:: Holding ::

I am wondering about how long and often one should or rather could
hold a ball.
is it best to just hold them once a week or can i hold mine more often?

for example. one of our CB-F is fine with being held. held her right from the egg and she's always cool with it.not flight or flight and she's never balled her self.

but the 6 month old male i just got freaks. he's faster then a corn and has
pinched a loaf more then once in my hands, and oh boy does that stink! I still can't breath right...

the other two i just got - point one is 3 year and one point is 2. the males just tries to run, same with the female but she also wasted a clean pair of pants, and it was like water.

is that stress, or something else? just strange if you ask me. I've held a ton of Cbs and none have been like the last three mentioned.

thnx in advance!

I hold my 6 month old female once a day, except for saturday and sunday which is when she is left to digest her meal from feeding on friday nights. She is, and always has been, perfectly fine with handling. I trust her in anyones hands. As long as I can trust them. ;)

As for your bp's that don't like being handled, I'm sure they'd calm down with persistant handling atleast a few times a week.

i think you need to more options up there like 2-3 times a week. because i have more than one snake and i try to hold 2 day but they all dont get held every day.

Quote:

---

the other two i just got - point one is 3 year and one point is 2. the males just tries to run, same with the female but she also wasted a clean pair of pants, and it was like water.

---

Ball pythons are actually capable of musking, though they don't commonly do it. You may have been musked by the female. I think the key is to gradually acclimate them to holding so that they learn you're not a predator. Keep the handling sessions short and be prepared for messy hands or pants for a while, and don't let them think that musking or biting or coiling will intimidate you into putting them back in their homes. Almost all ball pythons will acclimate to handling, but some may take several months of work to do so.

Yeah, you need more choices. I hold about every other day (except when in shed or 2-3 days after eating....when he's eating).

my 9 year old girl is just like codys. she's always loved to be held and i trust her completely with other people. notice i didn't say i trust other people with her? i've had her since she was a hatchling so she's used to being held and i try to hold her 2-3 times a week.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by oorob00

i think you need to more options up there like 2-3 times a week. because i have more than one snake and i try to hold 2 day but they all dont get held every day.

---

it's just thought provoking i guess...LOL
I'll try to add it though - how?

it was the male that gave the odor off. the food was probably in between it's digestion process or something, i'll be taking a fecal in tomorrow. Gosh, it's got me a bit worried, Off Topic - sorry.

Does anyone think that certian habitats are passed down? CH babies acting differently then CB or something? just a thought.
also, like a few leopard geckos; the blizzard mostly will demonstrate
more agression then a tangerine, which is supper mellow compared to a normal phase. I've also noted this more in Line breeding for those traits then in those traits that have cleaner liniage (sp).

thoughts?

nellie was extremely shy when i first got her, though she never actually balled up. she would mostly just try to find a place to hide. and she did use the bathroom on me several times when she was younger. it is possible that now i just avoid long holding sessions when i see the sausage butt, and that is why she hasn't done it recently though. at first i held her for a short period, 10-15 minutes, every day except for the 2 days after she ate. now i hold her 2-3 times per week. she has completely mellowed out and is content to lay on my lap or curled around my wrist. i think that if you just work with them and hold them consistently when they are young they will, in most cases, acclimate really well and become quite calm and used to handling. cb babies are more inclined to be calmer from the start though, than ch babies, which is just part of the reason it is better to get cb babies if possible.

I may hold Issa every day, but it's typically no more than 5 to 15 minutes of me checking him out and letting him explore the floor while I change his water, mist, etc. Issa has never seemed like he had a problem being out and about, but I don't push it. I may let him roam around for an hour once every two weeks or so, when the cat safetly locked up in the batheroom. There is too much stuff in my living room/desk for me to let him roam about too much. (cleaning wil commence soon).

Issa has never pulled a tight ball, and the only time I've seen him come close is when I pulled his half log hide out (it molded) and then I had to run off to my final, so he had only one hide to hide in. He was curled up in the warm side of his tank, and he got a new larger hide as soon as I could get done with my finals, get back, clean and disinfect it and acutally be home.

I hold Amani pretty much everyday. She eats every 6 days(large adult mouse) and I don't hold her until 2 days after that. I held her last week when she was getting ready to shed and she did well. This was her first shed with me and it was complete, and all in one piece. I just provided her with a humid hide which she used everyday for about a week-week and a half until she shed. She's about 4 months old and I got her a little over a month ago. Never hissed, never struck, never has tried to get away. I'm really happy with her and glad I got a CBB baby. :)

What happens if you ahve gone for a few weeks without a real handling session?

i recently went out ot town for two weeks, during which the only contact nellie got was my friend looking in on her and changing her water. when i came back i scooped her up and she was the same as usual. no different from when i hold her every day for 5 days in a row.

I dont hold my snakes everyday , if they are in thier hides (which they usually are) then i wont bother them.But if they are out and about exploring ill take them out for a little bit (about 30 minutes)

All of my snakes get 2 or 3 true handlings a week. Not counting removal for husbandry issues.

I usually hold one snake per night, when we're lounging around watching TV. I rarely hold Bela though, because she really does not like being handled; not aggressive at all, but she is just super head shy. She's more of a future breeder project to me than anything else, and I don't want her stressing out over being petted. Goblin is my "handling, show-everyone-who-visits" snake, and does not mind being held at all. Ashes is the same, and Apache the boa is the active handling snake; he's all over the table, couch, chair, or person next to you. :)

If you stop handling them for long periods of time, they will need to reacclimate, whether they're visibly stressed about it or not. They can learn that you're not a predator, but they're not great scholars. ;)