Newb!

Hey guys. Got my bp last Friday. The guy I bought her from had her on a Saturday feeding schedule. So, I fed her the day after I got her. She ate with no problems. Only change I made was using aspen bedding instead of the eco earth he was using. While I was looking over the snake before taking her home, he was holding her and she seemed very tame. I haven't really held her very much because I am still a little shakey. I was changing her water this morning, afterwards I picked her up and was holding her I thought she struck at me. I'm not even a hundred percent sure that she did. Anyways, I dropped her. Bad move. I was holding her in her cage and she only fell about 6 inches onto her bedding. I waited a few minutes before messing with her again. I reached in to pick her up and she backed up, went to an aggressive stance and struck at me again. She didn't make contact though. So, I am just leaving her alone for now. I guess I just want to know if she will strike when I try and pick her up again. I really want to be able to hold her and get over my irrational fear of being bitten. Thanks guys.

Dropping her six inches won't do any harm. :) It's hard not to freak out when they do sudden things like that. She just sounds like a grumpy little baby to me. Are you feeding her only once a week? Bumping her up to once every 4 or 5 days might make her a little happier. :)

She's about 6 months old. He had her on a weekly feeding schedule. So, I was going with that. I've only had her a week so, she's only eaten once.

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Originally Posted by Mumm-Ra

She's about 6 months old. He had her on a weekly feeding schedule. So, I was going with that. I've only had her a week so, she's only eaten once.

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She's fine...just let her settle in. I would stick with the feeding schedule she's been on and give her some time. :)

So, you'd just leave her alone until her feeding time on Saturday?

Yeah, she just needs some time to get used to things. If you wanna take a lightly-used, unwashed shirt of yours and put it in her enclosure, she'll become more familiar with your scent and will take to handling a bit better after a week or two of settling in by herself.

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Originally Posted by Archimedes

Yeah, she just needs some time to get used to things. If you wanna take a lightly-used, unwashed shirt of yours and put it in her enclosure, she'll become more familiar with your scent and will take to handling a bit better after a week or two of settling in by herself.

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Great. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Mumm-Ra

So, you'd just leave her alone until her feeding time on Saturday?

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Yes. :)

Thanks for the help.

Self-confidence matters. If you hesitate the snake is more likely to try to get you to back off.
Try not to reach for her head, let her know it is you and you have not food then smoothly reach in and gently pick her up. Let her slither from hand to hand freely. She will get used to being handled pretty quickly most likely.
It is my personal (although much shorter than many other members) that Ball Pythons generally are timid creatures that would prefer to flee than fight once you have them out. They will tired of "escaping" going from one hand to the other eventually and clue in that you aren't trying to eat them.
It is generally accepted that we should leave a BP alone for a week after a move. Of course there are always exceptions. Some people do not feed in that 1st week, I on the other hand always offer food on the same day as the rest of the snakes and have only had one refusal.

Here is a good video showing how to work with a snappy little Ball Python courtesy of Justin Kobylka: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7DQssbM0uk

Good luck, keep working with her and remember Ball Python bites don't really even hurt. They are startling at first but, not painful.

I appreciate all the help guys. You helped me be more confident with her. I held her for a bit on saturday before her feeding. And held her for about 30 minutes today. Glad I was able to get over the fear of being bitten. She really is very tame. She's awesome.

Glad to hear!
Just so you're aware for the future.. it's not a good idea to hold them on feeding day, it could stress them out and cause them not to feed.

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Hey Mumm-Ra, I'm a bit of a newb myself, and I had the exact same thing happen to me, minus the dropping part. I fed my 1.5 month bp on Wednesday last week and it was a fare size rat he took. I should have left him alone an extra day but Friday night decided to take him out of his cage and he was not happy. He snapped at me when I picked him up, and then he snapped at me while I was holding him outside the tank. To start, baby bites dont hurt at all, but I understand how they can make you jumpy as after he bit me I was a little nervous to reach in on Sunday even though I knew it wouldn't hurt. I also know that snakes respond to confidence and fear when being handled, so to add a little more certainty in my mind and make me less jumpy I put on a pair of gloves. I know I don't really need them, but after the striking stance it helps make me a little more comfortable as unnecessary as it may be. Sure enough Sunday I reached in with a glove on no worries, and he was fine. I sat with him for a few minutes he was calm, I put him in his little side container so I could do a quick spot clean, put him back in the cage and he was fine with no hint of a strike.

I have had a bp in the past and he never struck at me so when this one did i was a little startled hoping I didn't get a pissy pet but after realizing it was my mistake in bugging him too soon after a big meal I know not to mess with him when he might be full. And a few days to relax after an incident like that can go a long way.