Is BP Head-Shyness curable?

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Well, since head shyness is not an illness, it really cannot be "cured".

That being said, most of my adult ball pythons that are handled regularly are not head shy very much. They will always pull their heads away when touched because they don't have any arms to protect themselves. No I do not touch their heads on purpose to make them less head shy.

Its a survival mechanism. Just don't let it bother you.

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Probably the most direct post in the thread. BP's are shy and they don't think like dogs, cats. To them we're a potential predator. Look at it this way, if you were that small and you had this big gigantic heat source reaching for your head would you not pull away?

I agree that it depends on the age/size, and its comfort level with handling. Magnus was super headshy as a baby, naturally, but after lots of handling and trust building between him and I, one of his favorite things to do is nuzzle up between my fingers. I also notice that he's much more tense when it's not myself handling him-- for example, it took some time before he quit jerking away with my boyfriend. It's a familiarity and trust thing.

Once they realize that you're not out to eat them, it flows naturally after that. And every snake has its own comfort level. You may have one snake who pushes its head against your entire arm with no qualms, and another who won't be able to handle a shadow passing it for its entire lifespan.

^^I should add that I never forced him into learning to not jerk away. There was no conditioning that way by touching his head intentionally or anything of the sort. He just became comfortable with it when he hit about 250g, and now he doesn't really care at all unless I surprise him. I always let him know i'm moving that way though, brushing lightly up his neck before reaching the top of his head, if I have any purpose to at all. Usually I just let him slide between my fingers.

Mine is very head shy,soi just don't touch his head,it's that simple..I hold him every other day for like 5-10 mins and put him back in his enclosure,wherehe is plenty happy and curious and adventurous.