Ugh...What to do...

So I adopted my first ball python off this guy about a month ago. I emailed him from an ad he put on craigslist. I asked how old she was and all he said was she's never bitten and is a sweetheart. At the time he emailed me back I was on vacation. He said that if I guarenteed to pick her up when I came back he would hold her for me. (the last ball) So I said for him to hold her for me. I picked her up and she is a biggin'.....Honestly was hoping to start out with a younger ball but I had told the guy I'd take her and he was in the middle of a Foreclosure (that's why he was getting rid of his snakes)...So brings me to ask, am I a bad person for wanting to sell her to get a younger ball? I did lots of research before getting her and if I do sell her I want to make sure she goes to someone who knows what they're doing...I went to my first show over the weekend and there were so many, it took everything I had not to come home with a new baby...Just perplexed and dunno what to do. With my living situation at the moment I'm allowed 1 snake....or I would have came home with another! lol

I would tough it out. I understand wanting one new one for yourself that's truely "yours". However I think what you are already doing by making sure that this adult ball is getting the proper care is the right thing.

As long as it goes to a good home you shouldn't feel bad for doing that.

Well, why is her being a "biggun" a problem? A younger ball shouldn't act any different(except some very young babies can be nippy and nervous). It won't look much different, unless you buy a morph instead of a normal.

Your "younger" ball will grow up big too. Sometimes taking very little time to do so. A younger ball won't behave differently just because it's younger, and you don't particularly "teach" balls things.. so what exactly would you gain to trade in the snake you have for a different snake?

All that aside, if you find a good new owner, it's not going to matter to the snake if it's owned by someone that appreciates her size(like someone who might need a big female to breed) more. You might want to be certain of the sex before you put her up for sale, as many of the people I've dealt with selling females often turn out to have males. But a larger female would be fairly easy to place, normally.

Just wanting to make certain you realize what you want or will end up with might be the same as you have now. Wouldn't want you to go through selling this one and buying a new one, only to be dissappointed again.

I'm with wolfy. They grow quite fast in the first year that you might find yourself with a big'un pretty soon anyway.

How big is your big'un anyway?

They calm down when they get older (usually but not always). Younger ones tend to be more nippy and if the one you have now is mellow and sweet, there's no telling what another ball would be like.

If the BP you have now has a very good temperment and eats well, I would definitly keep it.
It really doesn't take very long for them to get big. They also live a very long time compared to other animals. They can get live up to 40 years in captivity.

I adopted an adult male a month ago and I'm so glad that I did. If there ever was anything remotely close to a hippie snake, it'd be him. He's so laid back it's crazy. I'm so thankful that I have an older one to start out with and learn the ropes with. As I type this he's moving through my fingers..lol Anyway, if you're a quasi newb like me, maybe its a good thing.

Her being big isn't my problem. My problem is that she's so skitish. She doesn't like being touched at all. I actually like her size, I don't like how she hisses at me every time I touch her. lol. That and when I do get her out she always trys to get away from me. And from my understanding that's stressful to them and in turn more willing to bite. I don't think she was handled much and my logic was if I get one as a baby and handle it offen then it will accept being held better...As for how big she is, she's almost 5' long and I tried to get a weight on her last night but she was having no parts of it so I'm going to try again tonight...My friend came over to sex her but I'm going to take her to the local reptile pet store to get it done again just to be sure...

...The guy said she was a "sweetheart" and she is as long as your not touching her! lol

I agree with the others about the fact that it won't be much different if you keep this snake. Babies are not always sweethearts either. I have a baby ball python that has just recently started hissing at me and gets very nervous every time I have to touch or move him. I wish I would have gotten an adult. I'm just giving you my opinion here.

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I don't think she was handled much and my logic was if I get one as a baby and handle it offen then it will accept being held better...As

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Wrong does nit work this way with a ball pythons, BP are shy by nature and can easily get stress by over handling just like never being handled does not make them more skittish or aggressive either.

Ball python tolerate to be handled but handling is for you own pleasures not theirs and after what u read I believe a BP might not be the snake for you and you should look into snakes that meet your expectation a little more, I think colubrids would make a better match.

Deb is right.

But if you want to stick with a ball python, you should know, snakes aren't like puppys. They don't have a "formative" period in their life, where they learn behaviors more than later in life. So if you get a younger snake, you'll still have to handle it to get it used to things, and handle it a minimum of time in order to keep from stressing it.

That's what I was worried about, that you would think a younger snake would somehow being easier to handle, or act differently. But with snakes, generally you won't gain anything by getting a younger or smaller ball python, and in fact, young small ones are often MORE skittish and nippy, because they are smaller and therefor more of a prey item.

It's of course, your choice, I just want to help you make a decision that will leave you and the snake you have happy and healthy.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I've decided to keep her. Hopefully after more handling she'll become a little less skitish but if not, thats ok too. I think I got pretty lucky to get Ball that's healthy and eating great off someone on craigslist. :)