Hi All,

Have had my ball python for two years (bought as a juvenile August 2022). Bought it for my kid (now 9) and the python has never 'warmed up' to us. And by that I mean still is in a tight ball whenever held. And also will get into striking position whenever I come near the cage.

Eats fairly well. Was a little of a journey getting him on f/t but ate two f/t medium rats (~100g) two times in a row. 34-gallon, front-opening terrarium. Been shedding well. Just weighed today: 900g

A few factors/observations:

1) Always in a ball when picked up, usually from hide. Will have son hold him in lap while doing something else (watching TV) and he'll stroke the scales softly (he read they like this in this book I got him early on).
2) When the snake finally does uncurl, it's usually in the striking position. My son doesn't notice but I do and usually take the snake when this happens (usually after 15 minutes or so) so that he doesn't strike my son. Moreso just worried about my kid being afraid so trying to avoid for that reason.
3) I also personally fear being struck while holding him purely because I don't want to hurt him. Just as a natural reaction I jump still when he takes the f/t because it's such a fast movement. So when I'm holding him and he does start moving around, I fear if he strikes me I'll startle and drop him. Is this a thing? do they have enough awareness not to strike the thing that's holding them?
4) I always give 24 hour grace period before or after feeding.

I believe the husbandry is good given the above (nice sized tank, feeding well, shedding well, etc). Looking for maybe some tips and a schedule to get on. Is it just handling consistently? Because of the above honestly a couple months may go by without handling and I think I was waiting for him to grow out of a young, skittish stage and seems like that's not a good strategy. But also don't want to make things worse by handling wrong, if that makes sense.

Always ready to strike on approach:


Holding session today