First Baby BP Questions. Help!

[Alilliaan]

I just want to start off saying this is the first time I've posted on this site. I come here a lot to get answers to my questions. What a wonderful community this is.

That being said sometimes I find pretty conflicting information on the do's and dont's, especially with younger ball pythons.

Any suggestions on how offten a younger ball python should be handled? And the best ways to handle such a small babe?

I am an experienced ball python owner, but this is my first hacthling! I have never had to tame the shyness out of a ball python before. All my other bp's in the past have been rescues in their 20's who never had any head shyness or handling issues. This baby is putting me through the courses.

"He" is very head shy. Snappy at quick movements. Loves to nip a finger if it is in sight ( no surprise there as my pinky looks just like his food ). "His" background is for the most part unknown. I found him being mistreated by my local pet shop and brought him home as fast as I could to get him in the appropriate environment. In the pet shop his tank was only 70 degrees, 0 humidity. They had him for 2 weeks and never tried to feed because he will strike at anything near his terrarium.

I know his current set up is exactly what it needs to be right now. He ate for the first time today like a champ. He no longer strikes when he sees anyone near his tank but god forbid you put a hand in.

Some people say handle as little as once a week, he'll grow out of his nipping phase. Others say he needs to be handled every day for 5-10 minutes.

Suggestions?

[tttaylorrr]

welcome welcome welcome!!!

im sure you're aware that improper husbandry is the #1 reason a new baby beep won't eat or will become easily stressed, so i take it you're positive husbandry is not the issue? could you give us a run-down of your enclosure and equipment?

when it comes to handling a nippy baby, i am well-versed: meet Coffee Bean.

thats her progression thread. she started out as a 90g firecracker and is now coming up on a 1000g sweetheart. the nice thing about snappy babies is that they make good eaters! hahaha. you can read about our woes in the first few pages.

for handling: start out regularly, like 3x/week with 5 to 10min handling sessions. keep them short, sweet and simple, and end on a positive note. over time, you'll hopefully notice her relax more easily and you can slowly increase handling time.

when it comes to a particularly nippy babe, i share this video from Justin Kobylka: https://youtu.be/S7DQssbM0uk

this worked for me and Coffee Bewn like a charm, and it was suggested to me by a fellow member @zina10 with her nippy baby Arjana. you will get conflicting info because all snakes are individuals, so when it comes to behavior there will never been a one-size-fits-all approach.

i hope this all helped!!!

[Alilliaan]

The only issue on the husbandry side that might be a problem is an oversized home. I know he doesn't need a 50 gallon terrarium but it's what I had at the time. Like I said, he was an emergency case as far as I was concerned when I saw him. Even his nose is a little beat up from hitting the glass so often when he tried to strike.

His hot spot is holding at only 85 degrees with a red heat bulb ( He repediatly strikes at ceramic no light bulbs) However that is ambient air temperature. Heat gun shows 90-92 degrees at his level thanks to the uth. Cool side is 80 degrees ambient with 78 degrees at his level. Humidity is currently at 55 percent which I raised slowly over the last couple of days. I didn't want to shock him from dry desert air right into subtropic conditions.

He has a cluttered tank so it doesn't feel like a football field. 3 hides spread throughout the cool, middle, and warm spots. 2 water dishes, one cool, one warm. Lots of moss and various (snake safe!) Branches to hide under or crawl on top of.

To limit reflections and hold heat I have covered all but the front glass panel with natural wood boards so it did not feel so open to him. I think that has helped the most with stopping the strikes at the glass.

[Hannahshissyfix]

I've had plenty of snappy hatchlings that with no handling at all besides during cleanings/health checks that just naturally chill out after a few hundred grams. This species is so docile you really dont need to put yourself on a handling schedule unless its just to make sure you dont over handle.

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[Dianne]

I’ve also recently acquired 3 hatchling balls this year - 2 purchased on 7/21/18, both hatched in July as well (lemonblast and pied), and a 2-3 month old BEL purchased on 8/25/18. I haven’t had much in the way of nippiness, just a couple of non-contact lunges from Belle, my lemonblast. What I did have was feeding issues with Belle, so I haven’t been handling her unless I need to clean the cage.

When I do handle her, it’s not more than 5 minutes before I put her back in her cage. She’s eaten live fuzzies consecutively for the last 3 weeks, but because I had her a month before she would eat, I’m keeping handling to a minimum. The other two are handled for just a few minutes every week or so, 5-10 minutes tops. They were nervous at first, tense and balled up, but all of them are now much calmer. They’re still very still when I first pick them up, but quickly start cruising around with tongue flicks at everything.

My main goal is to let them have brief interaction to teach them that I’m not a threat. As they get a little larger and are eating regularly, I’ll handle them for longer periods but still only once per week, usually on the weekend. I feed them on Wednesday, when the live feeders come in. That gives them time to digest before handling, then uninterrupted quiet time before feeding time rolls around again.

[Bogertophis]

The only issue on the husbandry side that might be a problem is an oversized home. I know he doesn't need a 50 gallon terrarium but it's what I had at the time. Like I said, he was an emergency case as far as I was concerned when I saw him. Even his nose is a little beat up from hitting the glass so often when he tried to strike.

His hot spot is holding at only 85 degrees with a red heat bulb ( He repediatly strikes at ceramic no light bulbs) However that is ambient air temperature. Heat gun shows 90-92 degrees at his level thanks to the uth. Cool side is 80 degrees ambient with 78 degrees at his level. Humidity is currently at 55 percent which I raised slowly over the last couple of days. I didn't want to shock him from dry desert air right into subtropic conditions.

He has a cluttered tank so it doesn't feel like a football field. 3 hides spread throughout the cool, middle, and warm spots. 2 water dishes, one cool, one warm. Lots of moss and various (snake safe!) Branches to hide under or crawl on top of.

To limit reflections and hold heat I have covered all but the front glass panel with natural wood boards so it did not feel so open to him. I think that has helped the most with stopping the strikes at the glass.

First of all, it's wonderful to have you with us...you are a very caring owner, it's totally obvious! And from all you've described, I wouldn't worry about
the size of the cage...after all, they survive in nature too. The main thing is places to hide and the right temperatures & humidity.

I would suggest not handling & interacting with him until he has fed easily at proper intervals for at least 3 meals (each being about a week apart so that means avoid
handling for the first 3-4 weeks while he settles in & lets his instincts guide him). After that, be patient & use common sense, based on his reactions...snakes all have
their own personalities IMO, perhaps based on the experiences they've had so far plus their genetic make-up. Excellent move covering much of the glass...

Much as I hate to give any support to pet stores that fall short of good care, I'll admit I've bought a few for the same reason you did. Welcome!

[Alilliaan]

Thanks for the advice!

Under normal circumstances I certainly wouldn't handle the baby before three feeds or at least two weeks.

The only reason I have been handling (though very little it's still a handle so it counts) is for health checks. I don't have any access to an exotic vet in my area sadly. I have a great local snake community. We all rally every month and swap ideas and the such, we consider ourselves "vet techs" from the school of hard knocks considering a reputable vet for reptiles is a 2 hour drive in which I've never had to make for a sick scale baby. I wouldn't even know how to maintain temps and humidity for such a long period of time he'd be out of his tank.

I have handled him for the soul purpose of keeping an eye on his banged up nose. There's a itty bitty patch there that might cause a problem in the future when he tries to shed.

I'm also keeping an eye on a couple rough spots that aren't visable but noticable by texture when you do handle. I've ruled out mites and scale rot. It's almost like at some point in the pet shop he had tape on him? I noticed they did have taped up fake plants INSIDE some of the other display cases. I REEMED them a new one on the dangers of snakes and tape.

Whatever I can do to make these health checks as stress free and enjoyable for him I will do.