Falling off Shoulders

[Maaarble]

My 10 month old ball python fell off of my shoulder and she seems fine but I'm worrying incessantly anyways. I felt along her body and everything feels normal; no protrusions of swelling. And there's no visible issues, but she fell a distance of about 5ft and it really scared me. She's about 1.5ft long and weighs around 115g.

So I'm just wondering how dangerous falls are for ball pythons, especially smaller ones. Is it common for them to be seriously injured by falling from someone's shoulders? Does the flexibility of their spine help protect them from injury or does it make it easier for breaks to occur?

[redshepherd]

They can totally be injured by it if they land in the wrong position. Shoulders are too wide and smooth for ball pythons (and most snakes) to perch on, so I would avoid it from now on.

They wrap around hands and fingers much easier, but even then you should be holding them in a way that is obviously safe... because they do slip off what they're holding sometimes.

[Maaarble]

They can totally be injured by it if they land in the wrong position. Shoulders are too wide and smooth for ball pythons (and most snakes) to perch on, so I would avoid it from now on.

They wrap around hands and fingers much easier, but even then you should be holding them in a way that is obviously safe... because they do slip off what they're holding sometimes.

That makes sense. And I think she landed okay. She rolled over and started moving around right away. I'm going to check in on her again tomorrow after leaving her alone for a while to chill in her hide and feel nice and safe. She was moving normally during my initial check of her and seemed agitated but otherwise fine. But I get your point, and you're completely right. I don't usually let her wrap around my neck, and it was irresponsible of me not to be paying attention, especially with such a small animal that I know can't hold on as well as my adult BP. I feel awful, but the only thing I can do is be better about moving forward. Thanks for your advice.

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[CALM Pythons]

Bad idea for the snake and you IMO.. Unless they are 5' i would never do that. For 1 your clothes are slippery, for 2 she is so short she cant wrap around your neck or back to hold on, and for 3 I've never been a fan of allowing constrictor's to wrap around my neck area. As friendly as my Burm have been i never do that unless my hand are holding onto them and they hang down (180°) and didnt wrap completely around.
We have all seen people do this for 50 years on video or at Petting Zoo's.. Its a bad idea period.


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[Maaarble]

I checked on her again and she seems okay. Her movements and temperament are normal and I still don't see or feel any swelling or kinks when I examine her tail. I think she's going to be just fine, but you're both right; I shouldn't have been carrying her that way and I'm not going to put her on my shoulders at all anymore. I want her to be healthy and feel safe when I'm handling her and I'm just grateful this incident doesn't appear to have caused any injury to her.

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[Sonny1318]

[QUOTE=CALM Pythons;2611403]Bad idea for the snake and you IMO.. Unless they are 5' i would never do that. For 1 your clothes are slippery, for 2 she is so short she cant wrap around your neck or back to hold on, and for 3 I've never been a fan of allowing constrictor's to wrap around my neck area. As friendly as my Burm have been i never do that unless my hand are holding onto them and they hang down (180°) and didnt wrap completely around.
We have all seen people do this for 50 years on video or at Petting Zoo's.. Its a bad idea period.

Yes, yes and yes some more.