Your First Time

[NightLad]

Hi everybody. I’m a new member and I found this place through a Google search for “Sterling Pastel Ball Pythons”. I had hoped to find some nice pictures of the morph I’m most interested in owning for my first BP, and fortunately Celia’s thread with pictures of her new Sterling was one of the first search results. (Thanks again for sharing those pictures, Celia!)

As I’ve been browsing through the various threads and filling myself with the great information so many people graciously share, I’ve been wondering; what was your first experience with a Ball Python?

Here is mine:

I was 11, and I had just graduated Cub Scouts. My Pack leader had all the boys over at his home for a BBQ to celebrate. His own son was in the pack, but he had mental issues. The kid was a freekin’ psycho. I think his dad became the pack leader for no other reason than to keep an eye on him because he didn’t trust to leave him on his own. Anyway, while the food cooked us kids played ‘hide and seek’ – but we were warned to stay away from the end of the backyard where the psycho son’s clubhouse was located. Well, I guess I ventured too close, because the only thing I remember is the kid slamming me against a fence with both hands around my neck. This kid was big, too. His face was red and he was yelling, but all I remember is blackness creeping over the edges of my vision as everything started to spin and I got weak in the knees. Time seemed to slow. The next thing I remember is his father pulled him off me and I stared to cough and gasp for air.

My reaction? I cried like a baby and ran into the house. I stayed in the basement until the party was over and my mom came to pick me up. Was she ever P.O’d!

On the way home she suggested we stop into a pet store near our house. She had passed it on the way to pick me up and saw that they had a snake, and knowing my love of reptiles she thought it would cheer me up. So we went in and the owner let me play with it. It was a baby ball!

That was my first encounter with a BP. I eventually became friends with the owner of the sore and started to do volunteer work there. I remember watching the snake feed on several occasions, too. It was quickly sold and he didn’t get another. Sadly the store went out of business a few years later and I lost touch with him.

(Just think; the day I was strangled my mother took me to play with a python to help me feel better. The irony is cosmic!)

So, what’s your first time experience?

[juddb]

to the team. Sterlings are the bomb post some pics of your collection.... Or else.

[NightLad]

Thank you for the welcome!

I’m sorry for not being clearer in my original post. I don't own any BP's yet; I've just been doing research into BPs because I've decided they are the snake I want to get. I became interested in the Sterling Morph and found this site through searching for it on Google.

Due to mom’s allergies I’ve exclusively owned reptiles as pets since childhood, but after the death of my Desert Iguana a few years ago, I’ve been petless. However, I believe now is the right time for me to open my home and heart again.

Actually, a friend of mine owns a BP too. She is such a wonderful animal!

So, what was your first experience with the wonderful world of the Ball Python?

[MelissaFlipski]

Welcome to this wonderful site, an addiction in its own right....

If it weren't for our son turning 6 ys old in August and wanting a pet, we wouldn't have been introduced to the most docile, snuggly, and curious pet we have ever had - our BP. (Aside - I threaten the dog that he'll be replaced by another snake if he doesn't stop peeing in the house!)

I can totally relate to your mom - and I'm sorry about that horrible experience. I guess you understood at an early age what I have come to know as "snake therapy." My son wanted a pet he could handle, that "did" something; and my requirements were small and w/out fur or feathers (allergies, too!).

We thought and thought for weeks about possibilites - lizards, frogs, hermit crabs, etc. And landed on snake - the pet store employee steered us toward a BP; and, boy, are we happy! Our son is not the only one that loves that BP!

I have never been afraid of snakes. But I never knew I could love one like this!