How often do you handle your ball python?

I have had a ball python now for about 7 years. I got Kane in high school and I handled him a lot. He only ever bit one person and that was my best bud Mark but it wasn't that big of a deal. Then several years went by I and I moved off to college and my parents had to take care of my snake. They fed him and watered him but never handled him. The only time he was handled was when I would come home to clean out his cage about once a month. Well this has gone on for about four years. Well I now have a house large enough that I can keep my snake with me so he has moved back in with me to finish out my last year and a half of college and I have started handling him again and now he seems very jerky and nervous. So should I start handling him more or is this a case of an old dog not learning any new tricks?

I think when a snake hasnt been handled, it depends on the snake. It may take a lil time for him to get used to being held, but that's normal if you aren't handled for awhile. Just give him some time to acclimate to your new home, and put some newspaper in his tub/tank to give him more security and just let him feel like you aren't going to harm him when you handle him or are around him.

I handle mine every Sunday for about 20 minutes each depending on their personality. Some like it more than other I got one that hate me more the life itself and some just sit and chill out.

no inappropriate "snake handling" comments Ed?? :P


I voted whenever i get the urge, but also if I notice one being restless or active I'll open the tub and let them out.

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Originally Posted by TekWarren

no inappropriate "snake handling" comments Ed?? :P

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No I leave those up to my wife.. LOL:carrot:

i try to handle all my snakes atleast once or twice a week . some seem quite content to be held while others are a bit skiddish about it . some take longer than others to become "comfortable" with being handled so you just have to have patients with them and keep working with them till they come to know that they arent going to be harmed by you . of course there are some that never settle down and those you just have to accept that in them .

The only days I don't handle my snakes is on feeding day and 2 days after that. When I do have them out it's for 10-15 minutes at a time.


Obviously when they are shedding I leave them alone.

jafis, what a beautiful avatar! soooo clear. i just love it :D

i hold my snakes whenever i feel like it. obviously i don't hold them on feeding day or for two days afterwards, but otherwise... whenever i get the urge.

as for our cornsnakes and kingsnake... i only handle them once they get some size on them. the little corns are just too fast and i have a fear of them getting away so... my hubby handles them while i do their enclosure cleaning, but other than they, they aren't taken out like our boas or ball for 'cuddle' sessions (if i can call them that LOL)

some times they aren't held for a month or two and then they are held every other day for awhile. it varies. no set schedule at all. :P depends on the health of the family (as the flu season has been horrid this year) and what else is around. we have three small kittens in the house right now and i don't feel comfy bringing the snakes out with them around... so since they've arrived, the holding time has diminished considerably. but... as they get older i'll be holding the snakes more as well.

wow, long winded way of not really giving much info eh? LOL

If your snake used to be comfortable with handling and the only thing that has changed is that he has not been handled regularly over a long period of time, I'd be willing to bet that with short, frequent handling sessions, you will be able to regain his trust and he will grow more comfortable to it again.

My girlfriend handles my balls whenever she gets the urge...she gets the urge alot!:lmao:

but on a serious note, I take them out throughout the week to say hello and inspect...But mainly when I get the urge, to feed and/or weigh...