New Ball python owner

Hey guys. Names Chase, I hope to be in these forums quite often and try to help as much as I can. I recently picked up a Ball python from a pet shop. It's a captive bred ball, I was present for a live feeding, and its an 09 baby, born in january of '10. I havent measured him/her yet as it's still getting used to the enclosure and being handled by me. I had been reading up on EVERYTHING possible on google. I'd google "Ball python care" and just start at the first link.

Here's my question. Everything says that it should grip your hand firmly. My snake (Twist) Doesn't "grip" my hand with any part of his body. I fully support his weight. His tongue flicks actively (every 1-2 seconds) and he doesnt strike at me as often. I've had him since Tuesday and I've been handling him daily for about 10 minutes.

Is this something to be worried about? He actively explores my bed and every space under my pillows / blanket and doesnt have any IR signs.

Also, I just fed him yesterday (Friday as I havent slept yet) and he's been sitting in his low temp hide house. I've yet to see him in his high temp hide which is more seclusive, custom one I made with some water moss inside a box with a small hole cut out on top.

Should I worry about this as well? He ate readily and had a very fast response, and was live fed.

Thanks for any help ahead of time
chase

Well I'll start off with just a couple things. Everyone on here says you should leave them alone for a week so they can get used to their surroundings.

Second this varies slightly but the general consensus is 90-93 hot side 80-82 cool side.

Third if you have different hides (as opposed to identical ones) he may choose between hides instead of the temperature he needs.

Last (for now) you don't need to worry about him grabbing on to you at all sometimes he may just be content to chill in your hands.

Hope that helps

Seth

Thanks. I was just reading a little further into the forums and saw a similar post about where they want to rest and digest food. I was just worried something was up.

Chase

Oh yeah also you should give them 48 hours after each feeding. This is definitely the right place to learn! You should check out the ball python care sheet

Here's a quick picture of him. Looks like a normal to me but if anyone else has a theory, feel free to throw it out there. :P

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../6/1/twist.jpg

deffinatly a normal and a very pretty one at that! are you sure of the sex? or are youjust assuming its a male?:D:rolleye2:

I have no idea about the sex as I never asked (it doesn't matter to me. It's my first and as thus is a gateway to potentially seeking more snakes) I was just really set on having one. So why do I need to know the sex? It's not going to change how I handle it. Think of it like a car. It's neither male nor female, but you love to touch it when you're near it, and you see it daily. It makes you happy. Thats what I plan on twist doing for me as well.. till he's 5ft and constricts my arm. :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Twist

I have no idea about the sex as I never asked (it doesn't matter to me. It's my first and as thus is a gateway to potentially seeking more snakes) I was just really set on having one. So why do I need to know the sex? It's not going to change how I handle it. Think of it like a car. It's neither male nor female, but you love to touch it when you're near it, and you see it daily. It makes you happy. Thats what I plan on twist doing for me as well.. till he's 5ft and constricts my arm. :(

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lol well we'll see about that, once you buy one your gunna have to buy another lmao. its almost addicting in a sence.....:snake::snake::snake: and the only reason i askedif you knew the sex is because i didnt know your intentions with the snake.... well good luck and welcome to the addiction...........:rolleye2:

Sorry if I came off rude haha. But it's really not a priority for me to breed it. It's my first and thus, is something I just want to bond with. You know?

Really good looking BP you got there!! if you are not worried about the sex of the snake, it should be cool either way just having it as a pet. I think though that question was more geared to ask simply for the purpose of knowing...Im still learining everything I can here but I have not heard of any major differences in Male/Female handling other than when the snake becomes mature enough to exhibit mating trends...congrats on your new pet!! Icant wait to get mine.:please:

Thanks man! I definitely fell in love with it as soon as I saw it, but I'd read that often pet shops clean up the cages every once in a while, so I made sure to check back frequently, and send in a friend to make sure it wasn't just me they saw to make sure the cage was clean and the snake was indeed healthy.

Best of luck when you get yours. ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Twist

Sorry if I came off rude haha. But it's really not a priority for me to breed it. It's my first and thus, is something I just want to bond with. You know?

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no its totally cool yea i didnt want to know the sex of my snake untill i had her for a week so i understand were your coming from :D

Handling your BP so soon could be putting extra stress on it. When it's roaming your bed, it's looking for a hiding spot, balls love being hidden and a wrinkle in your sheets could seem like a nice place for it.

I agree you should leave him/her alone for a while. As for it 'gripping' you, I think you'll understand in time. It's pretty much just them using you as support.

One test you could try it holding her tail an inch or so from the tip. Mine loves to grip on when I do that almost like a baby (human) holding your thumb.

Pretty snake, btw.