"Look but don't touch" animals?

I am curious about something I've read on the forum in a few different threads. When discussing overly aggressive or defensive animals, some people say that even though they've worked with their animals their snake has become a "look but don't touch" sort of pet, where they limit handling because the animal is clearly not cut out for human interaction. However, others say that if you work with an animal enough at a patient, respectful speed, all animals can become pets that you can eventually handle.


I ask because my female BP isn't a defensive animal, but she definitely flees whenever I approach for handling/water changes/enclosure maintenance. I understand that I'm terrifying to such a small noodle, and it doesn't help that I have a top-opening enclosure that I'm sure makes me seem like a bird swooping in for the kill. I open the lid as gently as possible, and I make sure that I tap gently on her hide or stroke her mid-section a few times to alert her to my presence before I attempt to pick her up. She has had three successful meals from me, and it's been 48 hrs from her last meal before I attempted to handle her. Heat gradient is 82 -> 90, humidity is at 70-80% (because it's rainy in TX), dry aspen substrate in a 10 gallon enclosure, two similar sized hides on each end, plenty of clean water.

All of this to say, should I pursue her when she flees from my hand, or should I allow her to hide? What's the chance of my BP being a "look but don't touch" kinda girl? I also totally don't mind not handling her, I just want to make sure giving her space isn't going to be detrimental to her disposition as an adult.

Thanks in advance!

It is normal for babies to be defensive, and it can take several months for them to chill out. With a snake that small I would just reach in and scoop her up from behind.

Defensive adults, WC critters, species that stress easily like sunbeam snakes, or species like the yellow anacondas or tree pythons that are known for being flighty all their lives are more likely to be your "look but don't touch" critters.

I think most snakes will eventually mellow out with time and patience. Once she gets a a little bigger and has a few more meals in her she'll most likely settle down pretty quickly. A few of my snakes were defensive as babies but they all grew out of it within a few weeks or months. Keep at it with short, gentle, confident handling sessions and you should see a change in her temperament.

My ball python hatchling was somewhat skittish at first but (after letting him settle in) he calmed down with regular handling. I also have a top opening enclosure.

Patience...it takes time for snakes to learn their world...what's to eat, what's gonna eat them, & where to hide when doing neither. :snake:

It also matters HOW you touch a snake: I never hold them behind the head to prevent a bite...that's like putting a choke-hold on your next-door neighbor &
then being surprised when they take a swing at you. Keep your hands low & slow...gently stay under the snake at first...don't hold tightly & avoid touching
their trigger points (neck & tail). Mid-body touch is a lot friendlier...like another snake might do. Snakes are more sensitive to touch than you might think,
even those with thick or keeled scales.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

It is normal for babies to be defensive, and it can take several months for them to chill out. With a snake that small I would just reach in and scoop her up from behind.

Defensive adults, WC critters, species that stress easily like sunbeam snakes, or species like the yellow anacondas or tree pythons that are known for being flighty all their lives are more likely to be your "look but don't touch" critters.

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thank you for your answer!

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

I think most snakes will eventually mellow out with time and patience. Once she gets a a little bigger and has a few more meals in her she'll most likely settle down pretty quickly. A few of my snakes were defensive as babies but they all grew out of it within a few weeks or months. Keep at it with short, gentle, confident handling sessions and you should see a change in her temperament.

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Will do, thank you!

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Patience...it takes time for snakes to learn their world...what's to eat, what's gonna eat them, & where to hide when doing neither. :snake:

It also matters HOW you touch a snake: I never hold them behind the head to prevent a bite...that's like putting a choke-hold on your next-door neighbor &
then being surprised when they take a swing at you. Keep your hands low & slow...gently stay under the snake at first...don't hold tightly & avoid touching
their trigger points (neck & tail). Mid-body touch is a lot friendlier...like another snake might do. Snakes are more sensitive to touch than you might think,
even those with thick or keeled scales.

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I never touch or hold her aggressively; I pet gently with the "grain" of her scales and I make sure that she sees me coming. She just has the tendency to speed away and hole up when I attempt to lift her, and I don't want to just pry her out of her space. Thanks for answering!

To echo the sentiment of the rest, patience will be the key here more than likely. We got a '17 hatchling this Spring who'd barely been handled and she was extremely flighty and nervous to begin with. She'd tense up as tight as she could when we'd hold her and struck out on a few occasions when we would clean her tub. Fast forward to now and she is much more comfortable with us and being held. She still gets a little nervous when you first are opening up her enclosure, but once she is out and realizes what's going on she relaxes and will hang out with you.

From what you said, it sounds like you've got all the right ideas, so just keep at it and I'm sure you'll start to build that trust over time.

Ball pythons are almost never strictly a look but don't touch animal. Yours isn't even defensive or biting- fleeing and hiding is definitely normal behavior for a hatchling. If she flees into a hide, just lift the hide and pick her out to gently work with a few minutes a day (assuming she is a good eater). And over time, she'll be a chill adult as well.

As for other species of snakes, there are definitely snakes that are never comfortable with handling, or they are very hard to work with to tame if they have a strong tendency to bite all the time, always get very stressed out, etc so it makes it not worth the effort anyway and is hard on the snake. Not all animals can become pets that you can eventually handle.

As everyone else has mentioned, time and gentle handling will prevail. Babies particularly can be flighty...imagine a huge hand lifting the roof and scooping you out of your living room. :P

You also mentioned a ten gallon enclosure. If this is a glass tank, she could be over-stimulated with movement in the room. If her enclosure is glass, you may want to temporarily cover three sides to give her more privacy.

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

As for other species of snakes, there are definitely snakes that are never comfortable with handling, or they are very hard to work with to tame if they have a strong tendency to bite all the time, always get very stressed out, etc so it makes it not worth the effort anyway and is hard on the snake. Not all animals can become pets that you can eventually handle.

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^^^^
This


I have a pair of kukri snakes. If you know how they got their name you will understand why they are not 'touchy-feely' animals. I also have a pair of Rhamphiophis, a little research into them should explain why I do not handle them overly much either.

I did not pick up these species so I could hold them and play with them (I have ball pythons if I want to do that), I got them because I wanted something unique/different to work with. I knew I would not be handeling them and I was perfectly happy with that

Pretty much all young reptiles, and likely most animals of any sort, come pre-programmed with a response of "GIANT SCARY THING GONNA EAT ME!" in their brains, and it takes time and patience to teach them otherwise. And balls, with some exceptions, normally get past this fairly quickly and with a minimal nuber of puncture wounds to the owner, lol. There are of course many reptiles that stay defensive all their lives, most arboreal snakes come to mind, as well as a lot of smaller species of lizards.

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Originally Posted by Dianne

As everyone else has mentioned, time and gentle handling will prevail. Babies particularly can be flighty...imagine a huge hand lifting the roof and scooping you out of your living room. :P

You also mentioned a ten gallon enclosure. If this is a glass tank, she could be over-stimulated with movement in the room. If her enclosure is glass, you may want to temporarily cover three sides to give her more privacy.

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Her enclosure is on a desk up against the wall; which three sides should I cover?

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Originally Posted by wolftrap

Her enclosure is on a desk up against the wall; which three sides should I cover?

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If you are against the wall only on one side I would cover the two other sides that are perpendicular to the wall.

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Originally Posted by ryu80

If you are against the wall only on one side I would cover the two other sides that are perpendicular to the wall.

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Exactly...basically just leave the front area ‘open’ for viewing.

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Originally Posted by wolftrap

... some people say that even though they've worked with their animals their snake has become a "look but don't touch" sort of pet, where they limit handling because the animal is clearly not cut out for human interaction. However, others say that if you work with an animal enough at a patient, respectful speed, all animals can become pets that you can eventually handle.....

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The thing is that we're all different AND our snakes have their own personalities too: some of us are undoubtedly better or more persistent & patient about handling
snakes, and some of our snakes -no matter what kind- are more receptive to being handled than even their own siblings. It comes down to both "nature" & "nurture".

Some members of any given species will naturally respond better to handling & be able to overcome their instincts than others, and some of us give up sooner than
others. Just because someone claims a snake is a "look but don't touch" pet doesn't mean that someone else might not have better luck. I've taken in many such
snakes that bit former owners but not me, but if you're happy with a snake that is "display only" that's OK too. It's not as if the snake will complain, but my personal
philosophy about keeping snakes (or any other wild animal in captivity) is that I don't want them to live in fear of the "unknown" -that's us, the big scary creatures that
keep lurking about their cage.

So I do all I can to convey to them that they have nothing to fear: that's the reason that I want to handle a snake. An animal living in fear & feeling cornered is bound
to be more stressed, & that has an adverse effect on their health. Snakes clearly learn & remember they are safe with me as I don't handle them that often, but it's
not unlike their survival in the wild: they learn their way around, where to hide from predators & bad weather or else they perish. Likewise, they learn that I'm just a
safe part of their world & not going to eat them if I pick them up. There are some snakes that truly stay hysterical about human contact, unfortunately, & sometimes
we have to accept that...but we might all draw that line in a different place.

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Originally Posted by Dianne

Exactly...basically just leave the front area ‘open’ for viewing.

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I can definitely do that - I've covered the side that faces the doorway so that the door opening/us walking in/dogs walking in wouldn't alarm her as much, but I'll try covering the other two sides.

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Originally Posted by wolftrap

I can definitely do that - I've covered the side that faces the doorway so that the door opening/us walking in/dogs walking in wouldn't alarm her as much, but I'll try covering the other two sides.

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Best of luck! I’m also tweaking setups for new baby balls...it’s almost a right of passage as you learn your snake’s preferences. Two of the three hatchlings I purchased this year are very confident, but my lemonblast (Belle) has been more reluctant to feed and much more shy/skittish than the others. I switched cages around so that she is on the top of my stack so she sees little to no movement unless I’m peeking in from a stepstool. I wasn’t handling her other than to move the hide to check on her well-being, but I’ve eliminated all handling unless I’m cleaning the cage. She’s taken her second large fuzzy/small hopper tonight. It’s taken a little over a month, but she’s settling in, feeding now, and doesn’t appear as startled when I do check in on her. It takes time, but with continued calm interactions they do come around. Patience is the hardest part...speaking for myself anyway. :D

Interesting thread topic !

My Corn snake and all my Royals are super laid back and docile
and I'd trust them with anyone ...

The Thai Red Bamboo rat and all my Kings are basically just fabulous display animals and I don't handle them through choice -just when cleaning vivs or moving them .


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Interesting thread topic !

My Corn snake and all my Royals are super laid back and docile
and I'd trust them with anyone ...

The Thai Red Bamboo rat and all my Kings are basically just fabulous display animals and I don't handle them through choice -just when cleaning vivs or moving them .

That said the I'm sure that if I had more time and fewer snakes I'd be able to spend time on the King snakes :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Three months ago I acquired a 10 mos. old youngster who the breeder warned me was "head shy". The breeder was right, little "Tango" was incredibly nervous. When I walked into the room and turned on the light I'd often hear him slam into the side of the bin in his hurry to ball up and hide his head. I started bringing a flashlight so I could introduce the light more gradually. When I picked him up, he'd remain so tightly coiled I'd have to gently turn him upside down to see his head. I'd handle him at least 2 x a week, although initially it was simply a matter of picking him up holding him for 10 or 15 seconds and immediately putting him down again.
The change was gradual but I noticed after a couple of weeks he didn't stay coiled QUITE so tightly, then he'd relax and stretch out a bit, but if I moved my hand, or he saw any movement in the room he'd flinch back so hard he usually made ME jump! Gradually I'd be able to hold him and could move a few feet in either direction without him spooking at the movement.
Today he's soooo much better. He doesn't ball up anymore, but IS a bit tense when I pick him up. He will react if I move too quickly but recovers quickly. He has NEVER made any effort to bite, but nor is he a snake that I would handle very casually.
He's still very young though, and I'm confidant that he'll continue to improve. He's made great strides in 3 mos., I'm happy that he's no longer terrified every time he sees/hears something that's out of the norm.

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Originally Posted by B.P.'s 4me

Three months ago I acquired a 10 mos. old youngster who the breeder warned me was "head shy"....He's still very young though, and
I'm confidant that he'll continue to improve. He's made great strides in 3 mos., I'm happy that he's no longer terrified every time he sees/hears something that's out of the norm.

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Great example. Since he was already 10 mos. old when you got him, who KNOWS what he experienced before he came to you? Maybe he was born this way, but
maybe...just maybe...someone tried to feed him live prey that scared him, or something was accidentally dropped near him in his cage, or children were allowed to
"play with him" (ie. & they hassled him) so his instinctive fears were increased instead of minimized. He'll never talk & tell, but that's great you're already seeing some
improvement...patience usually pays off, that and empathy. :gj: