There was an old debate that they don't have personalities and that snakes, in general, don't have personalities... but times have changed? So I'm wondering if the attitude has also?

Uhh.. so defining personality. "the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual's distinctive character." and I put under than particular preferences that they don't need to have in order to survive.


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Yeah, so, I'm in the camp that they do because you can't explain the weirdness that is my female normal without it.

There are ball pythons are come out when you are offering food, and others that stay in their hides 24-7.

There are ball pythons where you show them a hide and they will slink in immediately, and others that dash right out again.

There are ball pythons where they like a larger opening to their hide. (I had one where I spent hours trying to make a personalized one out of clay, and he broke the front. So I made another one and he did it again. Rejected the other hides... with smaller entrances.)

I also have some that are happy on aspen, and others than kick it aside and refuse to rest on it.

I've had a few reptiles that have worked to move their hides as well in the way they want them to be and where they want them to be. But this could and could not count, I suppose, if you're thinking about temperature. But some of them prefer them in a particular spot.

And then you get the weirdness that is my female normal ball python... Stays on the cool end 24-7, unless she's just eaten and its cold out--she also avoids all of the substrate if possible--hates wriggling on it and pushes it aside, so will only slither on top of everything. Wriggles constantly when out, and does not sit still. When I try to put her back in she's like nope. She likes to come out in the morning to greet the sun. She'll stick her head out. She knocks over her water bowl if she deems it too empty or too dirty for her tastes. She'll come out if she's hungry on her feeding day and *stare* at me with her head periscoped. I offered her branches to climb as a baby. Refused them and knocked them over at the base. Occasionally, she'll demand to come out of the cage by rubbing her nose against the screen (She has a 40 gallon breeder tank... seriously...). She spent a day staring at me as I went in and out of the room when I wouldn't let her out. I opened the cage and she bolted. If I don't put in proper measures she'll escape at night. She'll also demand occasionally her cage gets cleaned by being antsy in the cage. Super reliable eater. She's slowed down a bit in older age, but when she's hungry she doesn't mess around. Also if I ask her if she's hungry, she'll stick out her head if she is.

The male ball pythons... I have 2 that like to escape and then visit where I'm sleeping with their heads are up and go "Hello" with their tongues flicking staring at me. I had to figure out how to lock them tighter. 'cause they undid the latches... (They are like their mother in a lot of ways--the normal. They must have inherited some of her quirks.)

Compare that to the "typical" ball python. My cinnamon... refuses to beg unless she's really hungry. She hates to hunt down her prey at all, so I have to wave it in front of her hide entrance. And then she goes on frequent hunger strikes. She tends to go off feed in winter and then not start up until June-July. (Not underweight though) As long as I leave her alone in her hide, she's happy. She also figured out how to escape, and I also had to lock her in tighter. (mostly around breeding season when she's not eating, which is why I don't breed her then). I usually end up finding her having her joy ride, so she hisses threateningly at me, though not when she's in her cage and I'm taking her out.

So the individual choices of the snakes seem to be different for me...