My female never balls up. But my male is a different story. He balls up every time I take him out of his cage. I then unravel him and his tongue starts going an then he relaxes and starts climbing all over me. He's just a big(little) scaredy snake. He also occasionally hides from his food if it moves too much. Lol. Poor baby. I know the food isn't too big either. He's two years old and only eats mice. :/ Booger. But I adore him. I just have to baby him a bit more than the others until he calms down.