Did I get lucky with my BP or are most of them like this?

I have had my girl since the first week of March of this year and chose her out of gut instinct. After spending an hour at a reptile specialty shop I held many BPs and something about her felt right. Since the day I got her home she has never hissed, never bitten me, never failed to feed, and even when about to shed hasn’t been afraid of me or of being handled. There were two instances when she was fully opaque that I had to move her to clean and mist, and both times once she smelled who I was and used her tongue-snakey senses she had zero issue being handled whatsoever. She was very relaxed and crawling through my hands with no issue. She even lets me pet her head and rub her chin when I handle her. She rarely flinches from movement now and isn’t very head-shy. After the week period of letting her settle at home I have held her every day in increasing amounts, first sitting alone in a quiet room holding her for maybe ten minutes, and working up to walking around the house with her and letting her ‘sleep’ - cause ya know no eyelids lol - in my lap for an hour or more once she settles down. Are all pythons this relaxed? Or did I just get lucky? Or did I do well getting her situated with handling?

Ball pythons as a species are docile and relaxed, but some still are not, so you're still lucky :D congrats on your snake!

Still I wouldn't handle for an hour or more every day though. Especially when she is in blue. Since ball pythons need that specific environment in their enclosure (the heat, the humidity, the hiding) and are nocturnal animals, over-handling becomes stressful for them. Ball pythons may not show visible signs of stress until it's too late, and they start missing meals.

There was an incident where a young man brought his ball python everywhere with him, even outside and to conventions- sometimes for hours. The ball python was "happy and relaxed" from his owner's point of view, when in reality it was experiencing lots of stress. In the end, the ball python literally passed away from stress in a year or so.

If you must handle daily, 20 minutes or less is usually recommended!

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

Ball pythons as a species are docile and relaxed, but some still are not, so you're still lucky :D congrats on your snake!

Still I wouldn't handle for an hour or more every day though. Especially when she is in blue. Since ball pythons need that specific environment in their enclosure (the heat, the humidity, the hiding) and are nocturnal animals, over-handling becomes stressful for them. Ball pythons may not show visible signs of stress until it's too late, and they start missing meals.

There was an incident where a young man brought his ball python everywhere with him, even outside and to conventions- sometimes for hours. The ball python was "happy and relaxed" from his owner's point of view, when in reality it was experiencing lots of stress. In the end, the ball python literally passed away from stress in a year or so.

If you must handle daily, 20 minutes or less is usually recommended!

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Thanks for the info! Super appreciate it! :) My phrasing wasn’t best. When she’s in blue my handling is very minimal. For a minute or less only when necessary. But even when she isn’t about to shed I’ll be sure to be more conscientious of not handling her too much and stressing her out! Also I might sure once the honeymoon phase wears off my desire to handle her so frequently will be easier to deny haha. But you’ve been super helpful!

Sounds like you found your spirit animal, congratulations to find an animal you just click with is a real blessing I believe. Best wishes to you and your amazing new noodle.:D

I used to try that with my reticulated python when she was younger. The problem is that she would often switch from handling mode to feeding mode when sitting on the couch! I actually stopped handling her as much because of it. Ball pythons are typically not like that, they tend to not go into feeding mode even when handling them for extended periods of time. It's a double edged sword, it's sometimes difficult to get them to eat because of it but it's great when you want to handle them a lot.

My 3 girls all have slightly different personalities. Chiquita, my Banana Yellow Belly was the most flinchy/jumpy but she has noticeably mellowed out very quickly. She still flinches a bit, but you can feel her relax now.

Daenerys, my BEL, is the sweetest. When she is out she will explore only as far as she can without letting go of my hand. She will stretch out and look around, keeping her tail wrapped around my fingers, even when my hand is on the couch, and she always returns back and rests her head on my thumb to just chill.

The other night when putting her back in her tub, she stretched over to her water dish, flicked her tongue at it a couple times and then stopped to take a good 30-40second drink before working her way down and towards her hide. It was so cool watching her take little gulps of water and she only let go of my hand once the first third of her body was inside of her hide.

My point, they are all a little different. Sounds like you got yourself a good one.

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Originally Posted by littlemaxbigworld

I have had my girl since the first week of March of this year and chose her out of gut instinct. After spending an hour at a reptile specialty shop I held many BPs and something about her felt right. Since the day I got her home she has never hissed, never bitten me, never failed to feed, and even when about to shed hasn’t been afraid of me or of being handled. There were two instances when she was fully opaque that I had to move her to clean and mist, and both times once she smelled who I was and used her tongue-snakey senses she had zero issue being handled whatsoever. She was very relaxed and crawling through my hands with no issue. She even lets me pet her head and rub her chin when I handle her. She rarely flinches from movement now and isn’t very head-shy. After the week period of letting her settle at home I have held her every day in increasing amounts, first sitting alone in a quiet room holding her for maybe ten minutes, and working up to walking around the house with her and letting her ‘sleep’ - cause ya know no eyelids lol - in my lap for an hour or more once she settles down. Are all pythons this relaxed? Or did I just get lucky? Or did I do well getting her situated with handling?

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It sounds to me like you've got a BP on the docile end of the spectrum. BPs in general are a docile species, which is one of the major reasons they're so popular in the pet trade.
That being said, since your BP isn't showing any head shy tendencies you've probably found one of the more docile BPs.

I have to agree with redshepherd that you should decrease your handling sessions though. Every day is a bit much, and an hour is a LONG time.

One other thing to consider, as a new keeper, is that you've got a very small window of experience and no basis for comparison. So, learning how to read snakes, determine stress or other behaviors is still new to you.

Take your time with your new pet, you've got 20+ years together.

I have a few bps that are this docile, but only my big girl Pandora isn't terribly head shy. I typically handle my snakes for about 30 mins to an hour a week, but I have so many snakes that taking them out every day would be impossible.

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Originally Posted by littlemaxbigworld

I have had my girl since the first week of March of this year and chose her out of gut instinct. After spending an hour at a reptile specialty shop I held many BPs and something about her felt right. Since the day I got her home she has never hissed, never bitten me, never failed to feed, and even when about to shed hasn’t been afraid of me or of being handled. There were two instances when she was fully opaque that I had to move her to clean and mist, and both times once she smelled who I was and used her tongue-snakey senses she had zero issue being handled whatsoever. She was very relaxed and crawling through my hands with no issue. She even lets me pet her head and rub her chin when I handle her. She rarely flinches from movement now and isn’t very head-shy. After the week period of letting her settle at home I have held her every day in increasing amounts, first sitting alone in a quiet room holding her for maybe ten minutes, and working up to walking around the house with her and letting her ‘sleep’ - cause ya know no eyelids lol - in my lap for an hour or more once she settles down. Are all pythons this relaxed? Or did I just get lucky? Or did I do well getting her situated with handling?

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I've had sooo many Royals over the years and I'm currently down to just 4 of them but every single one has been calm , friendly and docile / placid . I keep reading of feisty Royals but I'm wondering if they're the same as Unicorns :)


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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

It sounds to me like you've got a BP on the docile end of the spectrum. BPs in general are a docile species, which is one of the major reasons they're so popular in the pet trade.
That being said, since your BP isn't showing any head shy tendencies you've probably found one of the more docile BPs.

I have to agree with redshepherd that you should decrease your handling sessions though. Every day is a bit much, and an hour is a LONG time.

One other thing to consider, as a new keeper, is that you've got a very small window of experience and no basis for comparison. So, learning how to read snakes, determine stress or other behaviors is still new to you.

Take your time with your new pet, you've got 20+ years together.

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The lack of experience is a good point! My judgement only exists based on her previous self and her actions, and watching her progression. I notice little things like how relaxed her muscles are on my hand, how when she was seemingly tense her tongue would come out much less often if not at all and when exploring she would keep her head off of and away from my hand. Now her muscles are always relaxed and her tongue is always picking up stuff and she will lay her head on me as she crawls and even nuzzle and nudge her face between my fingers to the point where I know all too well what her eyeballs feel like hahah. But that progression is my only experience and the only thing I have to go off of. Most times I hold her for fifteen to twenty and admire her and let her crawl around my bed. Here and there’s I watch a movie or an episode or two of a show and just let her explore with me and she’ll curl up and rest her head on my hand and - what I interpret as - relax and hang out. But I will most definitely be more aware of my interactions with her. I just love her so much.

And on another positive note, my cat and my snake couldn’t seem to give any less of a :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: about each other than they already do. The most important part being my cat’s indifference. He truly doesn’t even acknowledge her existence. It’s very comforting haha.

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Originally Posted by Sgt7212

My 3 girls all have slightly different personalities. Chiquita, my Banana Yellow Belly was the most flinchy/jumpy but she has noticeably mellowed out very quickly. She still flinches a bit, but you can feel her relax now.

Daenerys, my BEL, is the sweetest. When she is out she will explore only as far as she can without letting go of my hand. She will stretch out and look around, keeping her tail wrapped around my fingers, even when my hand is on the couch, and she always returns back and rests her head on my thumb to just chill.

The other night when putting her back in her tub, she stretched over to her water dish, flicked her tongue at it a couple times and then stopped to take a good 30-40second drink before working her way down and towards her hide. It was so cool watching her take little gulps of water and she only let go of my hand once the first third of her body was inside of her hide.

My point, they are all a little different. Sounds like you got yourself a good one.

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My gosh I love that! Bel sounds like a sweetheart. Now that I have one python I can not stop craving more. But I’m resisting my need to have more haha. I won’t get a pet unless I am 100% ready and can fully provide them with all they need. And so I know it isn’t the time. But I am hooked. I even kind of got mocked the other day when I called two exotic veterinary clinics by my house not too long ago just for asking if they take ball pythons because I was ‘just looking for resources in case my snake gets sick. I don’t want to wait until last minute to know where to go’. Both vet clinics were like ‘ooooookay?....so do you need anything?’ Yes I do. Peace of mind and satisfaction of my desire to be the perfect snake parent. 😩

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Originally Posted by littlemaxbigworld

The lack of experience is a good point! My judgement only exists based on her previous self and her actions, and watching her progression. I notice little things like how relaxed her muscles are on my hand, how when she was seemingly tense her tongue would come out much less often if not at all and when exploring she would keep her head off of and away from my hand. Now her muscles are always relaxed and her tongue is always picking up stuff and she will lay her head on me as she crawls and even nuzzle and nudge her face between my fingers to the point where I know all too well what her eyeballs feel like hahah. But that progression is my only experience and the only thing I have to go off of. Most times I hold her for fifteen to twenty and admire her and let her crawl around my bed. Here and there’s I watch a movie or an episode or two of a show and just let her explore with me and she’ll curl up and rest her head on my hand and - what I interpret as - relax and hang out. But I will most definitely be more aware of my interactions with her. I just love her so much.

And on another positive note, my cat and my snake couldn’t seem to give any less of a :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: about each other than they already do. The most important part being my cat’s indifference. He truly doesn’t even acknowledge her existence. It’s very comforting haha.

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Thanks for your reply, it shows you care and are willing to learn and adjust. Just limit your handling sessions to a few a week and 30 minutes TOPS. Otherwise you may be stressing the snake without really being able to see it. Another thing to consider is that your house probably doesn't have the same temp and humidity requirements that BPs rely on inside their enclosures. This could lead to illnesses. Even for experienced keepers it can be tough to see illnesses develop, snakes are very good at hiding them until it's too late. Better to put the snakes well being ahead of our desires to handle them

Also, you mentioned the cat...are the two in the same room while your snake is out??
If so, you're flirting with disaster. It's just simply not worth the risk. Things can go really wrong, really quick. It only takes a split second for one to spook the other and lash out, then who knows what could happen....better not to find out the hard way. When my snakes are out, the cat is in another room. Snakes and other animals don't mix, period.

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

Thanks for your reply, it shows you care and are willing to learn and adjust. Just limit your handling sessions to a few a week and 30 minutes TOPS. Otherwise you may be stressing the snake without really being able to see it. Another thing to consider is that your house probably doesn't have the same temp and humidity requirements that BPs rely on inside their enclosures. This could lead to illnesses. Even for experienced keepers it can be tough to see illnesses develop, snakes are very good at hiding them until it's too late. Better to put the snakes well being ahead of our desires to handle them

Also, you mentioned the cat...are the two in the same room while your snake is out??
If so, you're flirting with disaster. It's just simply not worth the risk. Things can go really wrong, really quick. It only takes a split second for one to spook the other and lash out, then who knows what could happen....better not to find out the hard way. When my snakes are out, the cat is in another room. Snakes and other animals don't mix, period.

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Okay! I just watch my girl more than handle her. You’re right that I wouldn’t know if she’s sick necessarily. I did research on illness BP get and what to look for so that I have some basis of understanding, and also called some vets around town the other day to find out who treats pythons god forbid anything ever happens, but I most definitely wouldn’t want to unintentionally make her sick! :(

As a string rule of thumb they are not. I just gave them one chance to be because I wanted to know if something went wrong and my baby girl got out of her enclosure or a roommate did something stupid if my cat was a major threat or not. Luckily my cat has zero hunting instinct. But as a major rule, my time with my snake is completely separate. Her tank is in my room and my bedroom door is also always closed when I am not home and my cat luckily has zero access to her tank when I’m not around.

Today she switched from mice to rats with zero problem! I kept getting warned at pet stores and reading that it can sometimes be difficult to switch and that they don’t always like the smell and yadayada but she was super stoked to eat this little rat today. My heart was a little sad. The rat squeaked more and took longer to die, but she did great! And that’s what’s important.

Rats have more more protein and such right? If I remember correctly? Which I might not haha

Which also leads to the question: I feed live because I honestly don’t feel like reheating a frozen dead animal go warm temperatures and making it dance to get eaten. And also as much as it saddens me, there must be some sort of pleasure for the snake to be able to stalk and hunt and strike, right? Anyways, I feed live and always keep a chopstick ready god forbid something went wrong because I’ve read to never ever feed live unsupervised and if the snake does not eat it to immediately remove the rodent once lack of interest is obvious. I don’t want her to get bitten. Or if her dumb self strikes the butt I don’t want a dying animal to bite her to survive. And then I watch her swallow to make sure it all goes smoothly. Is there anything else to keep in mind or that I am missing? :)