What do you get out of having ball pythons?

I hope I don't ignite flames with this question, as it's a serious one and not meant to bait. After rescuing this ball python, I've grown rather fond of her. Yet other than just a new found fascination with snakes and reptiles, I'm not sure what I get out of her as a pet.

She's not like my cat, who actively seeks me out, and she's not like my guinea pigs, who squeak for food and enjoy being petted and cuddled. I started thinking about this after stumbling on that thread about 'does my snake love me?' and realising what instinctual creatures they are.

In a way, I guess having snakes is something like having fish, except that you can pick them up and handle them. Some people do become devoted to their fish, and some people do become (very!) devoted to their snakes.

I guess I'm just worried that I'm fond of this snake now; and I'm afraid I will decide to keep her. But what if my interest wanes? If the owner gives her up, it might be better to pass her along to someone else.

I would hate to keep her for a few years, lose interest, and faced with possibly decades more of care, want to give her up. Although since she can't love, and may not form the same kind of attachments as a mammal or bird, would that be terribly wrong and irresponsible to rehome her at that point?

Right now, at this point I would say I DO feel like keeping her. Do the same rules that apply to the keeping of a mammal or bird apply to snakes - that if you bring them on, you need to be prepared to keep them for life? Knowing that some long lived reptiles, like turtles, or birds like parrots have the ability to be passed on to other family members out of long-livedness, it makes me wonder how terrible is it really, to find a new home for them.

Looking back on this, maybe I am in that same thought pattern as someone who buys a large python mistakenly expecting that when it gets too big, I'll drop it off at the zoo or something? However, I would say the difference in this situation is that this is a snake not likely to get any bigger than 4-5 feet. Not being able to handle the snake is not the issue.

I guess I'm trying to understand, to zero in on the zeal that makes someone want to keep a ball for possibly 30-40 years.

Thoughts?

Kira

You have been bitten by th bug. everyone here has it. I can only speak for my self but yea they are a little like fish longer lived of course. I know what I get out of keep pythons.

I enjoy their outstanding color and personality's that very from snake to snake. I also enjoy the idea that I have the ability to care for a less than auto pilot pet.

Kinda the same way I like cigars and not cigarettes I have to rotate them and keep the humidity and the temp right. Its a proactive animal to care for.

But thats just me.

They are fun to watch, and I'm sure when you breed them, it's cool to watch the babies pip!

I do have to agree with Freakie Frog, they each have a different personality, one might be mean, one might be skittish, one might be nice, some might ball up all the time.I also like they way that almost every snake's pattern is different.

There's at least two types of people in this world: Those who keep ball pythons, and those who don't. Those other people, no matter how hard you try to explain it, will never "get it" until they keep a ball python themselves.

and thats it in a nut shell

It's certainly not wrong on any level to rehome a snake if you lose interest.. it's the responsible thing to do if that does happen. Of course you hope that doesn't happen, but if it does, finding a home that appreciates the snake is the only thing to do.

As for what I get out of keeping snakes? I love watching them, I think they are some of the most beautiful animals in the world. I like holding them.. and I imagine that seeing babies born/hatch will just be incredible.

Each person gets something different out of keeping ANY reptile. I could go on and on about the reasons that I personally have for keeping my snakes, reasons that I have heard others state, what keeping reptiles has done for people...on and on. However, that is not going to help you in anyway if you are trying to convince yourself to keep an animal for 20+ years or trying to figure out what you like about reptiles. If you are a reptile keeper, you have to KNOW why you keep the animal...that is something for you to determine yourself.

Personally, I just love reptiles and everything about them. I enjoy watching them in the wild, so having them in my house is my 'quick access'. Unlike most other pets, reptiles are COMPLETELY dependant on the keeper and they are very sensitive to their environments. Also, the reptiles themselves are only a fraction of the reason 'why I like it'. I enjoy designing and building enclosures, researching new animals, teaching others about reptiles, interacting with fellow herpers, learning more about myself, gaining knowledge about reptiles through reallife experience, learning how to run a business, finding out how to do business online, developing photography skills, doing website design for my reptile websites, meeting new people...

..I could go on for hours with what I love about being involved with reptiles...and because I can do that....I plan on keeping them for the rest of my life :D

For me i like to watch them just glide around like they are on air.I also agree each one has there own personality and thats how i chose there names.I have had just about every pet availiable and i feel i have found my favorite one in my snakes.I love talking about them and telling people the TRUTH about them lol.Unless something serious happens to me i will have snakes until i die of old age :cool: .

Before we bought Fluffy (male normal BP hatched 6/11/06), I had a talk with my children on who would take care of him if I were to pass before him. The fact is that I am 47 years old, and if Fluffy were to live to be near the maximum of 40 years, I would be needing care in the same amount as he would.


I am the sole cleaner and feeder. I also get to hold him more!!! He seems more comfortable on my arm. He still hisses at me when I take him out of his wonderful hide, but he is still a baby.

My daughter will not have anything to do with feeding him now, but she promised to take care of him should he out live me. (I think that she would do it to honor me.)

For us owning snakes is not like someone who owns a dog or a cat for say. I don't walk my snakes, watch TV with my snakes, bath with them, take them to the supermarket, cuddle in bed with them or take them on bike rides and what not. Unfortunately, those who you usually see with a snake wrapped around their neck at Petsmart or driving down a highway on a Motorbike going 90MPH are usually the ones who end up dumping them within a 2-3 years.

Simply put, I'm fascinated by them, always have been and always will. I'm thrilled to have them as a part of my life, to be able to go into another room and see all these fascinating creatures and interact with them on a daily basis. Even when you're cleaning poop or rinsing sterilite tubs till 11:00PM, simply being able to own these fascinating creatures is a gift for those who truly love them! Breeding them is basically the ultimate extension of that fascination! Walking into a room and seeing a pile of babies just born, that smell or those eggs hatching, maybe seeing something unique in it's own, it's remarkable for those who love it.

Just my $0.02

I love to watch him as he explores the world. Orey's only 7 months old, and it's neat having a little baby around. I like watching him explore and squeeze my hand like he's putting me in danger. Watching him shed, and seeing how vibrant he is after is an amazing feeling - when all of that shed comes off in one piece it's a great big A+ to your husbandry :)
I enjoy knowing I can give him a comfortable home where is is generally stress free, and feels safe enough to be outgoing when he's being handled. I enjoy watching him slither around my living room, head up and all wiggly... then beelining for under the couch :P

It's not an "exciting" or interactive pet by most people's idea of a pet, but to me he is fascinating, and a living work of art.
I'm also fascinated by his body - it's completely different than ours, and I think it's more interesting to keep a pet that isn't a mammal.
(Well my boyfriend's a mammal so I guess I DO already have one of those for a pet :P)

It could just be me but with my friend's snakes they always go the person they're more used to being handled by. For example, if it's me and my friend in a room with the snake and I'm holding the snake then the snake will attempt to go to my friend. However, say it's me, the snake and one of my friend's brothers or sisters or somebody the snake isn't accustomed to in the room, the snake won't try and leave me, he'll just sit calmly wherever he settles and if I give him to another person then he'll try and come back to me. They were quite used to being handled by me before but they seem to move around on me a lot less since I looked after them over the summer when my friend was away, especially the boa, George, who I handled first when he was just a few weeks old. To conclude, I do think there is some sense of attachment from the snake to people that it "knows", I don't think they neccesarily love their owners but I think they are comfortable being held by them and would much rather be held by them than by someone they don't know. I think snakes just have a certain charm that makes them enjoyable to look after, a charm that is very hard to ignore, maybe it's the hope that we can undertand them better, or the fact that's it's gratifying to be able to look after something that is almost comepletely dependent on you well, honestly, I don't know what it is.

Just my 2 pence (I know it's usually pence but I'm English).

Oh, and just one question: wheres the Union Jack smiley!?

:salute:Sam

Now I remember what the question was going to be originally! Do you like the new account? People were thinking I was a girl so I made a new, more obviously male account. Off-topic sorry, just ignore this. Why am I posting this? Never mind.

At this time, I get the joy of watching him grow up.

I like them mostly because they are not cats or dogs. When you want to just care for them they like it, and when you want to handle them they tolerate it. My wifes dachshund always needs attention, and I don't always want to give it. I've always been fascinated by reptiles and amphibians just took me twenty years to decide I wanted to care for them for another 20-40.

Yes, I've been getting a lot of flack for wanting to raise a ball python. My very "ick-i-fied" friends have been desperately trying to convince me that having a snake is not socially acceptable.... Good grief people, I'm not doing this to be cool or envied. I'm not researching thermostats and substrates so I can brag to my co-workers. Ball pythons fascinate me; pure & simple. I admire how they are so fragile & strong at the same time.