Handling my BP for the first time

[icejd7]

Iamelliot,

I was the same way because I was new to this and I'm in my mid 40's y/o. I was always scared of getting bit, but it really doesn't hurt. It's cute in a way because when they try it, nothing happened. It felt more of a push then a strike. I can tell you a puppy or cat's playful nibble hurts more. My 11 y/o daughter got bit two days ago, but nothing happened. No cuts, no marks, no pain. When it happened she laughed about it saying "I can't believe Humphrey bit me". She described it as an infant nibbling on your skin.

Nonetheless, what we did was handle the snakes for longer times as time passed by. At first we handled the new ones 5mins, then 10 mins, etc. We now handle some of them for 1 hour. My daughter actually has them on her lap as she does homework or watches tv. The first few times they would sit on my lap in a ball and then open up exploring. With my daughter, they are comfortable with her and never ball up and love to explore and hide in her hair.

The best thing to do is not stress them and in your case balling up means it's stressed, then taking off across the couch to get away. I'm not an expert and recently a beginner to BP's myself but build your relationship slowly so it trusts you and learns you are not a threat. I was a corn snake lover and still am but nothing beats the docile nature of the BP. Corns are great pets too but they can't stay still always on the move. The BP's are slow moving and are more prone to stay still when they are comfortable.

The one thing i do which really helped me with the new ones was when picking them up, I would distract them with one hand in front of them, then pick them up from behind with my other hand. Since we've been doing this, we haven't gotten bit since. Just my 2 cents

- - - Updated - - -

Earlier tonight I decided to pick him up. I noticed that as I stroked him (in the middle) he started to constrict and tension up. I was abut surprised but I continued to gently stroke him (although at times I did panic during the stroking session as he started to 'tightened' himself - was just afraid he would strike at me).

Maybe someone can correct me but snakes are unlike other pets, dog, cats... I don't think they like to be stroked and others may disagree. The reason for this I read is in the wild predators would grab them by the head, tail, or mid-body and have them for supper. Every snake I've had has reacted the same way yours has but I have a few now that allow us to stroke their heads and inspect their body's without tensing up. With time, some longer then others, will allow this. The key here is to build your relationship with your little one and when they trust you, you'll notice the change.