New owner has a few questions.

[slickshadowrunner]

Hi everyone, I bought a baby male ball python a few moths ago. I got bored with him because I was afraid of taking him out of his house after hevstruck at me. I re dedicated my free time to taking him out more and have done so a few times.

My first question came up today when I put him in my (roomy) sweatshirt pocket. Is it even okay to put him in there? He seemed to be okay with it and ventured out once or twice to look around.

My second question is: what does it mean when my ball python looks me right in the face. When he does that I usually re position him so that he doesnt do that or I put him away because im afraid hes gonna strike.

Third question. Are most ball pythons curious about the house? Whenever hes out of his room he is always trying to escape from me. Will this stop? Its not violent at all. He just tries to slither out of my hands whenever hes near a surface close enough for him to reach.

My last question is why isnt he shedding nicely. He still has some skin from his shed 5 days ago. I always make sure that the humidity is really high in his habitat so that it doesnt hurt him as it comes off. But no matter what I try he never sheds fully and I have to help him.

Thanks for any help youre able to reply with!

First question: He would likely enjoy being in a pocket. Balls are by their very nature hiders who try to avoid being seen. Any opportunity to curl up in a ball someplace secluded and dark-ish is to be taken. He will not appreciate the constant banging around though as you move. Keep in mind that in the wild they usually try to hide in used animal burrows and termite mounds. Also keep in mind that he may think that your hand going into your pocket is potential prey and may try to strike it.

Second question: Does not mean anything. Balls are nocturnal so their vision is best suited for low lighting. And if you are concerned about him striking you need to learn to read his body language more to determine what mood he is in. Most BPs curl their neck into an S shape before striking for example.

Third question: Think of your BP as any other kind of animal. If you let them go on the floor they are likely going to go all over the place to check it out. Wouldn't you? And try to remember he may be not as much trying to see the house as escape your hands.

Last question: There are all sorts of reasons for bad sheds. Low humidity is definitely the big one. You need an absolute minimum of 60 - 65 % at all times. I take mine to 80 - 85 % during shed periods. You have to remember to keep it fairly constant. Spraying them with water and then letting them dry out for the rest of the day won't work.

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No Legs

0.1 Normal BP (Lucy)
1.0 Super Delta Steel Blue Siamese Fighting Fish (Hero the Freak)

Two Legs

0.1 Wife
3.1 Children

Wings

1.0 Canary (Jesus)

Four Legs

0.1 Cat (Midow)
0.2 Guinea Pigs (Chocolate and Glitter)