New to ball pythons and need desperate help!

[Mr. Marley]

so when i go to handle him if he is in hiding should I just take his hiding off and try to pick him up? I just dont wanna stress him anymore, I plan on leaving him alone and not handling him till his first meal next week since he didn't want to feed today. thanx for all the advice this has really really helped me !

[bRy]

I have no clue if this has been mentioned. But what I do/heard is that don't feed your BP in the cage you keep him in because it will eventually get used to it and then when you reach into the cage to handle him, he might mistake your hand for food. I feed mine out of it on my rug.
I'm new to this whole thing too lol

[bRy]

I've been handling mine everyday since I've owned him. He's about 6weeks old I believe. I remove the hide, pet him? I guess, then wait for him to move so I know he's awake, after that I pick him up.
Mine was really shy and scared too when I started doing this. I just held him in my hand when he was wrapped in a ball then waited until he got comfortable and he eventually started unwrapping/moving around.

[Swingline0.0.1]

I have no clue if this has been mentioned. But what I do/heard is that don't feed your BP in the cage you keep him in because it will eventually get used to it and then when you reach into the cage to handle him, he might mistake your hand for food. I feed mine out of it on my rug.
I'm new to this whole thing too lol

NO, NO, NO, that is not accurate. Please don't listen to that, for it is completely inaccurate. It can be much more stressful to feed out of cage, and increases the chance of regurgitation!

[bRy]

Oh snapsssssssss... I'll stop doing that Lol

[snakesRkewl]

I have no clue if this has been mentioned. But what I do/heard is that don't feed your BP in the cage you keep him in because it will eventually get used to it and then when you reach into the cage to handle him, he might mistake your hand for food. I feed mine out of it on my rug.
I'm new to this whole thing too lol

Feeding on the rug, what a novel way to throw your snake off feed

Feeding in the enclosure is what most people do, they will not bite you because you feed in their enclosure.

If there isn't enough room for two hides just add some fake vines for him to hide under, cover 3 sides of the tank and get some belly heat, your snake will love you for it.

[Kaorte]

I have no clue if this has been mentioned. But what I do/heard is that don't feed your BP in the cage you keep him in because it will eventually get used to it and then when you reach into the cage to handle him, he might mistake your hand for food. I feed mine out of it on my rug.
I'm new to this whole thing too lol

This is a myth, at least with ball pythons. I feed all my snakes in their home enclosures and not once have I been bitten. If your hand is never present during the feeding process, how can they ever mistake it for food?

[mpkeelee]

i feed both my BP's inside their enclosure. all i do is stick the rats warm head in the entry to the hide and they strike immediately. when i put my thumb in to take the hide off they dont even bother with me. its all false. do not handle everyday. give them 2 days after eating

[mpkeelee]

so when i go to handle him if he is in hiding should I just take his hiding off and try to pick him up? I just dont wanna stress him anymore, I plan on leaving him alone and not handling him till his first meal next week since he didn't want to feed today. thanx for all the advice this has really really helped me !

once he is adjusted, just open the enclosure and pick him up. dont be too fast or rough or u might get hissed at or even struck at.

[Mr. Marley]

I'm so glad that I found this site. Thank you guys for all your help. I'm going to do this actually, I'm going to give him a while to settle in then i'm going to replace his hide with the cave, move all the moss to the cool side and make a lil bed for him, he loves the moss. do you think that I should just make changes today? or just leave him alone?