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View Poll Results: Do Ball Pythons have a personality?

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  • They do have a personality

    24 96.00%
  • They don't have a personality

    1 4.00%
  • Not Sure

    0 0%
Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
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    Ball Python Personalities

    There was an old debate that they don't have personalities and that snakes, in general, don't have personalities... but times have changed? So I'm wondering if the attitude has also?

    Uhh.. so defining personality. "the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual's distinctive character." and I put under than particular preferences that they don't need to have in order to survive.


    ***
    Yeah, so, I'm in the camp that they do because you can't explain the weirdness that is my female normal without it.

    There are ball pythons are come out when you are offering food, and others that stay in their hides 24-7.

    There are ball pythons where you show them a hide and they will slink in immediately, and others that dash right out again.

    There are ball pythons where they like a larger opening to their hide. (I had one where I spent hours trying to make a personalized one out of clay, and he broke the front. So I made another one and he did it again. Rejected the other hides... with smaller entrances.)

    I also have some that are happy on aspen, and others than kick it aside and refuse to rest on it.

    I've had a few reptiles that have worked to move their hides as well in the way they want them to be and where they want them to be. But this could and could not count, I suppose, if you're thinking about temperature. But some of them prefer them in a particular spot.

    And then you get the weirdness that is my female normal ball python... Stays on the cool end 24-7, unless she's just eaten and its cold out--she also avoids all of the substrate if possible--hates wriggling on it and pushes it aside, so will only slither on top of everything. Wriggles constantly when out, and does not sit still. When I try to put her back in she's like nope. She likes to come out in the morning to greet the sun. She'll stick her head out. She knocks over her water bowl if she deems it too empty or too dirty for her tastes. She'll come out if she's hungry on her feeding day and *stare* at me with her head periscoped. I offered her branches to climb as a baby. Refused them and knocked them over at the base. Occasionally, she'll demand to come out of the cage by rubbing her nose against the screen (She has a 40 gallon breeder tank... seriously...). She spent a day staring at me as I went in and out of the room when I wouldn't let her out. I opened the cage and she bolted. If I don't put in proper measures she'll escape at night. She'll also demand occasionally her cage gets cleaned by being antsy in the cage. Super reliable eater. She's slowed down a bit in older age, but when she's hungry she doesn't mess around. Also if I ask her if she's hungry, she'll stick out her head if she is.

    The male ball pythons... I have 2 that like to escape and then visit where I'm sleeping with their heads are up and go "Hello" with their tongues flicking staring at me. I had to figure out how to lock them tighter. 'cause they undid the latches... (They are like their mother in a lot of ways--the normal. They must have inherited some of her quirks.)

    Compare that to the "typical" ball python. My cinnamon... refuses to beg unless she's really hungry. She hates to hunt down her prey at all, so I have to wave it in front of her hide entrance. And then she goes on frequent hunger strikes. She tends to go off feed in winter and then not start up until June-July. (Not underweight though) As long as I leave her alone in her hide, she's happy. She also figured out how to escape, and I also had to lock her in tighter. (mostly around breeding season when she's not eating, which is why I don't breed her then). I usually end up finding her having her joy ride, so she hisses threateningly at me, though not when she's in her cage and I'm taking her out.

    So the individual choices of the snakes seem to be different for me...

  2. #2
    BPnet Senior Member Lord Sorril's Avatar
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    Re: Ball Python Personalities

    I do see quite a wide variety of behaviors between individuals. It is difficult to say how much of their personality is 'learned' and how much is pre-programmed instinct. Different behaviors under different environmental circumstances can be advantageous or disadvantageous. A wide variety of behaviors would offer more diverse survival options.
    *.* TNTC

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    Alicia (08-04-2020),Mr. Misha (08-04-2020)

  4. #3
    BPnet Senior Member Mr. Misha's Avatar
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    Lightbulb Re: Ball Python Personalities

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Sorril View Post
    I do see quite a wide variety of behaviors between individuals.
    This.

    Based on research currently available, I personally don't believe that BPs are capable of having a personality. With that said I have observed on many occasions different behaviors of my BPs.

    Here's an interesting study that I interpret suggests that Ball Pythons in captivity may have larger brains than in the wild. However, they were testing juvenile BPs and are following their progress:
    https://jeb.biologists.org/content/221/7/jeb180281

    Here's the full thesis if someone is interested in reading all 72 pages: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/1763/
    0.1 Reg. BP Het. Albino (Faye),
    1.0 Albino BP (Henry),
    0.1 Pastave BP Het. Pied (Kira)
    1.0 Pied BP (Sam)
    1.0 Bumble Bee BP (Izzy)

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  6. #4
    BPnet Veteran Luvyna's Avatar
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    Re: Ball Python Personalities

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Misha View Post
    This.

    Based on research currently available, I personally don't believe that BPs are capable of having a personality. With that said I have observed on many occasions different behaviors of my BPs.

    Here's an interesting study that I interpret suggests that Ball Pythons in captivity may have larger brains than in the wild. However, they were testing juvenile BPs and are following their progress:
    https://jeb.biologists.org/content/221/7/jeb180281

    Here's the full thesis if someone is interested in reading all 72 pages: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/1763/
    Very interesting stuff, thanks for sharing! It's fascinating that snakes can generate new neurons. Wish that was possible for humans!

  7. #5
    BPnet Senior Member Mr. Misha's Avatar
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    Re: Ball Python Personalities

    Quote Originally Posted by Luvyna View Post
    Very interesting stuff, thanks for sharing! It's fascinating that snakes can generate new neurons. Wish that was possible for humans!
    Not to hijack this thread, but if you search for "Python regius" on that site, you'll find a trove of interesting research papers.
    0.1 Reg. BP Het. Albino (Faye),
    1.0 Albino BP (Henry),
    0.1 Pastave BP Het. Pied (Kira)
    1.0 Pied BP (Sam)
    1.0 Bumble Bee BP (Izzy)

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  9. #6
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    Re: Ball Python Personalities

    Oh they absolutely have different personalities. My two girls are like night and day. Ana Gwyn (my redhead pastel) is a total sweetheart, you can hold her all day and she's perfectly happy. She is also ALWAYS under a hide but refuses to use anything made for snakes - only plastic dog dishes for her, thanks. Then there's Tonks, my chocolate enchi, who WILL NOT USE A HIDE AT ALL. Ever. Neeeever. She has some, but will push them out of the way to sit on the UTH, or like now she's squinched up between the hide and the tank glass. I've tried tricking her into hides by putting one on her while she was sleeping, she will just wake up and glare at me then move. She recently spent two whole days just curled up beside her water dish, not on the UTH or anything, just hanging out by the pool I guess. Tonks is also a lot more nervous about being held, unless you're my niece, who can hold her for hours and it's all cool. They're very different about food, too - Ana Gwyn just gently takes her rat and barely even wraps it, if at all, while Tonks goes WILD as soon as she smells her mouse and strikes like crazy until she gets lucky.

    I'm getting a baby male bullsnake (one of Snake Discovery's false ghost clutch, I'm excited!) in a few weeks, and I'm very much looking forward to learning a third snake's personality!
    Last edited by OoohShiny; 08-10-2020 at 01:31 PM.

  10. #7
    Registered User Kingdomall's Avatar
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    Re: Ball Python Personalities

    I think that it is very much possible that they can have personalities.
    They're solitary creatures and likely keep it to themselves, in my opinion.
    Someone I know has a pinstripe BP that doesn't strike her f/t food. Instead, she slithers around it and wraps around it. Without biting. She bites when it's a pre-killed rat, though.
    I always thought that snakes strike before they wrap their food... I guess it varies.

  11. #8
    BPnet Veteran FollowTheSun's Avatar
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    Yes they absolutely have personalities. We have one who is very very mellow and one who is very defensive and will randomly bite us and hiss even when out of the enclosure.
    2 BP's, one ratsnake, 2 dogs, 3 cats, 2 small caged birds, 7 chickens, and a toddler in a pear tree

  12. #9
    BPnet Senior Member Sonny1318's Avatar
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    I’m going to say that at times, they do some pretty unique things. I have some that have lost the need to “hide”, literally almost always in the open. Most, if not all the balls I have will sit in the open if they make waste in any part of their tank unless it’s in their water dish, and even then they will still remain visible to it’s cleaned. One prefers to hide constantly, but again makes it known if he’s hungry, or peed in his hide. Also have a couple who seem a little to eager at times to get out of their tanks. One that isn’t a fan of returning to his tank till he’s ready. So to some extent, definitely some different behaviors.
    1.0 Black Pastel Pinstripe
    1.0 Reduced Pattern Clown
    1.0 Low White Pied
    1.0 Hypo Super Enchi

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