BP taming question

[Marrissa]

Hello,
So I've had my BP for about a week now. His name is Allure. Well I got him to eat a small mouse on the 3rd day of his stay and let him sit for 1 1/2 days to digest. There was no lump so I held him. When I hold him in my hand he'll sit there for a while and slowly move his neck and head around to smell and look. When I set him on the bed he's off and running. I can't get him to stay near me and have to be on guard that he doesn't slide off the edge of the bed or get into a spot where I'm going to have to work to find him/get him out. He's my first snake and I know I should move slow but sometimes I have to head him off quick so he doesn't go where he shouldn't and that startles him. At most he'll give a little jolt and bring his head back closer to his body then keep moving. I tried putting him around me neck and he thought it'd be a lot more fun to go down my shirt. This resulted in my having to lean over so he didn't slide right down my back. He came back out the other side of my neck hole and I thought that was adorable.

Anyways so for questions:
How long does it usually take for a new (and young, he's only a little over 3 months) BP to get used to handle to where they'll settle down? When I did my research I got the idea that they aren't very big movers and are content to rest on you.
Also when I put him back in his tank he won't go into his hide for a while. He'd rather curl up on his branch at the cool end for a while. I think that's kinda weird. Do you?
My UTH doesn't seem to do too well at getting all the heat through the glass and substrate. I have it set at 93 but the glass there only reads about 86 with my temp gun. Why is that? I took a bunch of the substrate out so the heat doesn't have as far to go to get in the tank.

Details:
I've done a lot of reading on forums and websites. I'm just hoping I don't get jumped on by posting because I've seen that happen a lot of herp forums.
-Cool end is currently 75F and the warm end is 86F. It's an uphill battle with the temps because my parents keep the house around 66F. I keep my door shut to keep as much heat in as I can.
-He's in a 20gal tank (I know tubs are better but I got talked out of that and bought a tank kit which I know is useless and I only use the one light it came with out of all the stuff it came with), a 50 watt night heat bulb in the middle but closer to the warm end (this is the raise the ambient air temp, it gets about 75F), an UTH on the hot side on a thermostat set to 93F.
-He's got a humid hide made out of a small plastic tub filled with ecoearth and phagnum moss. This is on the warm side. On the cool side he has his tree branch he likes to curl up on, and fake plants for cover, and in the middle a large water bowl.
-Humidity 40/45% normally and 50% when sprayed.
-Ecoearth substrate for humidity.
-The screen top is covered completely except for a spot for the light with cardboard wrapped in tin foil. I cut it to fit snugly over the screen.
-I just bought a small 900 watt space heater and a small vaporizer on Amazon and they will be coming in next week. I plan to run the space heater for an hour or two while I am in the room and the vaporizer at night.

The summer will be much easier because then I can removed the heat lamp and put the plexiglass over the lid that I got cut to fit and not worry about heat.

[Inarikins]

When BPs want to go, they go. There's no easy way to keep them next to you except by force. You're big and he's little, so you're a huge giant threat to him and he's going to try to get away. He'll learn eventually that you're not a threat. He might calm down and stay in your hands as he gets bigger and he might not.

As far as your hot spot temp, you're going to have to turn up your thermostat. You want the inside temp to read anywhere from 88-92 and sometimes you really have to crank up your thermostat to get that right. My Herpstat is currently set to 95.5 and it's giving me a 90 degree hot spot, since the probe is between the UTH and the bottom of the tub.

[catzeye21138]

Ball pythons vary on their temperament. Balls, Inc. Has two young 2012 females that are exactly the same age. One could not give a **** what you do to her or how you pick her up. The other will hiss and strike out like crazy the moment I open the lid.

Besides temperament, it depends on how often you handle them. You really shouldn't have messed with him for the first week, so he's probably still settling in and needs time. He'll get there, there's just no saying when.

[MrLang]

Is the BP in your avatar yours?

[Marrissa]

Thank you for the responses. You guys are quick! I very much appreciate them.

Inarikins- Ok thank you. I just was scared to turn the thermostat up more for fear of burns if the glass did manage to get to the temperature it's supposed to be. It's a hydrofarm thermostat and it varries by two degrees. I'll turn it up to 95 and see what I get. I have the probe taped on the heating pad itself with foil tape. I read that putting it inside isn't a good idea because it could get moved or peed on.

catzeye- that's what I wasn't sure of. When looking around the web most people were saying once they eat and don't have a lump you're in the clear. Everyone varries so much with what they do, how long they wait, opinions, etc it's hard to decide on which to go with.

MrLang- yes it is. That was when I first took him out of the box after he arrived.

[LLLReptile]

It's still only your snake's first week. They can take a couple weeks to a month to fully settle in and get used to what's happening around them, and on top of that every snake is different (as others have pointed out). I'd give your baby another week to settle in before handling it too much more, and then hold it for just a few minutes at a time. From there you and the snake will get more used to each other, and will have a better idea of each other's behavior.

I have never really encountered a snake that will happily just sit next to you straight out of the cage. A few of my mellower or more people-friendly snakes will hang out on you, and when they're tired from being out all day at the store or at an event, they'll curl up on a lap or next to someone to rest. That definitely didn't happen in just one week, though, those are all snakes I've had for several months if not years (in one case, decades).

The best advice I can give you is to go slow and learn your snake, rather than try to get it to conform to what you'd like out of it. They will do what they want to do regardless, and you'll find that once you figure out what your snake enjoys as far as interaction, you'll both be happier interacting in that way.

Good luck!

-Jen

[Marrissa]

It's still only your snake's first week. They can take a couple weeks to a month to fully settle in and get used to what's happening around them, and on top of that every snake is different (as others have pointed out). I'd give your baby another week to settle in before handling it too much more, and then hold it for just a few minutes at a time. From there you and the snake will get more used to each other, and will have a better idea of each other's behavior.

I have never really encountered a snake that will happily just sit next to you straight out of the cage. A few of my mellower or more people-friendly snakes will hang out on you, and when they're tired from being out all day at the store or at an event, they'll curl up on a lap or next to someone to rest. That definitely didn't happen in just one week, though, those are all snakes I've had for several months if not years (in one case, decades).

The best advice I can give you is to go slow and learn your snake, rather than try to get it to conform to what you'd like out of it. They will do what they want to do regardless, and you'll find that once you figure out what your snake enjoys as far as interaction, you'll both be happier interacting in that way.

Good luck!

-Jen

I saw your name and my first reaction was "whoa". I was thinking about buying from your website when I was hunting around for a breeder. lol I Kinda feel like I'm talking to a celebrity now. I felt the same with I found Garrick on youtube (he's who I purchased from).

And ok I'll let him be for the next week and just open it up for misting and water changes. Waiting is painful when you're excited, but I know I'd rather him settle so no more handling for now. Thank you for the reply!

[LLLReptile]

I saw your name and my first reaction was "whoa". I was thinking about buying from your website when I was hunting around for a breeder. lol I Kinda feel like I'm talking to a celebrity now. I felt the same with I found Garrick on youtube (he's who I purchased from).

And ok I'll let him be for the next week and just open it up for misting and water changes. Waiting is painful when you're excited, but I know I'd rather him settle so no more handling for now. Thank you for the reply!

Haha, that's funny! Garrick is seriously awesome, and he actually supplies us with many of our CBB baby ball pythons. I also breed ball pythons personally, and every so often the morphs you see available on our website are some of my babies. You can always email us or call to ask questions, we have an entire staff whose job is to talk to customers!

In any case, sounds like you have your set up dialed in, especially since the baby is eating already. Just takes patience - and believe me, I know how tough it is! It's worse when you've got hatchling babies that you've only been waiting for since you first started pairing snakes 6 months ago... Takes a lot of willpower not to peek in the tubs all day every day!

Good luck Glad I could help!

-Jen

[ktint]

BP are not like cats or dogs in trusting department. I have my female BEL for more than 5 months and handle 3 to 4 times a week. Strike at me a few times in the past. Now she starts to notice that I will not harm her but she is still shy.

My Albino has never stirked at me once since I got hime (18 months ago). He hang out with me while watching TV from time to time. It depends on individual snake.

Boas are different story. Generally, they are more social than ball and my Bolivian BCA will chill on my chest while I am sleeping or taking a nap. I got this boa 2 months ago from a reputable breeder and he is already 4 years old. On the other hand, there are also many nasty boas also.

Ball Pythons will not give you affection like cats or dogs.

[Don]

to train them, you need a whip and a chair.

Seriously, all of my ball pythons have different personalities. I have a female Axanthic that when we first got her, she would strike the side of her tub if she felt anyone was within five feet of it. She is absolutely the meanest snake I've ever encountered. Now that she is around nine months old, she is settling down and can be held without striking. I've got others that right out of the egg (or box if ordered) would just chill out and be comfortable with you holding them. When I try to tell people that snakes have different personalities, I get a lot of weird looks, but it is true. The one thing that is fairly universal is that the calm down with age.

Give it time, relax and enjoy the snake. This is supposed to be fun, not stressful.