BP's and newborn human safety...

Yeah. Ball Pythons don't eat people. It's pretty simple.

Don't starve your snake and I think the baby will be completely safe, and hopefully grow up without an irrational fear of these beautiful animals.

Grandparents can be over reactive, My mom threw a total hissy fit when my daughter was born and I didn't get rid of my cat.
She almost stroked out when she found out that the cat started sleeping with my daughter when she was about 6 months old.

The bottom line is it's your baby, as long as your reptiles are securely housed, no worries.

Congrats on the new baby :)

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

Please don't bring issues about Burmese Pythons into a thread about potential dangers of Ball Pythons. They are two completely different things and should not be related due to risk of confusion.

There has not been a case of a ball python killing a human being.

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I am well aware of the difference and I understand they should not be related. I was using it as an example to exemplify my point in that it is safer to have a snake than a dog because statistics show hundreds of incidents involving dogs in a year to one incident involving a snake. I was not in anyway saying a ball python was involved.

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Originally Posted by 55Ballin

I am well aware of the difference and I understand they should not be related. I was using it as an example to exemplify my point in that it is safer to have a snake than a dog because statistics show hundreds of incidents involving dogs in a year to one incident involving a snake. I was not in anyway saying a ball python was involved.

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And there's thousands of cases of children being killed by their own parents every year. Of course a dog is going to be more of a risk than a snake, snakes aren't as commonly kept, snakes aren't loose roaming around the house like a dog, etc. Any number of things can be a risk to a child, I wouldn't be concerned about a BP, there's many ways to secure a cage and zero reason why an infant should ever be around a pet snake IMO. Be responsible, keep your snake area clean and locked up and no problem.

much appreciated everyone! it's kind of hard proving a negative. there seems to be no documentation on ball pythons and babies because, well, there's nothing to document.

so, if i had any doubts at all they have been eliminated. i will lock my rack though it's more for their peace of mind...but that's worth the little effort.

thanks all! :gj:

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Originally Posted by llovelace

Congrats on the new baby :)

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thanks!!!!

Congrats on the new Herper. My wife and I are adding a tricycle motor to the family soon as well..

Remember

1: snake turds don't go in mouths.
2: snakes don't in mouths
3: have fun and remember snakes are no more harmful to your baby than they are to you..

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

Congrats on the new Herper. My wife and I are adding a tricycle motor to the family soon as well..

Remember

1: snake turds don't go in mouths.
2: snakes don't in mouths
3: have fun and remember snakes are no more harmful to your baby than they are to you..

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thanks!! great words of wisdom. i think i'll show that to all of these concerned grandparents (the little fart has 8 grandparents/great grandparents! - i mean, lucky kid, but 8?) and, oh yes, he is a future herper. congrats on your new one!!!!

A boa did kill a man in Papillion, NE (near me) recently. It was accidental. The man had a habit of carrying the snake draped around his neck constantly. He took it out to show it off to a girlfriend, put it around his neck, and the snake got nervous and tightened up. It cut off his airway. The girlfriend was useless, so nothing was done until paramedics arrived, and it was too late.

The boa's going to the Henry Doorly zoo, thankfully it wasn't euthanized, as it was clear that no aggression was intended. It was only about 8.5 feet long.

The 8 foot rule for constrictors should always, ALWAYS be respected. If it's over 8 feet, don't take liberties with it--have someone else who's knowledgeable present when you handle it, or you could wind up as another statistic that's a black mark against those who keep large constrictors. Any constrictor over 8 feet needs to be kept in a locked cage. It IS a potentially dangerous animal. Incidents may be rare, but the only way to keep them rare is to follow safe handling practices...and don't put constrictors around your NECK.

But no, to the best of my knowledge, there hasn't been an incident with a ball python. I heard a RUMOR years ago that some guy put a big female ball around his neck while cleaning cages in a cold basement, and it tightened up and cut off blood flow in his carotid artery, killing him--but I have never seen any documentation to verify it.

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

A boa did kill a man in Papillion, NE (near me) recently. It was accidental. The man had a habit of carrying the snake draped around his neck constantly. He took it out to show it off to a girlfriend, put it around his neck, and the snake got nervous and tightened up. It cut off his airway. The girlfriend was useless, so nothing was done until paramedics arrived, and it was too late.

The boa's going to the Henry Doorly zoo, thankfully it wasn't euthanized, as it was clear that no aggression was intended. It was only about 8.5 feet long.

The 8 foot rule for constrictors should always, ALWAYS be respected. If it's over 8 feet, don't take liberties with it--have someone else who's knowledgeable present when you handle it, or you could wind up as another statistic that's a black mark against those who keep large constrictors. Any constrictor over 8 feet needs to be kept in a locked cage. It IS a potentially dangerous animal. Incidents may be rare, but the only way to keep them rare is to follow safe handling practices...and don't put constrictors around your NECK.

But no, to the best of my knowledge, there hasn't been an incident with a ball python. I heard a RUMOR years ago that some guy put a big female ball around his neck while cleaning cages in a cold basement, and it tightened up and cut off blood flow in his carotid artery, killing him--but I have never seen any documentation to verify it.

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No matter what the cause, once anything constricts you so that your artery blood flow to the brain is cut off completely, you have only about 2-3 seconds of conciseness to resolve the issue. Once you are unconscious, if the the blood flow remains restricted you only have 3-4 minutes to live.

This applies to rope, snakes, or human beings trying to strangle you.

Just something to keep in mind when it comes to having something, anything that could potential effect a strangle around your neck. It isnt a large amount of time and the more you struggle without relief the closer you will be to the 2 seconds.