Signs of stress while handling?

What are the obvious signs of stress while they are being handled?
If they are eating fine.

As in staying in a ball? Flickering tongue? tense body? etc?

I know sometimes when Fang is being held at first he is in a ball and then he loosens up and likes to travel my arm. How long have you had him and are you calm while holding the snake?

Balling up, tense "S" striking position, actually striking at people/objects, excessive fleeing, hissing. That's about all I've seen BPs do. From what I've seen/heard, tongue flickering isn't always a stress indicator, it can just be an expression of interest and an attempt to sniff out the surroundings.

I have only been handling him to just handle him for about 2-3 weeks now for 5-15 minute intervals depending of how he reacts. I waited until after his 3rd successful feed to hold him other than to get him out to clean his cage.

I have never seen him strike at anything other than the glass of his cage or a rat on feeding day. Haha he knows when I am bringing him his rat. He hears the hair dryer and sees me walking it over to his cage. As I open the sliding glass door he will strike at the glass.

He has never hissed that I have heard. However he will not let me go to pick him up while he is not in his hide. Or at least I think if I open the doors while he is out and about he immediately goes to a strike pose and if I get close he will slowly raise up higher and higher until I back away. He is in a T8 so I would have to get him from the front of the cage and he makes it impossible to get behind him to pick him up if hes not in his hide.

If I get him out of his hide he will be in a ball and sometimes he will come out of it to wander but is extremely jumpy at any movement in the room. He always is flickering his tongue. He appears to hate to be petted. He constantly pulls that body part away from me if I stroke his body with my thump while balled up in my hand. And sometimes he will loosen up while wandering.

And I'm not afraid to get bitten I just have not picked him up while hes in a strike pose although I kind of want to get bitten to get it over with. Can't be any worse than a bird bite damn those suckers hurt.

He sounds normal to me, over time and handling he will loosen up and eventually not even seem to care that you picked him up. When I first got my Spider Ball, he would jump if anything came towards him especially his head. Now I can pick him up and even stroke his head with out him even flinching. He was my most extreme case but they all went through something similar. When they are small at least their bite hurts far less than a bird bite, in fact the first time I got bit I didn't even realize that it had happened. (only happened 2 times so far with my ball pythons. My carpet python is another story though)

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

He sounds normal to me, over time and handling he will loosen up and eventually not even seem to care that you picked him up.

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Agree. He'll definitely calm down after a while and mellow out. He's still just getting used to it. Just continue gently handling him once in a while, and he should eventually decide it's all right.:gj:

Awesome! this little guy makes me worry about every single thing he does. He even worries me sometimes when he eats. His last feeding 3 days ago he killed the F/T rat 3 times before he went to eat it. Then he spit it out like 5 times before he got it head first and swallowed.

He certainly seems to be used to me watching him now. He used to hide any time he saw movement in the room.(at night) Now while I am up late working on my computer he will roam and I can sit up against the glass and he will come investigate.

And i hope to get bitten soon, hes 270 grams empty now. I don't want my first bite to be when hes much bigger.

Now to get him used to handling. Then start planning for my 2nd haha.

I've said it before and I'll say it again these creatures know how to stress us out like nothing else. it's something that you simply cannot comprehend until you own one.

There are a lot of signs. Many are very subtle, a completely RELAXED snake will tongue flick regularly. The body will have soft parts where the muscle is relaxed loose soft feeling. The breathing is regular, and movements will be smooth and free.

Inquisitive royals add lots of tongue flicks and alert exploration light tension and steady breath. Interested poking about and into things.

Stressed snakes there is often lots of body tension both in muscles in action and not in action. fast jerky movements few tongue flicks and erratic breathing.

Fearful royals are very tense, no tongue flicks. Rarely is there any movement static sometimes balled up or in strike position although I don't use that as an exact judge as it seems to be a 'default' position for them they seem to fall into it easily with or with out tension. Hissing is always a good fear or leave me alone indicator. Rapid irregular breathing too.

I use tension and tongue flicks as keys. No tension with tongue flicks is not a stressed royal generally but a stiff hard body with no tongue flicks is a great deal of stress.