Obnoxious newbie questions.

[DooLittle]

You would have to know Mike and his love of horses.

Op, I would agree you probably should have made sure you were comfortable with the pet you are commiting too. But now that you have it, it will be a matter of you learning and getting comfortable with it. I think once you get bit, you won't be as fearful of it. It's more of a startle than anything. You will learn to read your snake and you need to handle him confidently. I would not use a glove. I could see that spooking the snake.

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[Poseidon]

I see what your trying to do here lol. Sorry to disappoint you, I was very young maybe 8 or so I would catch garter snakes in my back yard. I never had a fear of snakes, guess it wasnt in me. I still stand behind what I said. Was it a little too harsh, yes that's not my normal approuch. But I don't think people should own an animal they fear. If you want a snake test the waters handle one at the pet store or a friends and prove to yourself that you can become comfortable with the animal before you make the commitment.

I wasn't trying to do anything. Just curious.

Garter snakes? Why is it that everyone has garter snakes in their back yard but me,
Did you keep them around for a bit or was it just a catch and release in the same day? If it was a catch and release thing, how long was it before you owned a snake?

I think there's a line between fearing the animal and being fearful of picking it up. And some people need to be alone to fully adjust to the snake. They know they can do it, they just need to do x or y.

[doganddisc]

As this is being discussed to death, I will step in and say that, as a person who has been handling a variety of animals for years, my decision to purchase an animal that I am very cautious of was well-intentioned and informed.

The horse analogy really sticks with me, actually. In addition to a bad experience with a snake, I have also had a very bad experience my first time handling a horse without supervision. An irresponsible teaching assistant sent me down to the barns at my school to pull out a horse that I had never worked with before- and my experience with horses and very minimal. I got him about two feet from the barn when he reared up and came down on my foot, then reared again and got the lead rope tangled around his front legs. I had never been holding on to a horse that reared before, much less actually seen a horse rear in person. Instead of dropping the lead and letting him go, I managed to hold on until he calmed down and untangle his legs at the same time.

After all that, I handed him to a horse-experienced person (she was just approaching as all this was occurring) and had trouble handling my own assigned horse for the remaining three months of the class. I constantly had flashbacks to the horse rearing up and coming down on me- the experience was absolutely terrifying and has stuck with me.

Regardless of my feelings about the incident, however, I refuse to give up. I took up an independent study the following semester that required me to work with the horses and learn to read their behavior. Though I had to bring some very horse savvy friends with me to help, I eventually grew more confident in handling. My absolute fear of horses that developed after that incident has grown into a respect for their power and size, and a fascination in the human-horse bond. I would love to own a horse someday.

95% of pet ownership is learning to communicate with your animal. Dogs in particular will always be my first choice when it comes to living with a pet. It took me a year of working closely with them to fully understand the warning signs of a dog who has the potential to bite. I can read them like a book now.

My hesitation to reach in and pick my snake up out of his tank does not have any effect on the quality of care I give him. And that, I do believe, is all that matters

[h00blah]

Sorry if this turns out to be along post.. I'm pretty lazy so it probably won't be..

First of all, I want to reiterate what's been said many times. You don't have to fear your ball python bites. As stated earlier, it's startling. I HATE getting startled, so I still flinch! But I'm not worried... After feeding all of my snakes for a LONG time, I came to LOVE the strikes! They only strike at me if there's a rodent in tongs, or I'm trying to pull the rodent out of their water dish (after dropping it in there ).. They'll just blindly strike...

Once you get more experience feeding and handling your BP in its good and bad days, you won't have a problem at all! If you learned to read dogs, you will learn to read your BP. When he's nearing a shed cycle, or just finished one, they may be grumpy and hissy. That means if they strike (they never reach me...), it'll be a quick strike then hide motion. Nothing to worry about. If they manage to tag ya, I'd be worried that the poor thing lost a tooth ... As for YOUR damage, if you somehow see a teeny tiny dot of blood, take a picture (for the forum ), wipe it away, and notice the blood stops .

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with a RTB... I'm glad you're still interested in snakes . I want to congratulate you on picking a great beginner snake to help you overcome your fear!! They have adorable faces, lazy movement speed, terrible aim, and they come in a variety of colors and patterns . I don't remember seeing an answer to your question about their attitudes as they grow up, so I'll try to answer it here...

Most of them are docile and will curiously slither around, searching for a warm area to hide from you . Every now and then, you get a monster who wants your rodents but doesn't want anything to do with you.. These will hiss and slither as fast as they can away from you! If you touch them, they will often push away with their bodies, hiss sometimes, and sometimes they'll strike.. I have ONE snake out of 11 who will hide from me, and will do the typical "S-neck" while watching me... She has yet to tag me (more blind strikes...), but I'm sure if I got too close, she might headbutt me.. I bet your BP is one that won't bite you unless your hand smelled like rodent..

Sorry for the long post ..

PS. Don't hesitate to ask questions on this forum. Some people can be blunt, and that may come off as rude to you, but these people are often people who have answered the same exact question to hundreds of users, and they are quite past the friendly reminder stage.. They like to get straight to the point.. Lots of folks here are EAGER to help you, I promise .

[Rob]

Garter snakes? Why is it that everyone has garter snakes in their back yard but me,
Did you keep them around for a bit or was it just a catch and release in the same day? If it was a catch and release thing, how long was it before you owned a snake?.

Haha yeah we have a ton of them up here, lift up a rock and you will probably come across one. I would keep them, for a couple days and release them. I actually brought one on the school bus is first grade, that didn't go over so well. And I don't think it was too much longer before my parents got me my first pet snake. Along with every other pet a kid could have.

[bpownerjoey]

Man you people are so rude. Anyway you should only feed the snake something the same or slightly larger then its girth. Also if it is live do not leave it in the tank as it can harm your snakes. Watch it for about 20 minutes and if it does not want it take it out and try again later. You can use forceps to dangle the mouse and the snake interested.

For the handling, the ball will not bite you. They are one of the most reluctant to bite. If it is uncomfortable and scared it curls into a ball but after a couple minutes in you hand it should relax and roam more. The more often you handle, the more used to you they get. Also try to handle less during shedding since there sight is impaired. I know its scary but you will be fine even when your ball hisses they most likely will not bite. Have fun with your ball!!.

P.S when you are going to pick it up rub it first to let it know your there.

[Rob]

I haven't had a snake for very long, but I do disagree about the horse analogy, sorry. I have owned horses for 15 years and ridden them for even longer.

then you don't understand mikes issue with horses and their heads.

[Bellatrix_LeSnake]

then you don't understand mikes issue with horses and their heads.

Now I'm just curious. What's wrong with horse heads?

[Mike41793]

I haven't had a snake for very long, but I do disagree about the horse analogy, sorry. I have owned horses for 15 years and ridden them for even longer. Am I scared of horses - no, absolutely not. Do I wear a helmet every time I get on - every time. I know that the chances I will fall off are minimal. I own a very safe, placid horse and have had him for the past twelve years. I also insist on jumping with a breast-plate. In twelve years, I've fallen off maybe eight times. I ride five times per week. There are a lot of gung-ho people at my barn who ride with no helmet and wouldn't dream of riding with a breast plate. If I was riding a horse I did not know - I would take every precaution, even though I would not fear the animal. Riding with a helmet makes me feel automatically safer, more confident etc. Anyone who owns horses and does not have at least a healthy respect for the size and power of the animal has even less business owning one than someone who is a little nervous.

I don't understand why the OP's choice to use a glove to take out her snake would be materially different to riding a with a helmet. If the piece of equipment makes him/her feel more comfortable and send those signals to the animal, why is it a problem?

Ok well pick whichever animal youre afraid of and thats the example i wanna use. I am very leery around horses in case you didnt catch that lol. Aka they scare the living *ship* outta me.

I dont agree with youre horse example. If you dont wear protective gear you could be killed/hurt i.e. Christopher Reeves. No one has ever been killed by handling a bp without a glove.

[Mike41793]

Now I'm just curious. What's wrong with horse heads?

They have tiny little mouth openings but HUGE powerful jaws. You put your hand too close and they suck it up into their mouth and grind it up. Plus if you try and rub their back away from their killer mouths then theyll mule kick you.