i have 14 ball pythons ranging from a year old all the way up to 6 years old and "knock on wood" i have never been biten i've been hissed at a few times and that lets me know to either leave them alone or be a little more cautious of what im doing, i also have a custom built reptile room for them all and i have people wanting to check it out and hold snakes all the time and same thing nobody has ever been bit, you just have to be careful i always make sure to use antibacterial after i have handled rats or mice before touchin or pplacin my hand in the enclosures which im sure has added a little bit of help to not gettin bit