How often can you handle a ball.

[Trackstrong83]

makes me nervous when I see the snake getting near my sons face. ?

No worries, I was afraid of that at first too
But now my ball python is almost 2 and if I lay her down on my bed with me she crawls over my face and I have zero worries, other than her fat butt pressing my glasses into my face lol

If it makes you feel more comfortable you could handle the snake while you're by yourself to feel out its personality. So you can take the factor of worrying about your son getting bitten out of the equation and really get a feel for the snake.