up saying i could keep a snake).
2) choosing the snake room (i finally found a room in my house totaly suitable for my future snake, silent, clean, not too hot or too cold).
3) choosing sex (now i decided a male because they are shorter, i even decided his name).
4) reading facts, other people experience, suggestions and advices from forum higly useful like this, i love this forum and its people (ongoing because i have to know a little more before the final step, now i am hanging out at two forums, this for advices and facts and an italian forum because i live in Italy and i need to get in touch with these people if i want to know where to buy the tank/tub, the snake etc.).
5) watching some videos on youtube (i select between channels).
6) asking if there are some breeders in my area, in these weeks i will ask but first i have to choose between tank and tub (i admit that i like more tub than tank) and where to buy accessories like thermostat, UTH, thermo-hygrometer etc.
7) of course asking where to buy food (actually i know a site where to buy food supply).
8) as substrate i will go for newspapers (my house is full XD) even if i don't mind astroturf.
9) i am mentally ready for feeding behaviour of this species.
10) i continue to do research (i have been doing researchs for a year and a half) before getting the snake i want to be prepared because i want a healty and happy snake

[Pug50]

If you are living with your mother then check that she is OK with frozen mice/rats in the bottom of the freezer. There is no risk provided they are sealed and wrapped in plastic, and in a plastic tub at the bottom of the freezer, but it's probably her freezer so her rules?

[Kaali]

If you are living with your mother then check that she is OK with frozen mice/rats in the bottom of the freezer. There is no risk provided they are sealed and wrapped in plastic, and in a plastic tub at the bottom of the freezer, but it's probably her freezer so her rules?

Thank you for the advice, i have a second mini-freezer so i can use it as snake food supply

[Coluber42]

Every snake is different. Also, there's handling and there's handling. Hanging out on the sofa with you while you watch TV is not the same as being waved around at a kids' birthday party.
When I was a teenager I had a BP who was pretty much out and about with me almost all the time when I was at home, unless he had just eaten. He was a fairly confident, laid back guy and was used to it. I'd carry him around the house and let him roam around the room while I did my homework. I had long hair back then and he'd often just curl up around my neck with his head in the back where he had a "curtain" and snooze. So it was dark and familiar and I think he felt secure. (And obviously I didn't go running and jumping around when he was there) He was generally a good eater and only ever refused a handful of meals total over the nine years that I had him.

I handle my considerably more timid baby often, but try to keep things as un-stressful as possible. I move him slowly and gently, and try to avoid things that I know he doesn't like, such as setting hiim down on a wide open tabletop or waving an arm over his head (if you thought a predatory bird was going to swoop down and gobble you up any second, you wouldn't like things like that either). Sometimes you see people in YouTube videos showing off their snakes and they just sort of casually grab the snake, flip it over, flip it over again, wave it around, unwrap it from its defensive posture, etc, and I always feel just a little bad. None of those things really hurt the snake, but I doubt it's much fun for them. It's one thing if a vet needs to prod the little guy for its own good, but if you're hoping for the snake to feel more comfortable and less stressed out about being manhandled by a giant, a little sensitivity can't hurt.