New Ball Python Owner

[sho220]

The whole "don't hold him until X amount of days after this, that and the other" is over-emphasized in my opinion. Snakes have no concept of time. The only exception to that is after feeding. They need time to digest. Even then, I've taken snakes out to clean tubs not too long after feeding with no ill effects. As long as they aren't threatened or handled too much they won't regurge...

[NH93]

The whole "don't hold him until X amount of days after this, that and the other" is over-emphasized in my opinion. Snakes have no concept of time. The only exception to that is after feeding. They need time to digest. Even then, I've taken snakes out to clean tubs not too long after feeding with no ill effects. As long as they aren't threatened or handled too much they won't regurge...

I think it depends on the snake too. With balls, they are eating something no larger than their bodies. With others, like corns for example, they may eat something 1.5x their body width because of their faster metabolism. In this case, I wouldn't stress (i.e. handle) them the next day at least. I'd feel more comfortable holding my ball the next day if I really had to.
But I agree; I think that we use time as our measurement for holding/not holding snakes because it's easiest for us. I think it would be more accurate to hold based on the stress level of the snake.
However, for new owners, they probably won't know what these signs are simply because they haven't seen them yet. So, I think this is where the "Wait at least a week or 3 consecutive successful feedings before handling when acclimating a new snake" comes in.

[LLLReptile]

The whole "don't hold him until X amount of days after this, that and the other" is over-emphasized in my opinion. Snakes have no concept of time. The only exception to that is after feeding. They need time to digest. Even then, I've taken snakes out to clean tubs not too long after feeding with no ill effects. As long as they aren't threatened or handled too much they won't regurge...

In this case, it wasn't about regurging, or time - it was that the snake was not eating, and otherwise indicating stress.

Often, experienced keepers such as myself, or others that often find themselves helping new owners who continually run into the same sort of issue, we develop a rule of thumb to help ourselves and new owners know when to try and start handling their new pets for the first time. Me, I prefer to wait at least two consecutive feedings to ensure that the snake is fully settled in and no longer stressed. Some keepers prefer a month, regardless of feeder behavior, others feel that if it eats once, no big deal.

The point is that the issue here was that the animal was stressed and showing it the only way it could - by not eating. So we emphasize the whole "Don't touch it yet" thing to help hammer home that most ball pythons do not tolerate lots of handling right away, and refusing to eat is one way they tell their keepers they are stressed.



-Jen