Ball python keeps biting me?

[PythonBabes]

Handling as much as you can, every chance you get isn't going to do anything for a ball
python. They're docile by nature, although I have heard of a few nippy fiesty ones, it isn't common. Babies are just going to be more afraid simply because they are babies. They don't know that you won't harm them, for all they know you could be preparing to eat it. Less handling and shorter time periods, until she gets older and calmer.

Also, is she eating consistently, handling too much can cause her to stop eating because it's too much stress.

[neptunebaby]

Handling as much as you can, every chance you get isn't going to do anything for a ball
python. They're docile by nature, although I have heard of a few nippy fiesty ones, it isn't common. Babies are just going to be more afraid simply because they are babies. They don't know that you won't harm them, for all they know you could be preparing to eat it. Less handling and shorter time periods, until she gets older and calmer.

Also, is she eating consistently, handling too much can cause her to stop eating because it's too much stress.

She's always been an excellent eater. She's never missed a meal. I've been feeding her every 5 days, usually two small mice. I just tend to feed her until she stops being in hunting mode and goes into her hide, but I do worry about possibly overfeeding her? Is that something I need to be concerned about at all?
As I'm sure everyone can tell, I didn't do nearly enough research before I bought her, but I'm trying my best to learn as much as I possibly can now.

[MiniMed]

She's always been an excellent eater. She's never missed a meal. I've been feeding her every 5 days, usually two small mice. I just tend to feed her until she stops being in hunting mode and goes into her hide, but I do worry about possibly overfeeding her? Is that something I need to be concerned about at all?
As I'm sure everyone can tell, I didn't do nearly enough research before I bought her, but I'm trying my best to learn as much as I possibly can now.

From what I've learned on here/research you may be UNDERfeeding her. How much does she weigh? At under 1 year old you should be feeding her ~15% of her body weight every 7 days. Also you want to get her on rats as soon as possible as they have more nutritional value, and almost any ball python hatchling can get a rat pup down.


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[JodanOrNoDan]

OK, for what it is worth here is my two cents. Others are not going to agree but I do things based on data. First your animal is hungry. The sooner you get it on appropriately sized rats the better. The second, handling. If the animal is eating and shedding well you are probably doing your job correctly. If you want to handle the animal it is up to you. All ball pythons require the proper humidity and temps to thrive. The guidance given in the care sheet is known to work. That said, some animals require more security than others. Some tolerate handling better than others. This year I took a single clutch that all but one are hold backs. Every baby out of the five had been treated exactly the same until last week. They are in hatchling tubs with paper towels a water bowl and a single hide. Heating is ambient. They have been touched and handled from the time they piped. I was touching their heads before they even came completely out of the egg. They are all handled now for about five minutes a piece twice a day exactly the same way. I take them out, touch them everywhere and put them back. Not one of them has tried to "run" away or strike. Now here is where the differences come in. Three of the five are gluttons. They will eat anything. F/T rat or mouse. I don't even have to wiggle it. Toss it in and its gone. Two of them wanted to be a pain in the butt. Eating only half as much as the other two and then only live. The two that were giving me the issues were roamers. Never settling down. I added a paper towel roll to their tubs and suddenly they are happy and have become different animals. Eating has improved and they are not active 24/7. My point being, even under very controlled conditions each animal is different. Nothing I am doing is anything I have not done before, it is just the first time I have done it in a controlled fashion. If you want to handle your animal then handle it. Just make sure you are doing it productively. If the animal is breathing heavy it is scared. If it is not and just running away it just wants to be somewhere else. Hold the animal until it relaxes then put it back. Handling is not a rule. How it is conducted is based on the individual animal. Some like to run away, but in my experience even that can be improved upon. I have two in my collection that are total demons however even those are improving. We have gone two weeks without them trying to get a piece of me lol. I handle them every day.

[PythonBabes]

People don't and never recommend that you handle ball pythons frequently because they are shy creatures. They're not something like guinea pigs or hammers that you can just grab up and play with, they don't enjoy being handled they're tolerating you. People who can't/don't understand that ball
pythons are not extremely interactive animals really shouldn't own them. JS

[JodanOrNoDan]

People don't and never recommend that you handle ball pythons frequently because they are shy creatures. They're not something like guinea pigs or hammers that you can just grab up and play with, they don't enjoy being handled they're tolerating you. People who can't/don't understand that ball
pythons are not extremely interactive animals really shouldn't own them. JS

What exactly are you basing that on? How many animals have you applied this thought process to? How many animals have you raised from egg to adult? I must be doing something terribly wrong with my room full of healthy thriving animals.

[RiA MaU]

What exactly are you basing that on? How many animals have you applied this thought process to? How many animals have you raised from egg to adult? I must be doing something terribly wrong with my room full of healthy thriving animals.

Based on the fact that daily handling stresses them out and you even said yourself, the care sheet has good advice. 2-4 times a week is good for handling if you want to keep stress at a minimum.

[JodanOrNoDan]

Based on the fact that daily handling stresses them out and you even said yourself, the care sheet has good advice. 2-4 times a week is good for handling if you want to keep stress at a minimum.

This is what the care sheet says

Over Handling -- Frequent intrusions into the enclosure, changes to the enclosure, and/or long frequent handling sessions can cause a shy snake to feel vulnerable and refuse to eat.

Notice that words like frequent, long, can and feel are used. None of these things are absolutes. If what you are saying is true I would have a room full of biting, non-feeding, and sick animals. This is not the case. Out of the just south of 60 animals I have right now one animal is not eating. He is a breeding male that was fasting when I got him. Oddly enough he is the only animal that is not being handled. I have two that like to strike. These two were purchased with attitude problems. They are improving and were actually selected partially because they have attitude problems and I wanted to see if they could be calmed. As a rule the only animals I do not handle for extended periods are heavily gravid females and even these will be touched frequently in their tubs. I have found that the animals that adjust the worst are adult animals that have not been extensively handled. They require a lot more work and patience. I grew up working with animals. My animals must allow me to touch them anywhere at any time. Believe it or not I treat my snakes just like horses. Horses are naturally shy fearful animals just like ball pythons. You begin desensitizing horses from the moment they hit the ground. At any rate, my animals are doing fine and I absolutely do not follow your school of thought for the majority of the animals I know. If you have success with other methods more power to you.

[neptunebaby]

From what I've learned on here/research you may be UNDERfeeding her. How much does she weigh? At under 1 year old you should be feeding her ~15% of her body weight every 7 days. Also you want to get her on rats as soon as possible as they have more nutritional value, and almost any ball python hatchling can get a rat pup down.


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I'm planning on getting a scale for her tomorrow but in the meantime I've been trying to keep an eye on her weight and she seems to be gradually gaining, which is why I was concerned about possibly overfeeding, but now I'm just thinking she was being underfed at the store. I'll be switching her to rat pups either way ASAP but right now I've just been going off of size (I'm feeding her mice that are just slightly smaller than the width of the largest part of her body) and how interested she seems to be in eating. Once she goes out of hunting mode and goes back into her hide I figure she's done.

[animallover70]

Hi, my BP is about the same age. I haven't had this issue. Mine I handle a few days a week but I keep it short, around only 10 minutes, if that, to reduce the stress on her. There is a lot of conflicting info out there but this is what I find works for my BP.

Good Luck!