Quote Originally Posted by Dracoluna View Post
I've had corns and bred them since 2003. There are some that are lazy but most are very active. They do not just hang out generally speaking and like to explore. They do, however, handle constant handling with ease and eat just about anything without fail. I have 2 that will just hang out on me but they are also the exception and are very, very lazy corns...

From what I've seen though, it really depends on the snake no matter the species. Ceti, my pastave girl, is shier and was that way when I got her. She'd ball up and take a bit to come out of her shell. I limit her handling because I don't want to risk stressing her. Aria, my albino girl, I take out, carry around, and she's one that goes to educational programs with me where she's out and handled by lots of people. Not once has she refused food or seemed stressed out but when I got her as a hatchling, she wasn't balling up or seemed to be worried. Just a difference in temperament. The key is knowing your animal and frankly, the only reason I trust my judgement in taking Aria out so much is I've handled snakes for years and have learned to read them. If you don't have experience with them, it's easy to miss signs that they are stressing. Refusing food is just one of many. A stressed snake is also more susceptible to respiratory infections and other issues like regurges which are much more serious in snakes than it is in a human.

Just remember that a bp that is taken out and shown around is the EXCEPTION and not the rule. If you still insist on getting one and want to have it out a lot, take your time in picking them out and see what their personality is like before buying. Also get to know the breeder so that you have a contact that's (hopefully) local and can help you out should your snake have issues. Forums are great but nothing beats an experienced breeder who can physically look at your snake to tell you how things are going.

I'm not saying these things to scare you off of bps but so that you understand what you're going into. I dealt with corns for years before getting into bp's and I'm glad I did. Some species are easier to take care of than others. Read through the husbandry forums and you'll read hundreds of threads where people without snake experience went out, got a bp, and then had issue after issue because they didn't know how to care for and read their animal. I'd rather you have a positive experience and get everything out of your new pet that you want than end up with problems or an animal that doesn't fit your situation.
I wish I had the gift of reading how a snake is feeling. I am going to have to rely on that, when buying a BP. However, if things go wrong, I have a really smart dad. I'm not too worried, I'm just trying to become more knowledgeable in the subject.