Genetics and Temperament

[MissMowgli]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the board, but I've been lurking for a few weeks. I've absolutely fallen in love with BPs, but it'll probably be a couple of years before I acquire one. In the interim, I'm just trying to find out as much as possible about them.

I have sort of a strange question about temperament. I can't imagine I'll ever have more than a hobby-sized collection of BPs, and any snake I bring home will primarily be a pet to me. I've read a lot about "feisty" or "nippy" BPs, and it seems like snakes that hatch that way stay that way, and never really appreciate being handled. I would much prefer to have snakes that enjoy being handled on occasion than those that strike at me whenever I stick my hand in, but temperament is rarely mentioned in kingsnake ads, and it doesn't seem a big concern among most people. Is there any indication that temperament has a genetic component in BPs? Do feisty parents = feisty offspring? In dog breeding, for example, it's considered somewhat unethical to breed an aggressive dog--no matter how well he does in the show ring--because of the possibility of that aggression being genetic. Is there any evidence that this is also true of BPs? Or, are some snakes just born angry, even if their parents are both extremely docile?

[bob351]

they see giant hot things coming to pick them up to them they need to defend themselves its just natural cant explain for the adults but some just get use to the scent, look and temp of a human thats my guess

[RandyRemington]

I've seen bad temperament passed down through two different lines in my collection. I'm working on getting it weeded out.

There may actually be some breeders selecting for aggression with the belief it goes along with better feeders and breeders. To me one of the signature things about ball pythons is there general docile temperament so it would be a shame to see that bred out of them.

[Bruce Whitehead]

I have been told that the aggressive females make the best breeders... but I have one that is, and one that is a kitten.

Both bred and gave me eggs.

I have some that are... for lack of a better word... sweet sweet sweet. (Ok, that's 3 words) And I have a few that are nippy. But when they do nip me I can trace it to Stupid Human Error.

But that being said... and this is from very limited exposure, as I only have 18 BPs, but all the BPs that I acquired that were pets prior, esp. family pets, have been hands down the nicest snakes to handle. They are the ones that meet me at the tub and then are crawling back up my arms when I try and put them away.

Which although sweet... is actually kind of a pain.

They ever hiss, never bite (but then again, I also don't sneak up on them and am consistent in my handling of them).

Which actually goes against my beliefs on BPs and overhandling... but *meh*. Whatcha gonna do?

I would suggest that you start with a babe and grow with it. Just be cautious that they are eating with consistency and use that as a primary basis for your handling of them.

But conversely, know that there is a chance you may get a nippy one. But as noted, they are a nice docile snake.

Bruce

[MissMowgli]

Thanks for the input, everyone.

Of course, I expect to be bitten along the way. It took us thousands of years to domesticate dogs, cattle, etc, and even they will revert to instinct and attack when threatened. I'm in no way under the illusion that an animal a few generations from the African jungle is anything other than a wild animal. I'm not looking for the snake version of Lassie, but I would love to have snakes that meet me at the side of their tubs, and hang on when I go to put them away, like Bruce's. :-) Or, at the very least, have a relationship with them of mutual trust. Of course, I'm going to do something stupid every once in a while and get tagged, but that's part of keeping a wild animal. One more reason to make it a BP, and not an anaconda. ;-)

The fact that I'm picky about temperment just makes it a little more difficult when I go shopping for my first ball, especially since it'll probably be a morph of some type. I'm probably going to have to meet the snake before I buy it, and don't get the luxury of having it shipped to me. And Randy, I like that you're making the effort to try and breed out aggression. If I ever make it to the point where I breed, I'd like to do the same thing. After all, one of the reasons I picked BPs and not, say, green tree pythons, is that I like that they're a fairly docile species.

Any more feedback anyone? I still want to know if anyone had two sweet parents who produced a little hellion of a hatchling.

Heather

[fattielumpkin]

My experience....watch your hands when feeding...other than that you should be fine.

[Tosha_Mc]

Someone delete the post above -- I hit the wrong button

Most babies come in two flavors -- those that are scared and ball up when you go to pick them up and those that are scared and they hiss and strike when you go to pick them up. Most of the time they out grow this and become fairly docile. Socialization goes a long way -- but a lot of breeders don't have time to make sure every baby they have is socialized - it doesn't mean that it's a bad snake and always will be it just means that you have some work cut out for you. That being said -- if it doesn't say on the ad what the temperament is -- just ask. I always do -- I have small children that handle my animals I can't have biters in my group -- people are more than happy to give you that kind of information if it's important to you - for a lot of people it's not. If someone inquires to me and it's obviously a first snake or a pet I make sure they get one that is feeding really really well and is good with handling. I want you to be happy with your snake and if you are afraid of it or can't feed it -- then it doesn't make for a good pet/owner relationship.

Anyway -- I haven't produced enough clutches to say whether or not temperament is genetic -- seems like I've had some really pissy babies come from a group of really sweet snakes. But your best bet is if you just want a pet find an older one that has already been socialized -- and remember a nervous owner makes a nervous pet and nervous pets -- bite.

Good luck.

[frankykeno]

Someone delete the post above -- I hit the wrong button :

Done. Btw great post Tosha.

I would add for the OP that your purchasing decision will likely help a lot in wanting a snake that is reasonably socialized early on. Picking one up in a general pet store won't likely be a good choice for you as they live very stressed in those glass tanks full of other snakes. Neither may a hatchling that comes from a larger breeder just due to it not being handled much as a hatchling due to sheer numbers. You may want to work specifically with a smaller breeder in order to get a hatchling that's seen a bit more handling time already or as Tosha said, go with a slightly older snake that's already gone through it's "omg I'm small and everything scares me" stage.

Just take your time and buy the snake that you feel comfortable with. I really do believe a confident, calm handler helps to create a calmer situation for the snake to be handled in hopefully encouraging the snake to be less stressed and defensive.