I don't have as much experience as some of the people on these forums but with mine Sif (female) still balls up when I pick her up but eventually (normally a min or so now but used to be 20-30min when Ifirst got her) start exploring. My male Thor tho has always just crawled up my arm as soon as iI put my hand in his tank for anything, sometimes even after he has just eaten. The pet store I got him from used to call him cuddlebug and anytime someone wanted to hold a ball Python he was the one they let hold.