Worried about my first ball python

[Kiba]

Hopefully this is the right forum....But I've had my little guy about 4 weeks now and I bought him from PetSmart, and I don't think he was properly taken care of there. When I bought him they told me he was aggressive, he didn't eat while he was there but they tried feeding him fuzzies, and he was barely handled. After I brought him home I found he was very shy and skiddish, has never struck out at me, and wouldn't eat fuzzies but he would eat pinkies. He was on wood chips at PetSmart and that's what I had him on at first but he was making paths onto the glass of his tank, so I switched him to the Aspen bedding and that gave him dry scales on his belly. He is now on coconut husk and he seems to like that better. But what concerns me is his MAJOR dislike of water. My friend as well as things I've read that to clear his dry scales is to give him a soak every few days. But the poor thing panics when he's in water. It's not too hot or too cold and the level I soak him in is just up to my first knuckle on my finger. I think he was abused but I've never owned a snake before so their behavior is all new to me. Also he has a hide, his tank temp is where it should be as well. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated for making him more comfortable!

[CALM Pythons]

Not sure how deep your first Knuckle is because that would depend on your finger length. If its a baby then that may be much to deep. You only need him to lay in ia little bit and usually they will look around and explore. It shouldnt submerge him, only 1/2 of his body should be in water... Lower him down into a tote with 1/4" of warm water and let him go into the water himself, dont just put him down right away or some do freak.

[chakup]

Also try putting a washcloth in there that's soaked. Will still help with humidity and adds something to rub on and feel safe.

[rufretic]

I would make sure the temp of the water is just right, too warm or too cold are the only time I've seen a snake freak from water. You want to try to match his temp so its not shocking. This is probably cooler than what you would think. If it feels warm to the touch, its too warm for him. Hold him for a bit to let him get to your temp and then fill a small tub with approximately an inch of water at about your temp so to the touch you shouldn't feel a temp change. He shouldn't be submerged just like what sully said, you want him to be able to lay in there relaxed without having to worry about going under. Slowly lower him in and let him crawl in on his own. Then just cap it as long as you have a couple holes to vent. Put it in his enclosure so the temp stays ok. I've even left them in overnight but I'm not sure if that's a good idea, you may just want to leave him a couple hours so you can supervise. It has always worked like a charm for me getting them a nice easy shed. Look to improve the humidity in your enclosure and you should never need to do it again. It almost always happens to me when I get a new snake but once they are kept in high humidity they never seem to have a problem again.

As for him being skittish, that's very normal for a snake that hasn't been handled much. It's nothing to be worried about and doesn't necessarily mean he was abused, just that he's not used to being handled and is naturally scared. Normally you would want to leave him alone for a few weeks to let him get settled in to his new home before handling him too much because it adds to the stress but since you've already had him for 4 weeks your fine to start handling him on a regular basis. You just want to get him used to it so he wont be scared. I would try for maybe 10-15 minutes every day except for feeding day and a day or two after. Try not to go too much longer than this until he seems to be more calm. I've had some pretty nasty aggressive snakes, even wild caughts, that over time became very nice calm pets. Try to make the handling as stress free as possible. Quiet dim room, very slow movement and gentle non restrictive holding all help to keep them comfortable. Once they get used to being handled most don't have a care in the world about being handled and some even seem to enjoy it. Patients and consistency can turn him around. Just keep at it, and I'm sure he'll come around a lot quicker than you think. Good luck with him.