Quote Originally Posted by bman123 View Post
Getting my first BP soon and wanted some advice. I went to a pet store today and looked at tanks, i looked at the small BP's they had.
A employee and myself got bit today lol.

I wonder what is the best way to avoid being bit. Do you feed in the tank/tub or do you put the BP somewhere else to eat.
I want to avoid being bit lol. I got bit while holding the BP outside its enclosure at the store. I am sure they dont get handled much so I blew it off.

Want to know if you feel there is a way to avoid being bit, do you approach the animal a certain way so they know its not feeding time??
Feeding in a separate enclosure only creates stress. Some snakes will eat in a separate enclosure, but most won't. I just feed my Ball pythons and all of my snakes in their own enclosures/tubs which makes it a lot easier on me and the snakes. If you are going to get a Ball python, I would suggest a tub since it's a lot cheaper, a lot lighter in weight, easy to clean, and holds in humidity extremely well. Ball pythons at pet stores aren't the healthiest, so I would consider purchasing from a good breeder. Try Brian at BHB (www.bhbreptiles.com) or Adam at 8Ballpythons (www.8ballpythons.com) or even Tracey Barker at VPI. There's a lot of great breeders out there with healthy snakes so I would consider purchasing from them. Pet stores are not the best place to purchase a healthy snake.

Also, when you approach the snake, be calm and don't pick it up as quickly. They can get scared easily and some may even strike. My little hatchling Spider struck at me because I moved too quickly, so it's important to pick up the snake calmly. This is what I do when I pick up my Spider and he no longer strikes.. unless I'm quick.