Temperaments based on Morphs, Parents, etc.

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Originally Posted by queenelvis82

I heard that Albinos tend to be more temperamental than other snakes because of the T negative gene. Did anybody else hear of this?

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i've never heard of it, and i have an albino that is very passive. i can't get a reaction out of it (except when i soak her, which she seems to hate). it never balls up, never strikes. very docile and LAZY. it won't even eat unless food is at the hide entrance.


spiders have good feeding response, but spook too easy when young. mine always ball up as soon as a rat sniffs at them. they seem to outgrow this though, as none of the adults are food shy.


i observed that aggression is influenced by husbandry more than anything else. a snake that is often petted is more docile than one that is never handled.

Think there is an effect on temperament from keeping them in tanks vs. tubs?

I watched the Snakebytes video a few years back and found it interesting. My sister who bred BP's had many morphs and her cinnamons, mojaves, and even pastaves were all very defensive as hatchlings and adults. Spiders were always more docile and so were the other lighter morphs which I found strange. And my current piebald is the most relaxed snake I ever encountered and I've been around hundreds of snakes. He is just so calm and lazy like Brian states in his video. Maybe there is some truth connecting colors and hormones.


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Originally Posted by kmp115

Think there is an effect on temperament from keeping them in tanks vs. tubs?

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Bearing in mind that the plural of anecdote is not data...

Just over a year ago we got an adult male normal that was a mess - stuck shed, thin, multiple retained eyecaps, etc. At the time we hadn't built any racks so he went into a 40-breeder with a UTH on a t-stat, covered top to maintain humidity, hides, cypress mulch, etc. Typical tank setup. We could pull him out, fool with him, hold him, and he wouldn't fuss about it. He was also eating, shedding, pooping, and acting like a normal laid back ball python.

Months later we had built a rack with 41-qt tubs, and he was moved into it. Within a few weeks he was hissing, racing to the back of the tub, or diving into his hide every time we checked on him, and he continues to do so. He does NOT like to come out of there, though once he's out he's fine to handle.

Although I'm willing to bet that behavior is likely genetic to a degree, I disagree that morphs probably have anything to do with it considering the large amount of owners who refute this notion, with the exception of spiders. It makes sense that spiders would be an exception to this rule as the mutation that causes this pattern is well known for altering the neurological make up of the animals as well. On another note, hearing that are spiders are goofy and good eaters, I'd be happy if someone could elaborate as this has me interested. :)

This being said, I'd be interested to hear if anyone has attempted to selectively breed for temperament or personality alone. While ball pythons are hardly aggressive by any means, it's clear there are many they are just born as nervous animals and who will occasionally bite and are greatly stressed by handling. (For one, I own such an animal.) This kind of temperament may not be preferred as it may deteriorate the pet quality for some owners who want a calmer snake who won't become as stressed, or for someone who wants to observe the elaborate personality traits and possible miniscule amounts of intelligence that calm and confident ball pythons will display as they spend much less time in a 'flight or fight' mode and more time inquisitively exploring their environment, mostly without a care in the world. To go on, my first BP who I had since she was a little worm, known as the infamous Boots that I've occasionally mentioned, has always had a wonderful personality even since being a hatchling. She is hardly head shy, rarely flinching if her head is touched, and doesn't often show any signs of flight or fight behaviors as she mostly just calmly cruises about or lounges around. (Get her calm enough and she might just gift you with last week's rat and may even let you know how hydrated she's been lately. haha ;)) Temperament wise, she is a perfect pet and comparative to how some users describe their boas, in addition to never having defensively struck at me or anyone else. (I don't own a boa yet so I will not make the claim they are the same.)
In the future, I hope to look into not only dinking around with her pattern, as she appears to be a Harlequin, and a nice example at that, but with her personality as well. Whenever I can find a male who shows the same personality traits she has, mainly being extremely tolerant and calm during interaction and handling and nearly impossible to provoke as it seems, I will look into pairing the two once they reach an appropriate size. Imagine how nice it would be to add being 'tame out of the egg' to all your breeding projects without any effort to handle grouchy hatchlings? ;) In addition to being beautiful in appearance, they would also have a beautiful disposition to boot and likely add the bonus of being perfect ambassadors for educational programs!

And have I mentioned how lovely she is to interact with? Always going on an adventure; all I have to do is wake her up and leave the lid of the enclosure a crack open- as soon as she sees it, she makes a beeline for the exit and crawls right out of her cage on her own.

Anyway, throwing my input out there.

I am just wondering that in SOME cases (please don't throw rocks!) that we may be talking Self-Fulfilled Prophecy here.

What I mean is the the Black Dog Syndrome. Most people have grown to believe that black dogs are more aggressive.

Example: we had Sable colored Collies for 20 yrs running freely in the front yard. They stayed in the yard. Walkers would come by and pet "Lassie", the all American dog.

A few years ago, we get a black Collie. You guessed it. Walkers moved over to the other side of the street, they would not come pet the dog. Same breed, same sweet temperament.

I would probably be guilty of the same.

Im just wondering if our brains possibly cross this type of thinking over to other animals as well?

To add: have you been around those ignorant of snakes and when they see any Black or Brown water snake they yell out "Water Moccasin!"?