Are ball pythons a domesticated species?

Ball Pythons rarely bite because generally speaking they're a snake with a nice disposition.

They are not domestic :confused:

They're not "tame" and they're not social animals either. They are no different from the ones you find in the wild; they haven't acclimated to human care.

BPs are not domesticated, nor are they tame. Don't confuse docile with tame. Young ones do tolerate handling very well, and many older ones even seem to enjoy it, but being easy going is in their nature.

I say no because I could never trust snakes to not bite someone. Dogs, cats, even rats, you have a pretty good idea of their likeliness to bite. For example, I was about 90% sure my rat wouldn't bite someone and in her three years and several kids that played with her, she never bit anyone. A snake on the other hand, ANY kind of snake, you don't have those odds. You can never really trust them not to strike at someone, and depending on the size of both the snake and the person getting bit, it can be very dangerous. The size thing goes for any kind of animal, but people are much more willing to forgive a dog than a snake.

Also, they aren't looking for human companionship like cats, dogs, horses, rats, etc. They could care less if they ever saw you again, and they most definitely don't come find you for a good pet.

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Originally Posted by Slim

but being easy going is in their nature.

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I do think that is confused for being "domesticated".

One thing I have noticed with my carpet is that he always comes to me instead of anybody else. They're not going to miss you, love you, etc., but they'll recognize you.

People that tell me their snakes are domesticated and love them... I just tell them to leave the tub open when they leave for work and see if the snake is there waiting for them when they get home...

I know. Doesn't compute into domestic, but I like the analogy. :rolleyes:

I didn't vote, but no. Not domestic.

But I do think my idea of heaven would be to come home and have 45 snakes at the door waiting for me! :O

While I love my snakes, and I'd like to think that they love me back, I'm not naive either. Snakes, whether balls or pit vipers are not domesticated. I personally don't believe any animal is truly ever domesticated, but that's another topic entirely. They're wild animals that tolerate our presence. That's why I continuously tell people, "You deserved to be bitten. You done screwed up, kid." We put ourselves in these situations with these animals that're compromising, and then gasp and look in awe at the blood on our fingers when we're bitten. C'mon. We're smarter than that. We know deep down in our hearts that these animals are wild, that we haven't domesticated them, and every day we're not bitten is a sign that we're tolerable enough.

The moment you stop realizing your snake is a wild animal might be the day that you get tagged. We need to have respect for these animals. Respect and admiration. Many of the Africans do. They stand in awe of ball pythons. Why don't we?

And...I'm done ranting. O_o

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Originally Posted by Melicious

C'mon. We're smarter than that. We know deep down in our hearts that these animals are wild, that we haven't domesticated them, and every day we're not bitten is a sign that we're tolerable enough.

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That's the problem. Most people don't know that.

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Originally Posted by southb

I don't think you can really use a clip from wikipedia on this one. Tamed yes, domesticated........not so sure. My pythons will not strike or bite me, but you take one from the wilds of Africa, would it be more inclined to do that? Maybe.......at least my wild boas are always pissed off and the ones I've raised are very nice. And if the posts above is correct, what do you say to a dog that turns on it's owner? I'm riding the fence lol.

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I say some owners suck at canine husbandry. Dogs require a pecking order. If you do not dominate your dog your dog will dominate you. That covers a large section of those that get bit by dogs. Just because they are domesticated doesn't mean they didn't descend from wolves. Some people will continue to piss off their dog until they get bit. Not that dogs fault. As for the remaining cases where "the dog just went crazy." I call bull feces. Something caused that dog to snap. Dogs have an overly developed sense of smell. You don't like smelly candles, how do you think your dog feels. You may like that device you bought at walmart that is suppose to scare of insects but guess what. It does so by emitting high frequency loud noise that pisses dogs and young kids who haven't lost their upper range of hearing to adult hood. There is something that you can't or won't see that made that dog turn. What makes a dog domesticated is the fact that a dog will pick up a bird in its mouth gently and bring it back to you. A dog will fight to protect a lamb that he could be eating from his ancestors who still want to eat lamb for dinner, because it makes a human happy. Right up until it turns on you a dog will even take a beating for no good reason and not bite you.

If any snake can be considered domesticated, I'd say that ball pythons are right up there near the top. If they're not actually domesticated yet, they're well on their way to being so.