Obnoxious newbie questions.

[I-KandyReptiles]

Naw, he's a teddy bear. Just goofy. And I think girls liking horses go hand in hand, so you better pray for boys.

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I gotta agree with mike.

Horses=evil

[dchapman10]

Handling: To be completely honest, I am terrified that I'm going to get bit. I know once I get it over with and actually do get bit, I'll be better about it because I'll realize it won't hurt that much. But ever since I had a bad experience with a red tail boa, I'm very nervous about picking up snakes. This guy has been wonderful- he does the typical curl up into a ball pose when I reach in for him. I still have an irrational fear that he will try to eat me. Once he's out, I'm fine- it's just pulling him out of the cage.

So for handling, would it be okay if I'm completely ridiculous for awhile and wear gloves to take him out of his cage? Once he's out, I have no problem. It's just taking him out that terrifies me.

Congrats on your new ball python! Any pics? Just curious .

I will be the first to admit that I am no expert when it comes to ball pythons. I actually just got my first one a few days ago but have done research for about a year now. I too, am a little hesitant when I get mine out. It helps me to remember though that they are so popular because of their temperament. Whenever I reach in to get mine, he just balls up. I think if you are nervous, that your ball will be able to sense it. Just be confident and enjoy your new friend. Good luck!

[youbeyouibei]

Mike, I've been kicked, bitten, had my toes broken from being stepped on and then leeeeaaaaned into from a particularly nasty animal my grandpa had (I outlived that s.o.b., God rest his glue-factory-destined-soul!) and have broken several bones being bucked off but I'd trade every one of my snakes to be able to have a horse again. They're just like any animal: they all have their personalities and good and bad days just like a snake or dog or whatever. If your only experience is with the ponies/horses at the carnivals or camping trips that have trail rides available, you're missing out; to call the majority of those animals glue factory rejects is being kind. Barn-soured, possibly abused and in some cases just downright mean would all apply to the majority of the animals you'd find at those places. Find someone with a dead broke trail or pleasure horse that's bomb proof and I'd put money that you'd at least soften if not change your mind entirely. They're awesome when you find a good one, much like a good dog or a single malt scotch on the rocks with...errrr...I digress! Hahahahahaha! Sorry you're scared of them, they're really pretty great.

[Capray]

good luck with the new snake! In my experience, if you ane nice to the horse, they will be nice to you. Recently this came to he extent that they would try to "play" with me like I was a horse :p

[decensored]

1. Wait the week and feed him rat pups. Fuzzies are too small.

2. You can wear gloves if you want but I have some pretty nasty tempered BP's and I have never been bit out of aggression or deffensiveness. RTB's are different as they are very cage deffensive. I have 6 year old Boas (my male is 8 feet) and I still use hooks to get them out of their enclosures. Ball Pythons are big babies. If it's something your concerned about you can wear gloves, but don't waste your money on them from a pet store. Grab a pair of heavy duty gardening gloves from the dollor store, I use them for ASFs if I have to get at them with my hands and they try but they can't bite through my $1.00 gloves haha.

[prettyballsy]

Heck, watch the couple episodes of Snakebytes where they talk about picking up a grumpy snake. Well, I really recommend watching Snakebytes, anyway, but that's just cause its a fun web show!


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Yes! This! I love the the Bite-Off episode. Chewie is ridiculous lol.

[Navy]

Don't own an animal you are afraid of.

That's not true at all, the fact that I love spiders so much is because I had to conqueror my fear of spiders and went out and bought a T.
And to be honest, the only reason I wasn't afraid of my first BP and any BP after that is because I have always handled snakes and have been bit time and time again. I have never been bit by a BP, though.
Don't be afraid, for one, make sure you've given it enough alone time in it's new enclosure, and two, just slowly pick it up and handle it.
Like someone else had said, get a snake hook if you're afraid and work your way up.
The more you handle your snake, the more tame it will be.

[doganddisc]

Like someone else had said, get a snake hook if you're afraid and work your way up.
The more you handle your snake, the more tame it will be.

Not to drag this thread back up, but I am giving an update here. I would have liked to have been more active on this forum for the past month but have been insanely busy. Hoping to get to be here more often!

My boy is doing wonderfully. He is about 316 grams- up from the 254g he was a month ago. And I have absolutely no qualms about handling him now. It took me about a week to get over the picking him up thing. So if anyone else new to BPs is worried about picking their snake up- just make yourself do it. The more you do (I handle my guy almost every day for about twenty minutes), the better you'll feel each time you go in to get him.



His temporary cage until I can get him one without a screen top.

[Joshua Jasper]

So much for being friendly and helpful.

--

Wouldn't using a snake hook present the same issue of the snake getting used to my scent?

Guess I'll just suck it up and reach in to get him. Thank you.

Can somebody please at least point me in the right direction regarding what to feed? I was searching for some kind of feeding chart or table or calculator or SOMETHING pertaining to feeding what to a snake weighing x grams but came up with nothing.

No worries! I am new here and it is hard to tell, but we are a friendly group. No worries on being scared, my girlfriend wouldn't touch our first snake but was so fascinated. Now they are best friends and practically inseparable. Never been bit either. Comfort just comes with time and respect for your snake.

I also recommend a snake hook. Looks far less scary than a giant gloved hand coming at them. Sounds weird, but try to get your scent on the pole and eventually the snake will learn the pole and you are safe and not a threatening godzilla!

Was going to advise on feed but.....Actually...just saw the update and glad your little boy is doing well! He is gorgeous!