getting comfortable

the other night i pulled roswell out so i could hold him while watching a movie (escape from n.y.). when i pulled him out he did his normal thing, just sat there kinda squirming when i picked him up, but opnce he is my hands he wraps around and chills. i layed down on my chest with one hand over his body so he would feel like he was under a rock. after a few minutes i moved my hand and he just stayed there. he was wathcing the screen at first but then put his head in the darkness behind my hand, and just sat there the rest of the time. i assumed he was okay with just chilling wehre he was. how do you know if your snake is ready to go back to their enclosure or not. roswell just chilled for over an hour. i have played with roswell alot, but he never shows signs of wanting to go hide or anything. does this mean he likes to be out, or is more comfortable with being out all the time. i have never seen a snake that shows "signs" of wanting to get out of there. he was out for a good hour before i oput him back, thinking he may want to go back. i picked him up again, and wrapped around my hand, when i put him back in his cage he sat in my hand for a second, then just casualy slithered off and back onto the floor of his house. it was pretty cool to see how he noticed he was back home, cause he never just slithers off my hand onto the ground or anywhere without first spending 10 minutes slowly exploring the area first. anyway what kind of signs does one look for when they think their bp may want to back home.

The most obvious sign is that he will begin to look for hidding spot to crawl into. Each snake has his own personality, so it will vary with each snake on when he wants to and hide. But if mine did what yours did, I would let him stay that way until he begins to look for a "bigger" hideing spot. I think that the way he acted was his way of showing that he is very comfortable and trusting when he is your hands.

Roo usually looks for a hide spot too. Vash never seems to get tired of being held, but I try not to keep her out more than 20 minutes at a time.

why not more then 20 minutes? i started taking roswell out in 15 minute play dates, and slowly increased the less he squirmed around. when he got antsy i would always put him back. roo likes to stay out all day long, often curling around my girlfriends bra straps and resting in her cleavage for hours. i guess it comes down to each snakes personality. after reading around it seems everyone only plays with their snakes for 15 minutes or so at a time. is this just personal prefference amongst herps.

yeah i was kinda dissapointed when that was said to me but then i realized what if that much handling doesn't stress out certain ball pythons? but i can't do that with reeses yet. one he does not curl up on my and and stay he explores and explores and explores so i can't really tell if he is used to me although he will lick my fingers and he does come to me when playing on my bed but other than that he once again explores. so i guess i will have to wait a few months to update on improvment. atleast he never hissed or struck or bit me. man that is cool how ur bp can watch tv with u. i envy u 4 that because reeses is scared of the tv lol.

Remember, moving around might be "exploring" to a human, and might be "running away" to a snake.
Vash is also a Viper boa, a species not known to be as "cuddly" as BPs.
I was told early on to handle my snakes less than 2 hours a week, because it can stress them out, lead to regurge if done too soon, or lead to issues while feeding.

i see. i think roswell was stuck on my heart-beat. he rested his head right over my heart the whole time. for all i know he could have been to scared to move, feeling such a large warm heart beat and all. they seem to be real expressive though. i only watch t.v. in the dark, roswell hates bright lights more then me. if he is out and we turn on the lights he hides and only has his head sticking out. sooOO cute, but annoying that the ugly yellowish light bulbs scare him away. he is a lazy snake in general, never seen him move too far..everytime i let him go on his own he would slide under my legs, and try to curl up under my crotch. i guess t is really warm there. if i sit indian style he will curl up uner my legs, and poke his head out by my feet, but never leave me.. SNAKES ROCK!

Yeah I've heard of people starting off with short handling sessions, then increasing them as the days go on. But I've handled Pelota half a dozen times since getting her August 24th, and the first time I had her out, I wanted to just keep it to a short little 5 minute handling. But before I knew it, 20 minutes had passed and she was still chilling out with me. So I decided to put her back in her enclosure until the next time. Then the next time it was probably 20-25 minutes again. Then tonight, I had her out for a while. She seemed to finally really warm up to me. She was "exploring"(I say that because it didn't seem she was trying to get away..I dunno though) all over me. Tongue flicking in my ears(that feels REALLY weird, lol) and nose, then curling up under my neck while I laid down on my bed to watch some tv. Before I knew it, almost an hour had passed. By then, she had stopped exploring and had just curled up under my shirt for a bit. So I decided I'd put her back in her cozy home. She's really warmed up to me fast. 3 days after getting her, I fed her successfully. Then since monday I've held her regularly and she's been fine. Can't wait to see her grow with me. :)

And it sounds like you're doing excellent with Roswell. I say if a ball pythons content to chill with you for any amount of time, it's fine. Aslong as it's not too cool in your room. I always check the temp in my room before handling Pelota. Tonight it was 85 in my room so she seemed comfortable for that hour she was out. :)

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roo likes to stay out all day long, often curling around my girlfriends bra straps and resting in her cleavage for hours.

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This sounds like a perfect place to chill out! :D

Guido never seems to want to go back. I had to peel him off my wrist tonight to put him back.

maybe i should start handling reeses like before or after i turn the lights off cuz the lights seem to scare him too. but he is never afraid to explore on the bed. i say explore because he doesn't try to hide. yeah that is what i am gonna do after his shed is over. i am expecting him to shed tonight so be prepeared for pics tommorow of shiny new skin.