Do BP babies bite a lot?

I just got my BP a few days ago and it still strikes at me when I put my hand toward it. May by it needs to learn that I'm not hostile towards it. If so, how long does that usually take?

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Slow and stead will help. Start handling sessions slow~5min then gradually move up to longer sessions, soon they will be more comfortable with you and will tolerate handling a lot more. Or yours can be like my black pastel who will bite me every chance he gets.
Don't handle for 2 days after feeding, and I would give your bp some time to adjust, he's new. He's scared(new environment). I would wait untill he has had 3 consecutive feeding(3 weeks) before you start handling him. Try to keep handling to a minimum untill he has fed 3 time consecutively.

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Originally Posted by 1nstinct

Slow and stead will help. Start handling sessions slow~5min then gradually move up to longer sessions, soon they will be more comfortable with you and will tolerate handling a lot more. Or yours can be like my black pastel who will bite me every chance he gets.
Don't handle for 2 days after feeding, and I would give your bp some time to adjust, he's new. He's scared(new environment). I would wait untill he has had 3 consecutive feeding(3 weeks) before you start handling him. Try to keep handling to a minimum untill he has fed 3 time consecutively.

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x2, great advice!

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Originally Posted by 1nstinct

Slow and stead will help. Start handling sessions slow~5min then gradually move up to longer sessions, soon they will be more comfortable with you and will tolerate handling a lot more. Or yours can be like my black pastel who will bite me every chance he gets.
Don't handle for 2 days after feeding, and I would give your bp some time to adjust, he's new. He's scared(new environment). I would wait untill he has had 3 consecutive feeding(3 weeks) before you start handling him. Try to keep handling to a minimum untill he has fed 3 time consecutively.

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That advice is just what I was looking for myself for my recently purchased nine month old that I have only fed once so far.

Thanks a lot! That advice is essential to know. I can't wait until he gets to where I can hold him.

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Great advice above. I waited the week settle in period but couldn't stand lack of contact any longer than that. I was willing to take my chances. lol Mine struck at me the first time I handled it during pick up at the breeder's. It was a good learning experience though; the breeder showed me that when they are being outwardly defensive like that, bumping the area most people call the "nose" very lightly (a slight brush is enough) will cause them to ball up or retreat. This definitely works like a charm (for myself anyway). I've also read (on here) about stroking the scales lightly as kind of a "Hey, I'm here don't bite me" statement helps. Bring your hand in under them for pick up at a part of their body where their head is not facing. I use a combo of all of this depending up his position as situation and haven't had another strike, hiss, etc. I'm sure my time will come eventually though lol. Slow movement during handling helps and when redirecting movement (trying to snug down between the sofa cushions), I find hand under the snake or coming from behind the head works well. Good luck to you.

I just got a baby poss het axanthic...I named him Mars, God of war lol. I have noticed though that they will mellow out once they get a little bigger and higher on the food chain.

Our new baby bit both of us on the second day we had her out of her enclosure. Her body language was notably nervous and we didn't really know what to look for until we saw it and we were making too many sudden movements. Once we started just taking her out and sitting without moving a muscle until she uncurled and started to explore, she calmed right now. The first day I sat without moving for so long I got a cramp in my elbow. Now, three weeks later, she comes out of her enclosure limp and relaxes right away. We were worried at first that she might be an aggressive hatchling, but she hasn't even made a strike position at us since that second day.

I think only maybe 10 or 20% of the babies are really hardcore biters? Most of them, once they adjust to their new home and you feed them a mouse, they'll figure out the difference between "prey" and "your finger".

... that said, my very first ball python was a het pied named Mr. Nibbles. He did grow out of it, but I honestly think he enjoyed chewing on me. He'd even stalk my toes across the couch the way a kitten does! Kinda cute, but with a painful ending.

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Originally Posted by moonlightgdess

I just got a baby poss het axanthic...I named him Mars, God of war lol. I have noticed though that they will mellow out once they get a little bigger and higher on the food chain.

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Yeah, I think that's basically right. Or alternately: the biters seem to mellow out at about the 1 year mark, when their hormones turn on the first time. Because you can't get a mate if you snap and hiss at everything that moves?

My lesser struck at me the day I got her in the mail. She didn't strike at me when I opened up her package, but she did when I stuck my hand in her cage just to see what she'd do lol. Turns out, she was just extremely hungry. I fed her the next day and she has never tried to bite me again. That was 3 years ago :)

Make sure you have proper hides, temperatures, low traffic location, etc., for him as well. BPs (babies especially) strike out of defensiveness, so you need to make sure he feels as secure in his home as possible.

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Originally Posted by loonunit

Because you can't get a mate if you snap and hiss at everything that moves?

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Sounds like you've met my ex girlfriend?

On a slightly different note, where the heck is everyone getting these vicious baby balls? My little girl is an absolute cupcake, and has been since the day I brought her home. I'm starting to feel like a snake whisperer or something.