Ball Python active when handling

My BP is just over 2 months old and I have had her for about 3 weeks. She is a beautiful sweet little normal weighing in at 112grams. She does pretty much everything by the book. When I handle her for the first 2 mins she is really chill then starts exploring. I am a new snake owner but I have heard BP's described as the pet rock of snakes but mine is pretty active during handling. She doesnt seem frantic but very active. I did not expect this from her. She started this after about 3rd time that I handled her.

My question is this. Does this sound like a healthy curious snake or a stressed out snake that is trying to get away from me?

As a side note she never really hid her head and even the first time that I handled her she seemed pretty relaxed. She has never struck or even s'd up. I feed her on Wednesdays a fuzzy rat then leave her be until Saturday then handle her on Sat, Sun and Mon for about 5-10 mins then leave her be on tues and start the cycle over. I clean her water bowl every couple days. I find her in different parts of he enclosure every time that I pull her out. Her hot spot is 90 degrees. There are multiple hides. I keep her in a tub.

Thanks,

PhilyD

I'd be happy to help you and answer your questions... once you change your screen name... We already have a PhillyD here and it's me!!!!!


LOLOL...

My 3 ball pythons are all very active when being handled and only one is even semi head shy, the other 2 let me touch the head and neck area and unless i move too fast for their liking they do not flinch. If you let her sit still on your lap or on your hand or couch etc will she sit and chill or periscope or is she just looking to flee?

Snakes are very stoic...it's hard to tell how much stress you are causing...remember that they function via instincts...anything that picks them up in the wild is
normally a predator that's about to eat them. This early on, I think her motive for all the activity is mostly to "flee". (sorry) But in the wild they must also learn
their way around, so she's probably planning her escape now too, lol...seriously, some of this is fear, & also the instinct to hide. If you hold a snake close to you
they tend to feel less exposed, whereas out in the open is where predators nab them, & she's still not too sure about you yet either. ;) Just be patient...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Phillydubs

I'd be happy to help you and answer your questions... once you change your screen name... We already have a PhillyD here and it's me!!!!!


LOLOL...

My 3 ball pythons are all very active when being handled and only one is even semi head shy, the other 2 let me touch the head and neck area and unless i move too fast for their liking they do not flinch. If you let her sit still on your lap or on your hand or couch etc will she sit and chill or periscope or is she just looking to flee?

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Yes all of those. When I set her on the couch she was periscoping. In my hands she is moving around a lot. On my lap she tries unsuccessfully to climb up my chest.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Phillydubs

I'd be happy to help you and answer your questions... once you change your screen name... We already have a PhillyD here and it's me!!!!!


LOLOL...

?

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Love the screen name!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's often hard to tell the difference between her being inquisitive and checking stuff out, versus her trying to get away. A few cues that can help: sticking the neck out or periscoping usually means looking around; pulling back or keeping the head close to the body or close to the ground means scared/nervous. Lots of tongue flicking usually means curious/inquisitive. Also keep an eye on how fast your snake is breathing. If it's holding still and its breathing is slower, it's probably just chilling out. If it's holding still and its breathing is faster, it's probably scared and hoping it doesn't get noticed if it doesn't move. Although breathing will still be faster while the snake is active than while it's sleeping (duh). Its behavior outside the cage might also vary quite a bit with temperature. They're slower when it's cooler, so that might make some individuals more skittish when they're cold because they will be less equipped to escape a predator.

It's certainly normal for snakes to be inquisitive about the world around when they're out of their cages. Even a large, enriched cage with lots of furnishings has a limited number of places to go and not much to look at that's any distance away. The tubs that babies often live in have even less. So it's natural that the snake would be either inquisitive or freaked out or some of both when it's outside.

Generally my snake tries to climb UP stuff if he's out for a prowl, and just tries to go DOWN or get under stuff if he's trying to get away (although when he's in the mood to explore, he goes up and down and everywhere). Comfortable, well-adjusted animals generally have established routines at least until the routine changes. And individual ball pythons are still all different. As you get to know yours better, you'll be able to better read its behavior. They're not as pet-rock-ish as they're made out to be.

What you're describing sounds normal to me.

As long as the snake is moving and exploring with slow, deliberate movements, with consistent, steady tongue flicks I would say it's just exploring. Perfectly normal.

If the snake is moving with jerky, erratic movements, fast tongue flicks and heaving lung compressions the snake is nervous.

It's ok to see the expanding and collapsing of the lungs, but it shouldn't be fast as glaringly obvious.

Slow, deliberate and relaxed = exploring
Jerky and erratic = stress

Sorry res an old thread, but the wife brought home a new hatchling about a month ago. from day one, if you try to pick the snake up, it's all over the place. it acts more like a garter snake squirming everywhere over a ball python. if you try to hold her more than a min, she'll go to the bathroom on you. Is it just going to be a handle her every day multiple times a day to try to get her to understand that we mean her no harm? We are new to snakes.. The wife started with one back in August, and now we have 9 BP and 6 western hognose. All the hog nose are baby's about 30g each. the BP range from 82g when we got the squirmer up to one that she got that is 1400g.

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Originally Posted by WolfmoonCT

Sorry res an old thread, but the wife brought home a new hatchling about a month ago. from day one, if you try to pick the snake up, it's all over the place. it acts more like a garter snake squirming everywhere over a ball python. if you try to hold her more than a min, she'll go to the bathroom on you. Is it just going to be a handle her every day multiple times a day to try to get her to understand that we mean her no harm? We are new to snakes.. The wife started with one back in August, and now we have 9 BP and 6 western hognose. All the hog nose are baby's about 30g each. the BP range from 82g when we got the squirmer up to one that she got that is 1400g.

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Your post is a couple weeks old, I'm not sure if you got help yet. I own only a bp and also for not so long. I think the best way is you post your own thread. I was onced adviced to get a towel, bring her out and put her on your laps with a towel covering her so she can't see and stays calmer. If she stays still, you can pet her a bit.
Hope this helps.