BPs and affection

[Aznrainbowdime]

Greetings !

I'm a newbie and brand brand new to the snake world ! I was introduced to this forum by my fambam from beardeddragon.org lol. Anyways.. long story short.. I will be getting my first snake this week... honestly not by choice but by heart.. as a co worker of mine is getting ready to throw is 2 yr old BP into the woods =( ... I just don't have the heart for that. I've done my homework research on housing, feeding, etc. Can anyone tell me how much time you spend with your snake daily ? Handling time, etc ? And do they show affection or how can you tell if they like to be handled, vice versa ?
A lil history on the snake, he's 2 yrs old and he's in a very bad shape and pretty much has been neglected his entire life =( . he has not been handled in over a year or so, and I was told he's very shy but when you try to take him out he is very aggresive. Is there anyway I can tame him down? I don't want to be afraid of him but can you tell me a little on how you handle your snakes ?

Any help would be appreciated !

Thanks
Val

[tank4102]

hey im from bd.org to well i would be carefull on handling him since he hasent been held in 1 yr. when i stopped handeling my baby misa. she bit me and i diddint handle her cus i broke my leg lol. so i would be carefull and wear protective gear. but she calmed down after i held her daily.

[angllady2]

Hello and welcome!

That's really a shame about that snake. If that guy really did turn it loose, you could call the police on him, that is a big no-no.

Aside from that, study, study, study the forums here on housing, care, feeding, etc.

Now, as far as aggression and being bitten. Until the snake learns you aren't the bad guy, it's going to be afraid to be handled. And to aggression, if you had been starved for weeks/months/years, you'd want to bite anything that moved to see if it was edible too. I think that given a secure, warm home, good food and time to adjust, you'll be amazed at how calm the snake becomes.

Now, worst case scenario you DO get bitten, don't sweat it because they aren't that bad. I've had kittens do way more damage than a BP. Our huge 5000 gram female got my husband on the wrist. Yeah it bled a bit, but by the next day you couldn't even see it anymore. You can do a search here and read up on bites and being bitten if you need more reassurance.

And lastly, kudos to you for caring enough to take in this neglected baby, I'll be expecting pictures when it arrives home.

[Aznrainbowdime]

Thank you for all your kind words ! Yeah I feel bad for the snake. I'm doing as much homework as I can.. I want to be FULLY prepared for when he arrives. I've always been terrified of snakes my entire life and I know that he will help me get over that fear ! I heard the bite isn't as bad either. I have a 4 month old bearded dragon whos made me bleed before from her spikes and nails and I mean it was a deep cut !

How much time should I give him to adjust and learn that I'm not the bad guy ? I know he's so used to being treated badly thats why I'm afraid.. but Im also afraid that if I DONT start handling him immediately ... he'll stray even more.

And when it is time to start handling, how do I know ? and to pick him up from his tank, is there a certain way of handling for the snake to not feel threatened ? sorry for all the questions.. I just want to make sure I educate my self to the max before he arrives

[CopperNightShade]

I am sorry to hear that the little guy hasn't had the best upkeep - but he will come around with a good hand.

I would suggest a couple weeks adjustment from the move when you do get him, especially if he has gone without handling for that long. What I mean is feed him like you normally would, but otherwise don't bug him. Keep him in a nice, quiet, dark corner and hopefully he will start to feel safe.

Then you can start handling him. Patience patience patience. Start with a very brief period of time and work your way up. And don't forget-if you put him back in his cage when he tries to bite you he will learn that all he has to do is bite you and he will be put up. Don't be afraid of a strike, a bp bite feels like a cat scratch at worse - and if he does bite my best suggestion is to put him in a pillowcase or similar cover to protect you but continue to handle him for a bit afterwards.

Good Luck.

[cllong23]

Good for you for rescuing this guy! I hate people! Who would just throw a BP in to the woods?!?! As far as handling, I would say to wait a couple weeks too. Wear gloves the first few times and invest in a snake hook. Good luck! Can't wait to see pictures!

[Aznrainbowdime]

Ok I a couple of weeks of alone time .. lol. I know I need to be patient.. I guess I'm scared that the first time I try to handle him and he strikes at me , I'm afraid I might drop him out of panick =( . I read that somewhere too that if I was to get bitten, not to put him back as he will learn that that's how he gets his way.

Another question I have is.. does snakes have personalities ? Like for examples, can you tell what your snakes dislikes and likes are ? When you take your snake out for play time/ handling time, what do you do ? Do you just let them crawl all over your arms, etc ? Because with my beardie, when I snuggle and take her out, she'll usually just chill at a spot somewhere in my living room, or she'll run around a bit until she gets tired. I'm just tyring to see if there are any similarities..

Thanks again =)

[CopperNightShade]

BPs do have personality, it just takes a bit to discover.

EX:
I have noticed that my baby has favorite spots she likes to be when I have her out and I am doing homework, like in my sleeve or wrapped around my external hardrive. She also has been known on numerous occasions to get up under my laptop and cruise around my desk with it on top of her. She is a clutz, and gets very sulky when she does something stupid like miss strike during a feeding or slide off my lap and fall. She loves to be let out in the garden - she cruises around with her tongue darting everywhere.

Do remember though that they are nocturnal and they love to hide. So if you don't see your little one out of his hide very much while he is in his cage, never fear. If you want to see them active in their cage, film them at night.

As far as dislikes/stress, it displays in a couple ways in my baby. For one - she balls. Easy enough. She also gets head shy when she is stressed, even though she isn't normally.

And some days, even when everything is right with the world, they don't want to be handled. Normally when that happens I try putting her back in her cage after five minutes or so.

[spiderfan]

you should also know that more than likely when you reach in to get it out it will probably pull back like a reverse strike and ball up.LOL That sudden movement can startle you a little. But when you do reach in slowly come in from behind its body and just place your hand on it for a second, just don't grab and pull it out. let it know your not some predator snatching it up. Pick it up gently and go sit down and place it in your lap. It will unball when its comfortable. just be patient. when it does start moving for you keep hold of it from the midpoint of its body and back and let it do what it wants. i recommend sitting on the floor so it feels safe and can't fall off your lap also. it will come around to being handled a lot quicker than you think. You might get addicted to them LOL Good luck!

[blushingball419]

It's too bad he had to spend so long being mistreated Every time I read a neglected snake post (and there are way too many of them imho), I find it extremely frustrating. You did a wonderful thing by rescuing him

Okay, I'm going to attempt to answer all of your questions

I guess the main thing is to wait and see how aggressive he really is. If the person hasn't handled him in over a year, then he will most definitely be skittish, and if he does bite it's probably just because he is hungry, scared or both. I agree with previous posters about waiting a week to two weeks before handling him, and then just start really slow...maybe 5 mins every other day and when he seems okay with that amount of handling, move up to 10 mins and so on. But you're going to have to be consistent and patient. Like the others said, even if he strikes at you or is balled up, pick him up anyway. It's the only way he will tame down.

If you go in to pick him up and he does strike at you, put some thin gloves on and also you can drop a pillowcase or other small cloth over his head before you pick him up. I can understand being nervous and scared, but if you want him to be tame, it's the only way. Be brave, and keep reminding yourself that you're doing it to show him that there are decent humans in the world

The best way to handle a snake is making sure that almost all of their body is secure and supported, and use very slow, smooth movements (especially with timid snakes). You can tell they enjoy (or at least don't mind) being handled when they are either lying on you, moving around slowly/exploring, or just generally seem calm. If they are upset about being picked up, they will ball up and/or hiss, and when they do move around it's very quickly like they are trying to "run" away. They just seem frantic when they don't want to be handled. I'm sure the one you're getting will act like that, but handle him anyway. He has to realize that you're not going to eat him.

And yes, ball pythons (and all snakes for that matter) have personalities. Some seem more "outgoing" and inquistive than others, some enjoy being handled more than others, etc. My corn snake blows bubbles in her water dish every once and awhile...no idea why...she's perfectly healthy. But anyway, I would only recommend allowing your ball python to wander the room if you're going to supervise him. Usually, I just let my snakes crawl around on me and maybe a little on my bed.

Overall, I think it's great you rescued this guy and that you're trying to do everything right. I hope everything works out for you. As I said before, you have to wait and see how aggressive he really is...maybe he'll just need a couple of good meals and some TLC, and you'll have the perfect python