do your BPs actually ball up?

I was wondering if any of you have BPs that actually ball up when they're stressed. Like before you take them out of their cage.
None of my three BPs ball up. I had a male awhile ago, who balled up and would actually hiss at you if you tried picking him up. (he ended up being adopted by a friend of mine; I bought him because I was told he was female. :/
So do your BPs live up to their name? Or are they seemingly tame?

if i spook the poo out of him he will, otherwise its like "im not even gunna try to move, you'll pick me up anyways"


so he has sometimes, not often

Link has never balled up when I try and take him out. He will ball up in hish ide though when he's in there by himself. But if he dosn't want to come out he wappes his tale on the rim of the sterilite.

I have one that does, and one that does'nt, Monty Joe has never balled up since I have had him for a little over a year now but Cheetah balls up everytime you get near him/her. He ball's up in a very tight ball...if I hold him long enough he will slowly start un-balling, but I know it's time to set him down when he does because a strike is imminate.

lol, so i guess its not to much fun to handle cheetah is it ?

I don't normally see it with my captive bred animals. My imports will do it frequently, and they'll all do it under stress like if I'm administering medicine, removing a stuck shed, probing, etc.

-adam

I have not yet seen Issa ball up, and I'm not sure if I ever will. He has never looked like he was going to ball up, even when I picked him up for the first time at the reptile store (or when I was getting stuck shed off of him).

I have acutally held balled bp's though, I was walking around one of the petstores and asked to see the bps. They had apparently just arrived and they were all wrapped up tightly.

I have also held Link when he was balled up. They are far more portable that way. LOL!

My 2 bps have never gone into a ball!

Kitty did when I first got him and he was very young, but not for quite some time now.

mine hasnt ever balled up either???

not an oficial ball, with the head tuck or everything, but like a little circle that stays fit, and then he unravled.

When I go to handle Pelota, she's always curled up in her hide. So when I pick her up, she stays in her curled up shape. Then I ball her up in my hand to carry her downstairs for some handling time. Other than that, I've never seen her ball up from stress or anything. She's very easy going and lazy. I guess the only way she'll ball up is if you ball her up yourself. ;)

Apollo used to ball up... usually, when Pandora doesn't want to be bother, she might just tuck her head in a little bit and hiss at me... but i pick her up anyways, she's all talk. :)

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Originally Posted by padiente

Kitty did when I first got him and he was very young, but not for quite some time now.

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same with mine,when he was new to the house,he was in a ball.now,he hasnt balled up in a long time

My two younger boys, Sir Not and Bo Peep, both still ball up, but Bo got over his habit of striking at me (thank goodness).

what i didnt understand is that when i first got my girl she never balled up the only thing she did was coil around my finger when i put her in her new tank, she didnt even go to a hide once i put her in there she just wandered and when she stopped wandering she would just relax on top of the hot hide!

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lol, so i guess its not to much fun to handle cheetah is it ?

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Not to much fun at all....Cheetah is usually just held during cage cleaning and then it is very cautiously....I still love him/her to death. I took Cheetah in and Cheetah will stay...Just wont be held much...lol

Sounds like Bela, Iron. One of those BPs that just wasn't made for handling. She does not actually ball up, but when you pick her up, she gets really stressed (head in the S position, though she has never bitten me.) Then when she is out, she basically tries to get away, and she moves faster than my other guys. I don't think she likes to be handled at all, and that's not changing with time, so I am basically just looking at her as a future breeding female and that's it; not really a snake to handle.
But my two boys are the nest snakes to handle. Gobby is fat and lazy, and Ashes just chills on your hand. :)

Cupid does this weird position when you walk by the cage, he acts like hes gonna bite you, and sometimes he strikes, but then you pick him up, and hes as tame and calm as ever! i think hes just a brat.

All four of mine do ball up once in a while.

Both of my new ones ball up. I just got a pair of genetic banded from Mark Kennedy and when I took them out of the bag, they both fully lived up to their name. :)

I thought mine did , never having actually seen it until yesterday - was at the pet store , compareing another BP - and it was balled up . So no , Morpheus doesn't ball up - though if I startle him , he will tuck his head under a coil , until he smells/tastes me .

well i was lookin for my girl in one of her hides and ifound her and she was balled up but once i took her out she uncoiled so that was the 1st time ive seen her in a ball!

Sphinx does it all the time. He's such a shy fellow.

https://ball-pythons.net/modules/cop..._ballsmall.jpg

Vale has never balled up. he would go into the s position and would try to get away when held. he hasnt striked so far but when he gets to the s position, it is a bit scary.
i think, only WC BPs will ball up. - i think.

i would have to say that it doesnt matter whether its cb or wc its just a defense mechanism

Eleanor has only ever balled up when my friend tried to hold her (two times). She's never done it for any other reason... she must think my friend smells funny or something :)

I have one that does anytime you get near it, it has also bitten me about 12 times. But it is stating to become more tame every day.


0.0.2 ball pythons, freddy and junior
3.3.0 dogs, nikita, bruno, zeus, angel, baby, and spud
3.1.0 cats, cheena, tigger, bonnie, and clyde
0.0.1 stripe knee tarantula, charlie
0.0.2 parakeets, billy, and blue

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Originally Posted by sk8er4life

i would have to say that it doesnt matter whether its cb or wc its just a defense mechanism

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It sure is, but it's far less likely to happen with well cared for captive bred animals.

-adam

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sk8er4life wrote:
i would have to say that it doesnt matter whether its cb or wc its just a defense mechanism


It sure is, but it's far less likely to happen with well cared for captive bred animals.

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Well I could see the balling up in tight balls like my Cheetah does as being a trait for wild caught...I have allways thought that he is wc and several people have told me they believe he is also.

Ozzy ( who I suspect was a wc) use to ball up crazy. His vet was amazed at how tight he would ball. He has mellowed out some.
Osiris on the other hand never really balls up but he thinks he is a Cobra the way he raises up and gets in the strike position ( has never struck) He scares the heck out of my son's friends when he does it. But he is a good little guy.

I guess I'll just be like the British, and call my snakes Royal Pythons. They never ball up. But then again, I dont think they're royalty either; no little crowns on their heads or scepters in their hands... wait they don't have hands. :)