Is your ball a striker?

Hey, I was wondering if your ball pythons bite you, because today I bought a female ball about two months old, that was a bit nippy.
Wondering if you guys ever had a nippy ball.

Ah...yes, my big male Apok is indeed striky. All my other BPs are very mellow but Apok is a little hot tempered and has struck and nailed me three times since I got him. He definitely does not like being approached from the front near his head. He will also let out a nasty hiss when he does not want to be bothered. He is one of those BPs that has a temper I guess....99% of the time though he is cool and doesnt mind being handled - as long as I leave his head alone...

EyeLashViper

our balls are more mellow. there are times when they get a bit jumpy, mostly after just waking up or being taken out of the cage, until they get used to their surroundings, but they have yet to strike at either of us. my g/f had her ball for about 1 year and a half, and she has never had a problem with being struck at.

Ive run into a few of those at the store. There is this one ball who whenever you stick your hand in the cage he looks at you either very confused or like he wants to tear your hand off, but lately i have been handling him and he is calming down alot more, once i get the money i think i will get him :) ive grown pretty attached to him, he is a great eater very nice (now) and is very thick and healthy.

Ours have never hissed or struck at us. However, when I was choosing my first (which ended up being Sophie), there was one that was very nippy, didn't bring him home b/c of it. We've been lucky so far.

I have one that will strike every chance he gets. He usually will ball up first, but if you continue to be around him he will poke his head out and try to nail ya but has never conected....yet!

My other ball has only struck once when my daughter put her warm hand in his cage and startled him. He tagged her and drew a little blood but nothing she couldnt handle. He does hiss once in a while when you wake him up.

I think its wonderful how ball pythons have differen't personalities.

I've had cujo for three weeks now, and he's so easy going. He is four months old, he has never niped me and he has ate three times( I broke the handling rule :ashamed ) He's head shy still but better then he was when I first got him.

So far, in the 13 months that we have had Sixx, I haven't heard him hiss and he hasn't struck at anyone but his lunch. I try to handle him often because of the kids. He is a sweet pea!!!

None of my three ball pythons are strikers. I've seen some that were tho, mostly at shows and those were not in the most ideal of situations. I'd be a bit upset too if i was cramed into a cage with 50 of my brothers and sisters ;)

Young ball pythons and especially babies can be very nippy. When they are that young they have not figured out who is friend and who is foe. Just give it a little time and she will be docile and friendly.

We have one little female BP who is still nippy. She hisses when you go to take her out of her enclosure. She'll occasionally give you a warning strike, but usually her bark is worse than her bite. Our other six BPs are quite mellow, especially our biggest girl, Sesha.

Its weird, even though she tries to bite me ... I love her so deeply, ... I can't help but be amazed by their personalities!

This post includes a pic of the most vicious BP that ever was. Be forewarned...
My first Bp was very nasty. If you so much as walked by her cage, she would snap at you. She'd actually lie in wait, even if she had a full belly. I put her cage in a low-traffic area of the house, and it did no good. If I tried handling her, she would bite me or my boyfriend 9 times out of ten (although, their bites do not hurt much, they DO shock you!) And she would ball up and hiss after striking at you; the sound was like air escaping a tire.
This was my first Bp, and she had been given to me because she was so nasty that two seperate customers had returned her back to petco where she came from. I kept her for about a year before she escaped from her cage (because my IDIOT friend left it open one night) and we found her frozen in our basement. I named her The B*tch for her nasty attitude. I think that in my mind, I've made her out to be an eternal rebel to the end, and I keep my present Bps (all of which are very docile) in her memory. And here's an old photo of the lady herself, in her familiar defensive posture:
http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/data/3979ballup.jpg
Poor thing waswildcaught as a subadult; I really don't blame her for being so aggressive. I hate the fact that people collect already-wild-and-established snakes for the pet trade, and I wish it'd end.

I only have one that concerns me on that regard, and that's Dixie. She's hissed at me a time or two when I've reached into her enclosure at times when she's not in the mood to be handled, but hasn't actually struck at me. Perhaps that's because I've respected her moods and not pushed her. Phil and Magellan are both very mellow and haven't so much as hissed that I've heard.

Bo Peep has struck at me but never connected. All the boys hiss occasionally, but calm down within a minute or so of being pulled out.

I have had 2 strikes from Jubs since I got him (a little more than a month ago). One was on purpose, I wanted him to strike me, so on the first day I moved my glove covered hand in front of him a bit, til bam. I didn't even feel it, but it shocked me, with the speed. That was the only hiss I have heard out of jubs too, was on that day. Another day he was stubborn coming out of his cage about a week ago, and I think I woke him up, so he was a bit moody. He struck at me and missed. Next day he was great and playful though.

dont you hate it when your balls try to bite you? lol