What's the allure with BPs?

Hey all, thought this might make an interesting thread...I've never found ball pythons very attractive as pet snakes, and oddly enough for me it's their head shape and sort of dopey looking eyes.

Just thought I'd ask,...mean no disrespect to anybody or any great pets!

CJ

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Well, I think they’re very attractive and manageable. They are secretive and have unlimited genetic potential. They also tolerate handling pretty well also. It may just be a personal choice? Lol.

Personally I like how goofy their faces are - Burms too, they have extremely goobery expressions. I was a little scared of snakes when I first got mine, but it's difficult to be too scared of such a goofy, puppy-dog face. I know other people might prefer a more intense looking snake like a blood python, but I find them more intimidating. In more general terms, their simple needs in term of enclosure and their love of being comfortable and just chilling in a warm spot for the vast majority of the day were big pluses for me - I don't need to worry about them needing something from me, most of the time I check in on them they're both happily napping away in their caves. They're very relaxing to handle too, occasionally they'll want to get on a shelf and knock things over but they're generally very slow-moving and calm, just curious enough to want to check things out but very easy to manage. Some people find that boring and like a more active and visually-focused snake, but for me I like the relaxed pace they have about everything.

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Originally Posted by Wanik4

Hey all, thought this might make an interesting thread...I've never found ball pythons very attractive as pet snakes, and oddly enough for me it's their head shape and sort of dopey looking eyes.

Just thought I'd ask,...mean no disrespect to anybody or any great pets!

CJ

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Since this is a forum called "Ball-Pythons" I have a feeling that your opinion will be very much in the minority here- :D And the very things you find less attractive are what appeals to many others- some compare them to a puppy-face, & for sure their docile nature is huge selling point in their favor.

For what it's worth, I'm more into rat snakes & various other kinds of snakes- we all have different tastes. I've kept BPs in the past though, & at the time, I remember being MOST attracted by their beautiful patterns- incidentally, that was way before all these variations (morphs) came along, & I still think "normal" BPs are attractive. I have trouble finding snakes to DIS-like, but I do prefer snakes that are more active- less docile/more challenging, & whose other care requirements are a better match for my tastes. I dislike picky eaters- but keep in mind that when I had BPs, I also had way more snakes than I do now, with a lot less time to deal with those idiosyncrasies.

But all this begs the question- what snakes appeal to you?

I have 7 snakes and one is a BP. The others are a Carpet Python, two corn snakes, and 3 boas. My first snake was a BP many, many, years ago. I have a connection to them. Shayna, my BP, is a great snake. She fairly shy, as many BP's are, but she's beautiful and calm and a good size, especially for this intimidated by larger snakes like Boas and Carpets, etc. When I was a kid, I wanted an albino BP. They were $20k in 1990 money. Not happening. 9 years ago I was able to get Shayna, an albino Spider, for about $800. She's been great, although not as interactive and curious as the boas or carpet. She's easy to take care of and I love her.

Having said that, if I got another snake, it probably would be something more interactive. However, I love my collection and cannot imagine not having a BP. BP's got me into reptile keeping and Shayna got the current bug going. I wouldn't have the collection I do if not for her.

Ball pythons, why do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

1. They're pythons. Pythons are dangerous and therefore sexy and cool. They may not be the biggest python, but they're more impressive than skinny old colubrids.
2. They're manageable. They're not too big or too fast or too defensive to be handled by anybody, even kids.
3. They're beautiful. They come in a dizzying array of colors and patterns. No matter your taste, you'll find one that'll take your breath away. They're cute too. Look no further than Albert's latest clutch. And they keep those baby faces into adulthood.
4. They're affordable. If a snake fits in your budget, than a ball python fits in your budget.

Add all that up and you've got just about the perfect pet snake. That's the allure with BPs.

Colubrids were extremely popular back in the 90s and early 2ks. They still are one of the big three.
Hognoses are the one that I'm actually amused with. The popularity on them is moving ahead EXTREMELY rapidly.

I have to agree on the colors and patterns being what drew my eye.. And it only became more interesting to me over time with all the new morphs.
My first Royal Python is my oldest boy. A normal/wild phase that I bought as a teenager for 20$ in 2000. Which amusingly became banned in my hometown later that year
The ease of care (minus the food strikes) and the manageable size is what still does it for me now. Cagesize is another consideration. They don't need a lot of space to be comfortable. They're pretty laid back and not as active as some species.

I love the look of some of the reticulated pythons now, but the size not manageable to me, especially when I have a back injury that I don't like to stress out. I don't have other people as comfortable handling snakes in my household so having a second body to help manage also isn't really a thing for me. I also wouldn't want to keep a retic in a similar setup as my Beeps. Sure, a lot of breeders still keep them in racks, but with a larger snake that is also a little more prone to climb trees in the wild, I wouldn't want to do that.

Eventually one day I would want to do a nice display cage with a small group of garters or a single kingsnake or Viet. Beauty.... but that's far off when I am not living with roomies. hahah.

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Originally Posted by Albert Clark

Well, I think they’re very attractive and manageable. They are secretive and have unlimited genetic potential. They also tolerate handling pretty well also. It may just be a personal choice? Lol.

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Have to agree with you, definitely the genetics are pretty amazing!

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Originally Posted by plateOfFlan

Personally I like how goofy their faces are - Burms too, they have extremely goobery expressions. I was a little scared of snakes when I first got mine, but it's difficult to be too scared of such a goofy, puppy-dog face. I know other people might prefer a more intense looking snake like a blood python, but I find them more intimidating. In more general terms, their simple needs in term of enclosure and their love of being comfortable and just chilling in a warm spot for the vast majority of the day were big pluses for me - I don't need to worry about them needing something from me, most of the time I check in on them they're both happily napping away in their caves. They're very relaxing to handle too, occasionally they'll want to get on a shelf and knock things over but they're generally very slow-moving and calm, just curious enough to want to check things out but very easy to manage. Some people find that boring and like a more active and visually-focused snake, but for me I like the relaxed pace they have about everything.

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All great points, you might have sold me!

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Since this is a forum called "Ball-Pythons" I have a feeling that your opinion will be very much in the minority here- :D And the very things you find less attractive are what appeals to many others- some compare them to a puppy-face, & for sure their docile nature is huge selling point in their favor.

For what it's worth, I'm more into rat snakes & various other kinds of snakes- we all have different tastes. I've kept BPs in the past though, & at the time, I remember being MOST attracted by their beautiful patterns- incidentally, that was way before all these variations (morphs) came along, & I still think "normal" BPs are attractive. I have trouble finding snakes to DIS-like, but I do prefer snakes that are more active- less docile/more challenging, & whose other care requirements are a better match for my tastes. I dislike picky eaters- but keep in mind that when I had BPs, I also had way more snakes than I do now, with a lot less time to deal with those idiosyncrasies.

But all this begs the question- what snakes appeal to you?

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I really wanted to ask just to see how everybody felt...to provoke thinking. The first snake I ever saw was a mature normal BP and that so many years ago probably sparked my fire. Everybody has made such great points that I might just conseder one now! Personally I've always been a man of excess...the unusual and what not. I've leaned more towards carpet pythons due to their size and just got my first half dwarf burmese. I prefer more challenge, larger size, feistier tempers that require more training and work on my work. My wife, however, isn't comfortable with snakes and a cute BP may just be what she needs to work toward handling the burmese [emoji1787]

Cj

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Originally Posted by Wanik4

I really wanted to ask just to see how everybody felt...to provoke thinking. The first snake I ever saw was a mature normal BP and that so many years ago probably sparked my fire. Everybody has made such great points that I might just conseder one now! Personally I've always been a man of excess...the unusual and what not. I've leaned more towards carpet pythons due to their size and just got my first half dwarf burmese. I prefer more challenge, larger size, feistier tempers that require more training and work on my work. My wife, however, isn't comfortable with snakes and a cute BP may just be what she needs to work toward handling the burmese [emoji1787]

Cj

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Thanks for replying to our comments and we are surely happy that you can embrace our points. I always wanted a granite Burmese python from years ago. Just couldn’t understand how I could house and feed a giant adequately. Sometimes it saddens me when I think about it. Considering what and how much they can consume in the wild it begs the question if we can truly feed them in a way that not only is satisfying to them, but so it won’t affect their behavior. As for people who are uncomfortable with snakes I’m of the thinking to respect their feelings. Some people have very real and deep seated fears of snakes.

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Originally Posted by dakski

I have 7 snakes and one is a BP. The others are a Carpet Python, two corn snakes, and 3 boas. My first snake was a BP many, many, years ago. I have a connection to them. Shayna, my BP, is a great snake. She fairly shy, as many BP's are, but she's beautiful and calm and a good size, especially for this intimidated by larger snakes like Boas and Carpets, etc. When I was a kid, I wanted an albino BP. They were $20k in 1990 money. Not happening. 9 years ago I was able to get Shayna, an albino Spider, for about $800. She's been great, although not as interactive and curious as the boas or carpet. She's easy to take care of and I love her.

Having said that, if I got another snake, it probably would be something more interactive. However, I love my collection and cannot imagine not having a BP. BP's got me into reptile keeping and Shayna got the current bug going. I wouldn't have the collection I do if not for her.

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Very good insight! They are beautiful in coloration and a good addition for a collection. Cheers.

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Originally Posted by Wanik4

...I prefer more challenge, larger size, feistier tempers that require more training and work on my work. My wife, however, isn't comfortable with snakes and a cute BP may just be what she needs to work toward handling the burmese [emoji1787]

Cj

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:gj: There ya go! ;) BPs have drawn many people into snakes- they help open minds. :snake:

I've been thinking about this and something occurred to me - it's not just the range of morphs with BPs but the quality. In a lot of snake species, trying to find a patternless snake is either impossible or will require a waiting list and a hefty down payment. There's also a lot of lines of say, T+ albino where if your friend came over, and you said "this is my albino boa" your friend would be like "what? that's not albino. Albinos are white/cream with bright pink eyes!" If you look at an albino or leucistic ball python it looks like what you expect - a patternless or nearly-patternless, white snake with sparkling blue or bright pink eyes. If I want a pure white BP I can go down to the pet store right now, they'll have at least one in stock, and I can get it for like 300USD. In a lot of snake species a pure white animal like that is wildly expensive or simply can't be had. I think the leucistic quality is probably a big reason both BPs and rat snakes are so popular - something about a perfectly white animal is just really amazing.

Actually, I didn't really want ball pythons, but I was looking for snakes to use in educational demonstrations. I preferred colubrids. Slender, graceful snakes that aren't fussy eaters, very easy keepers. What I'd heard of ball pythons centered around how picky they are about their food, the need to 'trick' them into thinking it's still alive, how shy they are, and that they frequently have shedding problems. However, fast-moving snakes prone to abrupt motions are not reassuring to someone who is afraid of snakes, generally, and I decided to give the ball pythons a try for specific traits. Chunky, thick bodies, relatively slow moving, 'cute' faces, bright colors and patterns that don't trigger a fear reaction to 'danger'. I've met some people who can't even look at snake print clothing without getting nervous. I'm that way about spiders, myself, so I can understand it. The previously mentioned traits are all features that humans tend to react positively to, reminiscent of baby animals. Now that I've kept ball pythons for a while, I would have to say that they've replaced the colubrids in my affections.

the Ball Python’s face is one of the many reasons i love them - i also enjoy their temperament, size, wild/normal coloration and the fact that they’re from Africa as it is my own personal goal to specialize in African constrictor snakes - they’re the first stop on my path to the big boys (African rocks)

I know I’m in the minority, and I respect opposing opinions, but I’m not a fan of BPs. I don’t like their head shape or their finicky feeding fiascos. I kept a few normals in the early 90s, and I love that they were an introduction to the hobby and other snake species, but I can’t see me ever keeping BPs again. They do have some amazing morphs though. The pieds and mystic potions are especially incredible to me.