Be honest.....

I have had my female normal since April of 2009. For whatever reason when she strikes she startles me a bit. She is so quick when she strikes that I hardly see it when she does.

My male normal does not startle me at all when he eats (currently on a 7 week hunger strike).

Anyone else have a ball python that startles them a little come feeding day?

lol, yea i have one little girl i just sold that is one mean devil. actually will strike at her cage any time u walk by and even after being bit alot, it never fails for her to scare me.

Hehe, seems like you've got a lemon in your basket of oranges!

I have a few odd personalitys amongst my Balls, one that will strike if you give her the chance and two that thinks they are Puffadders. I just love it when they puff up and hiss like mad, and you just know that they wont do anything. Their bark is worse than their bite so to speak!

Usually my snakes do not scare me when they eat, but recently, my piebald female was on strike. Well, I went to feed her, and now I'm just in the grove of thinking she is not going to eat when "Bam!" she takes it right up.

Just my friends boa. That thing comes out of no where.

The ball pythons do a little wind up so I know its coming. The boa just flies at it without warning.

I feed everyone here f/t off tongs. Every one, every time startles me...lol

I have two females that strike almost the second I pull the tub out. I love it because I can count on them eating though. I feed F/T to all my BP's and I get that little mini-adrenaline rush after each feed. Its a good startle though, considering that means they are eating.

Both of mine startle me from time to time! I feed f/t off tongs, too. My younger snake ambush hunts and you don't think he's going to take it then BAM!!! I jump a little, he he!

My pastel doesn't strike anymore. I have to annoy him for about a minute and then he coils the rat like he actually struck it. It kinda weirds me out.

My cinny, god, she startles me EVERY time. The one time, I was doing the zombie rat dance, and she coiled around the tongs and my hand as well! Last time she was wagging her tail and doing sort of a "scope" and I wasn't paying attention and she ripped the tongs out of my hands.

My friends pinstripe scares me to heck anyways. When its feeding day, he knows. He hisses, he thrashes, he'll strike, and he even constricted my arm one day. When its not feeding day hes the sweetest thing ever, but come feeding day, your dealing with Satan.

Edit: Just adding, we feed f/t to all of our snakes. The odd time I'll get a live mouse or something for my pastel just to get him off of one of his little hunger strikes though.

I don't get startled by any of my ball pythons' movements, but I am continually amazed at how much power they have when they do strike and coil.

I feed F/T rats and was dangling a rat in my adult male's cage (he always strikes and eats quickly) by it's hind leg. He struck and wrapped two or three coils around it so fast that it ripped the leg right out if it's socket. I looked down and found a disgusting bloody rat foot/ankle left in the jaws of my tongs!

It's amazing that these docile animals that hardly ever hint of defensiveness can be so powerful when feeding.