New BP owner, concerned about temperament on Leucistic, think I made mistake

[Sonny1318]

Maybe you should reread her post again......

[bpnewbie42]

I am way more confused than I was prior to asking for feedback here.

[CORBIN911]

I have kept snakes of various sorts since the mid 90's, and have only had one that had a serious attitude. Did I get rid of him? Faster than you can say ball python. I just won't deal with a snake with an attitude, when there are many more that do not have attitudes. If that makes me unfit to keep snakes then so be it.

Its a snake... They all have attitudes...They are also all "Ball pythons" a snake that int a frenzy nutjob like a untamed Wild caught Biak.... The OP could likely" Move the hand over head of snake, and pick it up.. Then I'd bet it'll calm down.

[bpnewbie42]

jason, i am in california 91320, how about you?

[jasonmcgilvrey83]

Sacramento.

[bcr229]

This is a snake who I had planned on having children hold, a part time classroom pet.

Did you tell the seller why you wanted the snake and what your plans were for it, so she could select an appropriate animal for your needs? Most people buy BP's for the paint job, not the temperament. While as a species they're easy to manage, there are individuals that would be perfectly fine and would thrive in a classroom setting, and others that would be stressed to the point of biting, fasting, etc.

[BiggBaddWolf]

You hit the nail on the head when you said that most people buy a ball python for the paint job, not the temperament, however I am not that person. Temperament first than paint job . However all mine are pets, and I handle them frequently. I don't just put them in an enclosure and let them "do the nasty" all the while expecting to become a "BIG FAT DADDY" snake breeder..bwhahahaha

[bcr229]

You hit the nail on the head when you said that most people buy a ball python for the paint job, not the temperament, however I am not that person. Temperament first than paint job . However all mine are pets, and I handle them frequently. I don't just put them in an enclosure and let them "do the nasty" all the while expecting to become a "BIG FAT DADDY" snake breeder..bwhahahaha

Agreed, but before I learned to ask I ended up with a gorgeous pewter female that is still extremely defensive and nervous even though she's just hit breeding size. While she's improved with time and patience, she'll still strike if not handled carefully.

OTOH I have a normal female and a mojave male that are my "diplomats", and I show them to people who have never touched a snake before. These two are easily handled, absolutely no defensiveness, they are curious, etc. They act more like my BCI's and king snakes than typical BP's.

[alan12013]

I have my "diplomats" too as you put it. While I can handle all of them Walter Solcheck is so easy to handle and sometimes even will turn and crawl back up my arm instead of going back in his cage, that's why he's my favorite and the first one I show off. I usually ask about attitude too as part of my before purchasing questions. I want to know how often they get handled. I mostly just ask this question for my own personal entertainment depending on who I'm buying from but there is reasoning behind it too. After reading the entire thread so far I think that every post has truth to it. I've handled adults before that went very long periods of their lives with rarely getting handled and they're very docile and easy to handle. I also am starting to believe that the snappy little ones will mellow out regardless of how much handling they receive. Maybe there are just some that are slightly more defensive then others just by genetics alone. To the OP's question "am i correct that changing a balls personality isn't really in the cards?" I would have to say from my very minimal experience that I have yet to come across a Ball Python that with time hasn't came around. It could be acting that way towards you for several reasons. Maybe it's in shed, maybe it's hungry, maybe your husbandry is off, etc. Without knowing your situation more I would say that if you give this BEL some more time and ensure you are doing every thing correct for it that it will become a snake that you can easily handle.

[Sonny1318]

I buy mine to cuddle with bunnies and take for walks, sorry had to say it.