Viscious Ball

[WingedWolfPsion]

Right, I see a lot of posts from newer keepers who seem convinced that ball pythons are trainable, the way you would train a dog or cat, and while they're not incapable of learning, their behavior just isn't the same at all. There are also a lot of misconceptions there about how dogs and cats actually learn, but that's another story.

Snakes bite because they are frightened, or hungry, and that's it. They don't bite out of revenge, or because they've learned it gets them something that they want, the way a dog or bird would--I just have to repeat that, because it bears repeating.

A snake that is feeling calm and secure, and isn't hungry, will not bite. A snake that is frightened and upset will bite, and nothing you do will make it stop trying to bite, so long as that is the way it is feeling. It will never learn that 'biting doesn't work'. Biting is all that it has...its arsenal of solutions to problems is pretty limited. The more they practice a behavior, the more they are likely to repeat it--including behavior like biting your gloved hands.

my recommendation to deal with a defensive snake is to lift the hide, and immediately pick up the snake, from the side pointing away from its head. Don't snatch it up, or grab it from above--come from the side, without hesitation, and support the snake without restraining it.

Ball pythons RARELY bite a hand that they are sitting on, if they aren't being restrained. (I've seen it happen twice, but the snake had been seriously provoked in those instances, lol).

Allowing the snake to become upset and assume a defensive posture allows it to practice defensive behavior, which, in the long long run, then becomes habitual. If you can get it before it has a chance to become that upset, it will be more receptive to taming.

I do not recommend feeding the snake in a separate enclosure. There's no point.
Instead, get yourself a snake hook or a tap stick, and start working with the animal to hook train it, or use the tap stick to defuse its hunting or defensive behaviors.
Simply by gently pushing the animal's head down so it isn't poised to strike, you can get most ball pythons to stop trying to strike, and calm down or choose to ball up instead.

Snakes are smarter than we give them credit for, but they're not very bright animals. Still, every single one of them is an individual, and has a distinct personality. Some snakes simply will not tolerate being handled by a human--humans set off their defensive instincts, and they just don't learn not to try to ward us off. It's rare in ball pythons, but it's not unheard of.

I had one adult female who we could hook out and pick up, and handle, but she would occasionally take a shot at our body while we were holding her--she did not like humans, plain and simple. I sold her.

If your snake is irredeemably aggressive, you really have only two choices--love the snake for what it is, bad attitude and all, and handle it with a hook--or, sell it to someone who is more tolerant, and get a snake with a more typical ball python temperament.

Aggressive reptiles do have their fans. You may not be able to hold them on your lap while you watch TV, but they are still lovely, and interesting.