First Time Snake Owner

I purchased an about nine month old ball python from a local breeder about six weeks ago. I have since then upgraded his tank from a 10g to a 20g so that there is room for two hides and a water dish.

He was being fed live small rats and I wanted to switch to f/t but after a month of refusal I gave up and went with live. A day or two before I fed him, he tried to strike me while I was holding him. This was about a week after the conclusion of a bad shed. I now have the tank temps and humidity levels monitored and corrected, but they seem to fluctuate still, and am hoping that the next shed goes more smoothly (cold side: 80-83, hot side: 88-93, humidity: 45-55%). I am using a UTH with thermostat and an Acu-rite thermometer with aspen bedding.

The point of this post was to:

• introduce myself to the community as a middle school science teacher that is a first time snake owner planning to keep him at school (thoughts on classroom with kids daily vs lab with kids weekly?)
• tell you that my BP's name is Fibonacci (after the mathematician)
• ask for some pointers on getting past being timid to hold him now that he struck at me a few times

Don't worry about it. You will get bit at some point. It doesn't hurt.

If hes that nervous just around you thats probably not the snake i would pick to be a classroom pet lol. It could be just from the bad shed and him being timid but it also may be something he never grows out of. I would keep him away from interaction with kids until you get to know him. Once you get to know your snake youll be able to judge whether or not he'd be a good ambassador to use in the classsroom.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

If hes that nervous just around you thats probably not the snake i would pick to be a classroom pet lol. It could be just from the bad shed and him being timid but it also may be something he never grows out of. I would keep him away from interaction with kids until you get to know him. Once you get to know your snake youll be able to judge whether or not he'd be a good ambassador to use in the classsroom.

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Same.
Don't let anybody else hold him until he calms down and is used to being handled, once they're used to being handled they're usually fine. My buddy has a 13' albino burmese python that is a complete SWEETHEART with kids, now imagine having that as a classroom pet :P

I think that he might have struck because of an impending shed. His eyes were not that noticeably milky then, but were definitely so later that evening. I am not intending on students holding him any time soon (and not many of them at that. It would be an after school kind of thing with select students). Any suggestions on time of day to hold him, how long to hold him in one sitting or how soon before/after feeding?

I had a teacher that used to keep corn snakes in the classroom. It was awesome, maybe that is what sparked
my hidden reptile obsession! Ha, I think it's a great idea and I wish you the best of luck!

P.S. Welcome to bp.net and a great hobby :)


-M

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I am looking forward to fostering an interest in snakes with my students. This thread make me want to try and take him out to hold him now...

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Originally Posted by chet1028

Don't worry about it. You will get bit at some point. It doesn't hurt.

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^^^ This. Bound to happen at some time for most. Just posted about this part elsewhere and copying and pasting: Mine struck at me the first time I handled it during pick up at the breeder's. It was a good learning experience though; the breeder showed me that when they are being outwardly defensive like that, bumping the area most people call the "nose" very lightly (a slight brush is enough) will cause them to ball up or retreat. This definitely works like a charm (for myself anyway). I've also read (on here) about stroking the scales lightly as kind of a "Hey, I'm here don't bite me" statement helps. Bring your hand in under them for pick up at a part of their body where their head is not facing. I use a combo of all of this depending up his position as situation and haven't had another strike, hiss, etc. I'm sure my time will come eventually though lol. Slow movement during handling helps and when redirecting movement (trying to snug down between the sofa cushions), I find hand under the snake or coming from behind the head works well. You'll get over the timidness... it's par for the course at first. :) This is a great info source, especially for 1st hand experience type of stuff that you can't find in online caresheets and such. I would (personally) keep the snake as a weekly "treat" for the kiddos. Reasoning behind that is that a) BPs are fairly shy and like their solitude. Not usually recommended to keep their habitat in a high traffic area... b) getting to see the snake once a week will keep the children's fascination longer. I know my kiddo gets bored with most things quickly unless it's a rarer treat than an every day thing. JMO. After feeding, it's good to wait 2-3 days before handling. I can only bare 2 days (I'm impatient lol) but haven't had any regurge or anything due to that time frame. Works for me. :cool:

Epic Name for a BP at School! :cool:

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I thought that somebody would enjoy the name. Thanks.

As for the rest, I think that I just need to start holding him and stop over thinking it. I will try tomorrow a few hours before attempting to feed him. Maybe I can even get a few pics if he is in a photogenic mood.

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