Quote Originally Posted by Scott.S View Post
I got my first Ball Python about 3 months ago, at first i was nervous as well, my first mistake was thinking my new snake wanted to be friends right away, after initially putting him in his new enclosure i kind of put my hand in front of him in hopes of him wanting to crawl up it, well i learned quickly that was wrong. The bite didn't hurt, its more of a sting, but the feeling of how quickly they snap was startling for sure. He hasn't tried to bite me or bitten me since then. My suggestion for getting over the initial anxiety of putting your hand in and picking him up would be to use a paper towel roll or a clean rolled up cloth to sort of direct his attention while you move your hand behind him to pick him up. Also try to handle him a little bit every day (Besides feeding day and two days after or in shed) and he/she will learn your scent and associate you with something that wont kill it. My BP was a little hissy and stikey at first and i won't lie i was a bit nervous for maybe the first two weeks but now i am very confident not only with handling and picking up but also knowing what he wants. Usually if he's out and about in the evenings i will open up the door and let him come to me. He has truly been great curious and friendly snake. For example i took him out 3 days ago and noticed the signature pink belly and slight dulling of the skin, that was my cue that he is going into shed and wants to be left alone, sure enough today his eyes are clouded and he hasn't moved from his hide, the last thing i will do now is disturb him until he's done his shed (besides of course checking temps, and misting to bump up humidity) As long as your husbandry is good and you have confidence and handle often but not to often he/she will warm up to you just fine. They are really friendly snakes that really only will strike out of fear and distrust. Unless of course you smell like rodents, which brings me to my last point, sanatize your hands before attempting to handle or pick up, not only is it clean but the smell is sure to let the snake know that your hands are not food. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the help!

I'm not nervous about picking him up, and he only really hissed the first couple times I tried to pick him up. Now he is usually pretty calm about it and i always go from behind and avoid approaching his head. My nervousness is from the unknown I guess. Because I haven't been tagged (yet), I have that nervousness. And when he stays somewhat balled up then I'm fine. I get nervous when he relaxes and starts to smell my hand and kinda explores. I think I just need to stay confident and realize that if/when it happens, It's not that big of a deal.

I believe the husbandry is pretty much on point. He has eaten for me 2x and ate F/T for the first time with no issue. He has yet to shed for me so not really sure when to expect that. He is in a 16qt sterilite tub with a 3'' heat tape on side controlled by a JumpStart Thermostat. I have a small plastic hide and an appropriate sized water dish with paper towels as substrate. I just got some 6'' heat tape i'm going to use and will probably be buying a Herpstat 2 tomorrow since the Jumpstart doesn't really regulate the Heat Tape that well for me. Currently i'm keeping the room warm with a floor heater however I will probably need to get a glass tank soon so I can use a CHE to maintain the cold side better since it is kinda not fun to be in the room (computer office) right now