Handling A Ball Pythons

I am curious.

What is your opinion on handling your ball python or your pet snake in general?
What do you think are the pros and cons?

I haven't handled mine at all because I don't want to stress him out. The only time I take him out is when I have to clean his terrarium and/or when I need to weigh him.

I think there’s nothing wrong with it as long as you watch out for signs of stress, that’s when you put them back.

I wrote a post a little while ago on my attempts at positive conditioning mine to come to the open door when he wants out. It means he only comes out and gets handled when he is in the mood to and doesn't when he is not. The only time I handle mine is between feedings and when not in shed and only when he is out and makes the effort to come to me.

It has seemed to work out well so far and he has been far more active when out now that we are learning together this sort of grand experiment of "can ball pythons be trained?"

My feelings are you can break the will of any animal to force them to be hand tame but it isn't the way I treat my pets so I only handle when they want to be handled, not when I want their attention. If that means going weeks between handling then that means going weeks

There are different answers depending on the snake species, so the answers for ball pythons doesn't apply to all snakes. Your use of "pet snake" in the poll is too general.

My ball pythons could be handled every day for 10~20 minutes (except for the feeding/digesting days) and they would be fine. It can also vary depending on the individual snake- some of them are more nervous and get stressed easily.

I consider over-handling taking them out multiple times a day, or having them out for an hour at a time.

I have 2 that i recently got, they are both 900+ grams, previous owner handle them a good bit and let them roam around her snake room when cleaning etc. So those 2 i have been handling daily for 10-15 mins just so they are getting use to me and ill work them up to longer times if they feel up to it. My babies on the other hand, only handling them when spot cleaning etc, maybe once a week for about 15 mins. They all seem to let me know when they are ready to go back to hiding as they try to go in my shirt, under my arm as im holding them etc.

Think it just comes down to learning each snake individually. If their being flighty, alot of tongue flicking or very little, etc. Some may be very comfortable out for periods of time, some may not.

My 150g lesser loves to be out, he'll slither right out on to my arm and coil around when i open his tub(not atm tho as he's in shed haha).

I handle mine between feeds. Basically twice a week for 10 to 15 minutes. She was waiting tonight. I lifted the lid a she came out. Each time she gets weighed. Depending on her mood I let my kids hold her. I want her to learn all of their smells. And like other say I pay attention to her. When she is done checking us out and looking to hide I put her back in. She normally goes back into the hide for a few minutes then goes into her night mode of wondering around and chilling out of hide.

only time i handle mine is when its clean up time.

All 3 of mine are handled on a daily basis for as long as I like and depending on what I have going on dictates how long I hold each one. Even on feeding day, I will handle mine and less than an hour after handled they will all eat except for 2 of them when they are in shed (yes I have always handled mine during shed). After they eat, I don't handle them but will handle them the next day before the 24 hour clock elapses or was that the 36 or 48 hour clock.

I handle my boas more than the ball pythons. My girlfriend likes the BPs more.

It seems for ball pythons, frequency is preferred over duration of handling. They seem to respond very well to frequent, but short-term handling and not so well to infrequent, longer duration handling sessions. Which works for me.

My b.p. was handled a lot before I purchased him and seems to enjoy it. I've never heard him hiss, nor does he act stressed or uncomfortable. Having said that, over the past few days I believe he's in "pre shed" and is spending all of his time in his hides... which is out of character for him. That being the case, I haven't handled him at all, just check that he's o.k. and leave him alone. I've only had him for a couple of weeks so we don't know each other that well yet, but I try my best to try to understand what he's comfortable with.
I think it's good for them to get out of their enclosure occasionally to stretch muscles that may not otherwise get the same range of motion and to be stimulated a bit. In the wild I'm sure they spend most of their time in their burrows but they would travel distances hunting and would experience different terraine textures etc. Not sure if I'd feel the same with a nervous and/or aggressive snake, some may be happy being an "observation only" pet.

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

There are different answers depending on the snake species, so the answers for ball pythons doesn't apply to all snakes. Your use of "pet snake" in the poll is too general.

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Agreed. There are huge differences among the species I own. Out of all of them, I have to say the Rosy Boas seem to enjoy handling the most. They're always eager to explore and often end up flicking their tongues right in my face. Corns and hogs would be a close second. I don't know if the corns enjoy being out, but they don't seem to mind at all. Hognoses really love to explore once you get them out, but they can be a bit handshy in their tubs.

For the most part, my ball pythons don't seem to mind being handled. I only handle them once a week, aside from cleaning, and don't handle them at all while feeding or in shed. I spend a little quality time with them and then they've got the rest of the week to themselves, more or less.

I'd rate my Mexican Black Kings as least interested in being handled. My yearling male has tamed down, so he tolerates it well, but I don't think he enjoys it.

The way you handle a snake is more important than how long or how often. Brief sessions are best for skittish snakes. Balls like to hide. I think my BPs would be more comfortable spending an hour curled up in my lap than 15 minutes in someone's hands, arms, or slinged around a neck. The Rosys, Corns, and Hogs are fine exploring for awhile. Never tried letting my MBKs free-roam. I'm sure they'd make a quick getaway.

I say handling is for your benefit/enjoyment and yours only. Ball pythons do not 'like' or enjoy being handled, they merely tolerate it. They'd be perfectly fine if you never handled them at all.

That being said, I handle my ball python maybe once every two weeks. Handling for me isn't even really holding him and all that. It's just letting him out and explore and me watching him. I absolutely love watching him and prefer that over holding him. He gets held when I take him out of the cage and of course cleanings.

And despite rarely being actually handled he remains completely docile and will even let me stroke his head if I'm careful and not too fast-moving.

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Originally Posted by SDA

I wrote a post a little while ago on my attempts at positive conditioning mine to come to the open door when he wants out. It means he only comes out and gets handled when he is in the mood to and doesn't when he is not. The only time I handle mine is between feedings and when not in shed and only when he is out and makes the effort to come to me.

It has seemed to work out well so far and he has been far more active when out now that we are learning together this sort of grand experiment of "can ball pythons be trained?"

My feelings are you can break the will of any animal to force them to be hand tame but it isn't the way I treat my pets so I only handle when they want to be handled, not when I want their attention. If that means going weeks between handling then that means going weeks

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This is essentially what I do. If he's hanging around by the door, I let him out. If he's awake when I'm hanging around in the living room, I open the door and if he feels like it he comes out. He does like to go on a tour of the living room every evening, at least in the summer when the living room is a pretty comfortable place for him. In the winter it's not quite as appealing!
If he comes out on his own, he always gets picked up at some point and sometimes I bring him with me while puttering around the house if he's not ready to go back in - meaning, I hold him up next to the door and let him go back if he wants. If he's had enough, he goes back on his own. Sometimes I have to just put him back because I have to go to bed or whatever. Especially in the summer though (when the house is at least warm and humid enough for his comfort, if a little too much so for ours), I see no problem in letting him roam the living room for an hour or two if he wants.

I'm pretty sure he gets that we're connected with the doors opening. Sometimes when he sees us enter the room, he'll come out of his hide and start nosing at the door to be let out.

When he's in shed or heading toward blue, he doesn't particularly want to come out, so I don't make him unless there's some reason in particular like cleaning or doing something to his cage.

I figure that when it's his choice, handling and exploring time is good exercise and enrichment. If I just haul him out whenever I feel like it whether he's in the mood or not, it's more likely to be a cause of stress or reinforce negative associations with being handled.

I handle mine around 4 times a week, and I leave him alone 2 days after feeding and while he's shedding. He's super docile and relaxed when I handle, but after 15-20 minutes he likes to tuck his head into my sleeve, which tells me he wants to hide and thus I put him back in his enclosure. I've been very lucky with my one bp and he's never shown any defensive action, even when I'm reaching into his hide to take him out. He also lets me stroke his head.

But I do believe handling is entirely for my benefit. I know he doesn't 'like' it, he's just alright with it and tolerates it. I think handling can be really enriching for the owner. For the snake (and most reptiles) however, I think at best they tolerate it and at worst it stresses them out. It's really all about reading your individual snake, read their body language when you have them out, and when/if they appear stressed, pop em back into their home :)

I handle my snakes, but I know they would be 100% content without me holding or interacting with them at all. Outside of feeding and maintaining their enclosures. I only own BPs and even when handling them, all they really do is look for somewhere to hide lol.

I try to handle my BP on a somewhat regular basis. I feed on Mondays, and will usually try to hold him Thursday and Saturday. I wait to see if he's out and about in his tank first, though, since I don't like stealing him from his hide. At the very least, I'll pull him out Saturday to weigh him quickly, so I know he's eating the right size food. I think it's probably a good idea to hold your snake, especially a BP, so they can get more used to it. Since they would definitely prefer to be left alone, if you ever want to be able to hold them without stressing them out a lot, I think you would have to work them up to it. That may also make things like vet trips less stressful for them, and allows you to check on their physical health (belly looks good, face looks good, etc.) It also seems like good exercise for them, though I have a climby branch in his tank so he doesn't really need me for that either. I can see the pros and cons, but I think the benefits outweigh the downsides when it comes to holding your BP.

All of mine get handled on a regular basis. Some more than others. The amount of handling and how they are handled varies with the animal. My kids play house with the snakes, build them forts, let barbies take a ride... I draw the line when I see one of them go running down the hallway with one of my highways in tow. Most of my animals are pretty bomb proof. I do have a couple of purchased animals that do not seem to want to chill out though. They were purchased as adults and I have had them for a few years. They very rarely want a piece of me anymore unless I startle them, but they are not and I believe never will be good "pets". No amount of handling or not handling makes a difference in their behavior other than that they have learned that biting me does not get them anywhere.

I handle my 2 boys once a week but only for a short period of time. My oldest one has it down to where he will pee on you if you handle fhim or to long... What a little terd he can be!! :rofl:

I think it depends on the ball python, their personality, and their tolerances.

I've had my Virgil since he was six weeks old, and I've done my best to bombproof him. As a teacher, I want a calm snake that I can occasionally bring to the classroom for educational purposes. He comes out 2-3 times a week, never on the day of or 48 hours after feeding, and never during shed. I open up the door, and if he wants out, then he'll slither up my arm or out of the tank. Most of the time, he's around my neck, his head on my right arm, tongue flicking as I do my chores. Sometimes, I let him slither a bit on the floor, but as soon as he wants to hide, back it is into his tank. He enjoys short extrusions with some periscoping and always tongue flicking. Virgil's a curious fellow. He is usually out for about 15-45 minutes, depending on his mood that day. Sometimes, he'll try to slither up my arm to get back out when I'm placing him back in his tank. Sometimes, he just wants a quick trip to the kitchen before he's trying to hide in my shirt. It depends on the day.

I mentioned that I want to use him for classroom visits (I have already taken him to a 1st grade classroom with minimal stress, only a few kids at a time got to see him, and only one at a time got to pet, with only one finger, body only). This is where I believe that, frankly, I teach him tolerance not for his own enrichment but for my own more selfish reasons. Since I've had him since he was a babe, I've successfully gotten him used to being touched in most places, including his head, although he doesn't like his neck touched and I'm very aware of that. I can boop his nose and even give him the occasional slow-mo kiss on the head without him drawing back. I also flip him over once or twice while he's out to practice showing off his belly (kids like to see his freckles), which I think frustrates him, but he slowly just rights himself and I let him continue to do whatever he would prefer.

Plus, classroom aside, I simply love handling him. He's my pet, first and foremost.

See below

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Originally Posted by Coluber42

This is essentially what I do. If he's hanging around by the door, I let him out. If he's awake when I'm hanging around in the living room, I open the door and if he feels like it he comes out. He does like to go on a tour of the living room every evening, at least in the summer when the living room is a pretty comfortable place for him. In the winter it's not quite as appealing!
If he comes out on his own, he always gets picked up at some point and sometimes I bring him with me while puttering around the house if he's not ready to go back in - meaning, I hold him up next to the door and let him go back if he wants. If he's had enough, he goes back on his own. Sometimes I have to just put him back because I have to go to bed or whatever. Especially in the summer though (when the house is at least warm and humid enough for his comfort, if a little too much so for ours), I see no problem in letting him roam the living room for an hour or two if he wants.

I'm pretty sure he gets that we're connected with the doors opening. Sometimes when he sees us enter the room, he'll come out of his hide and start nosing at the door to be let out.

When he's in shed or heading toward blue, he doesn't particularly want to come out, so I don't make him unless there's some reason in particular like cleaning or doing something to his cage.

I figure that when it's his choice, handling and exploring time is good exercise and enrichment. If I just haul him out whenever I feel like it whether he's in the mood or not, it's more likely to be a cause of stress or reinforce negative associations with being handled.

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Coluber, Love this post. I’ve read that one aspect of enrichment is letting the animal make choices. You don’t force yourself on your critter so he starts to see you as a “friend” and so you’ve gained his trust.

Personal opinion. Most species in the pet trade are ok to handle and build relationships with. Some like GTPs and a few others are more for display because they can be nippy. Hots I would not handle at all.

I handle my BP and I think it's a good idea to do so. Touch training has worked wonders for me too.