Need more tips for making snake less afraid

[CakeLike]

Hey it's me again. My mission is to get my ball python to a point where he is not afraid of handling.
I am already using a pillow case for him to hide when he is oout and it seems he does get a little more mellow when he is inside. But I am not sure this will be enough since I encounter the same kind of problem again. When he doesn't want to come out I have to go in there and get him out (gently). And then I am reinforcing his fear again. I have to admit I am kind of tired and am losing my patience.
It feels like I am doing something we both don't enjoy. He doesn't want to be afraid and I don't want to make him afraid of me.

Of course want to handle him and interact with him. That's why I got a BP because everyone said they are chill snakes and easy to handle.
But even if he just doesn't change I won't abandon him of course, he has touched my heart already even if he is a moody little scaredy pants.
It just be so much more rewarding to have him if we could get along better. It has gotteb to the point where I dread taking him out because I fear every time he wil get more scared instead of less.
He is also very afraid of falling of my hand and he sometimes bends his body and muscles really awkardly to grip onto my hand.
And keep in mind I am really trying to support him well.

It's just so frustrating seeing all these people on youtube handling their snakes and the snakes are so chill and don't move much even though the people are not really gentle and carefull. They grip them with nor care and the snakes don't bat an eye.
And I am trying so hard but it's not working well.

Do you have more ideas to make a scared snake become a chill snake. I know some are just like that, but try we can.

I am also dreading the move in his new cage if that's gonna freak him out more.

[Hugsplox]

I think you need to refocus on changing your behavior instead of his. Your BP gets absolutely nothing from being handled. If you never touched that snake he would live a long happy life with no negative effects. You're the only one getting anything out of him being handled. Your whole post mentions problems with you, YOU feel like it would be more rewarding, YOU dread taking him out, YOU'RE frustrated seeing other people handling their snakes. You have to remember that you are a giant predator picking him up out of his home. You have to remember that the home you have him in is also causing problems per your other posts, so not only do you have him in an enclosure where he's constantly having some sort of issue, you're also trying to handle him without fixing any of the other issues that you have.

Why don't you just take a break from handling? Get his new enclosure set up, get him moved in, and leave him alone for a little while. Then once he's settled in start slowly handling again and expect the process to take time. Time and patience is what you need here, nothing else.

[Malum Argenteum]

Your snake may simply turn out to be one that doesn't tolerate handling well (and that's all that's going on is bare toleration, although likely the mental stimulation is good for those specimens that need it for whatever reason). Certain species do have certain general behavior patterns, but there will be many exceptions.

It could be, though, that the snake is completely overwhelmed by all the stimuli. Reading back on your posts to get a feel for things, you've noticed (and got in the snake's face to investigate) more things about your snake in a couple months than I have in the 10+ years I've had mine. This isn't entirely a bad thing -- it is very good to be watchful. It just may be that the snake does not appreciate all the intrusion.

Most of my snakes (rosy boas, rainbow boas, kingsnakes) get handled every couple weeks, and for a few minutes, usually just as a wellness check. More often than that, or for a longer time period, makes them apparently uncomfortable. My rainbow fired a warning shot at me recently (only the second in the six or so years I've had him) when I took him to an expo as a show off animal -- too much stress.

If it is in a "display" sort of enclosure it might be suspected that there's a feeling of lack of security by the snake that is a compounding factor. I can't speak to BPs with much experience on this matter, but many other species really do seem to appreciate the security of a dark-ish, non-transparent enclosure (not to say that there aren't some downsides to tubs and such).

If this aspect is worth investigating, it would be useful to post photos of the enclosure (not links to Instagram, hopefully, for those of us who don't use it).

[Bogertophis]

Agree 100% with the above responses. CakeLike, if you want a pet that is more responsive & interactive with you, perhaps you've picked the wrong species altogether. Snakes have a lot going for them, but you have to remember they're not "domestic" animals- that means that you take them on THEIR terms as the natural creatures that they are. Some are easier to socialize with than others, but there is much you need to learn, especially patience. Most of us enjoy watching our snakes, as well as the fact that they're NOT pets that demand so much from us, the way dogs & cats do.

I also think that by watching Youtube videos, you're missing the point that those videos are edited, and also designed to get "likes": they've obviously raised your expectations. I got into snakes before there were such things as Youtube videos, and I learned by watching MY snakes. There is no substitute for experience- REAL experience, YOUR experience. When you handle a snake, they're focused on how your touch feels to them- they judge you to either be a predator or some other harmless creature. It takes empathy, & I'm not sure that can be taught.

[Homebody]

Hey it's me again. My mission is to get my ball python to a point where he is not afraid of handling.
I am already using a pillow case for him to hide when he is oout and it seems he does get a little more mellow when he is inside. But I am not sure this will be enough since I encounter the same kind of problem again. When he doesn't want to come out I have to go in there and get him out (gently). And then I am reinforcing his fear again. I have to admit I am kind of tired and am losing my patience.
It feels like I am doing something we both don't enjoy. He doesn't want to be afraid and I don't want to make him afraid of me.

It's a worthwhile goal to teach your bp not to be afraid of you, but to enjoy handing may be asking too much. My bp never enjoyed handling, he tolerated it, sort of. During a typical handling, I would remove him from his enclosure and put him on my shoulders. He would slowly try to get down. Just before I felt he was going to fall, I would put him back on my shoulders. Over and over. If I sat while handling him, he always tried to get away. He didn't leave quickly, but slowly. He didn't seem afraid of me. I think he just preferred being someplace else. So, I let him go and got my enjoyment from watching him; trying to predict where he would go and why. I was somewhat surprised to discover that I enjoyed this more than handling.

[Bogertophis]

It's a worthwhile goal to teach your bp not to be afraid of you, but to enjoy handing may be asking too much. My bp never enjoyed handling, he tolerated it, sort of. During a typical handling, I would remove him from his enclosure and put him on my shoulders. He would slowly try to get down. Just before I felt he was going to fall, I would put him back on my shoulders. Over and over. If I sat while handling him, he always tried to get away. He didn't leave quickly, but slowly. He didn't seem afraid of me. I think he just preferred being someplace else. So, I let him go and got my enjoyment from watching him; trying to predict where he would go and why. I was somewhat surprised to discover that I enjoyed this more than handling.

I think you've hit on something. Consider that our captive snakes live in some sort of enclosure most of their lives- that's not how they evolved to live. If your folks kept you locked in your bedroom all your life, or at least until you became a young adult, wouldn't YOU be inclined to explore when you got the chance? Nothing personal...

Even when snakes aren't afraid of us, it's also not "natural" for them to sit still, especially after they've been "exposed" -they're vulnerable to predators when out in the open or moving around.

[KMG]

It's a Ball and that's pretty much how they are. Mine hides if I go in the tank. I pull her out.... She balls up. After a few minutes she relaxes and hangs around with me without issue. That's just how she is. I don't try to change it, don't think it can be changed, and don't care to change it. It's in her nature and I don't care to fight with nature. I'm not hurting her and she's not doing anything uncommon so I don't see it as a problem.

[Armiyana]

If it is in a "display" sort of enclosure it might be suspected that there's a feeling of lack of security by the snake that is a compounding factor. I can't speak to BPs with much experience on this matter, but many other species really do seem to appreciate the security of a dark-ish, non-transparent enclosure (not to say that there aren't some downsides to tubs and such).

If this aspect is worth investigating, it would be useful to post photos of the enclosure (not links to Instagram, hopefully, for those of us who don't use it).

I think this is also important.
I tried to keep my first 'fancy' BP in a display enclosure. My super pastel lesser spider. It was a DISASTER. She was constantly striking at the glass when anything moved in the room. She wasn't eating. She was coiled up on the highest perch in total defense mode. Even after trying to put paper over the window, she would go back to defensive as soon as it was removed. Super defensive when taken out too. Always snapping.
We moved her to a tub and I put my burn rescue snake into the tank. The change is incredible. She is still a defensive ball. But now she will tolerate the occasional handling as a wellness check and not just go into instant defense strikes. No more bopping her nose on EVERYTHING. And she's the best feeder in my collection. The other snake is chill and just hides out most of the time. Sometimes periscopes if he's feeling adventurous. Always takes his meals.

There really is so much that can be ignored. Sometimes what we think is best for these animals or what we want these animals to be are entirely different from what they actually want. It's up to you to really put your animals needs before your own.
I really think given your posts that you want so much for your snake, but there's still so many signs that something isn't quite right. Until your animal is absolutely comfortable in the enclosure, I don't think you'll have any success in handling. If your snake is still injuring and scratching itself in the enclosure, something isn't right. You need to take baby steps and fix one thing at a time. preferable the habitat as that is where your snake will feel safest and spend the most of its days.

[Caitlin]

I do a lot of behavioral work and training with all of my snakes, so I hope I can offer a bit of helpful advice. First, every snake is different - as several folks have already pointed out, Ball Pythons are on the shy end of the temperament scale, so helping a Ball Python habituate to becoming a family pet may be a very different experience than working with a more naturally confident and outgoing species.

You got excellent advice about focusing on setting up the best possible enclosure for your snake. Habituation will never happen if a snake is too hot, too cold, or in an environment where it feels unsafe or too exposed. I will say that some enrichment can help - that means not only providing an environmentally complex enclosure, but also including a new item in the enclosure every week or so that the snake can explore and investigate. This doesn't have to be anything fancy: a cardboard tube from a roll of paper towels, a new rock or branch, a small plushy toy (snakes don't play with toys, but they do seem to be intrigued by soft materials). There are a couple of good studies showing that snakes provided with these opportunities are more resilient, less prone to stressful behaviors, more apt to explore, and faster learners than snakes without.

Most snakes - even a very shy Ball Python - can come around to not only accepting handling but even become more curious, outgoing, and interactive IF you are patient and let the snake gradually adjust to you on its own terms.

I don't ascribe to the common approach of 'just reach in, confidently grab them, and make them accept handling'. Instead I use a strategy called choice-based handling. After two years now of using this approach with a variety of snakes, including some very shy and defensive individuals, I can say that this approach, though it requires patience, will richly reward you. I'll link a video below by my snake training mentor, Lori Torrini, on the initial steps in choice-based handling. Check it out and see if it's something you might be interested in trying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ljt...el=LoriTorrini

[Albert Clark]

Remember always that these are captive reptiles with wild instincts. Their DNA is wired and programmed to be wild. They absolutely are individuals with varying amounts of tolerance. The younger they are the more they will be defensive. The proper environment for them to thrive is crucial on how they will respond as well adjusted adults.