Avoiding bites

[pinkspore]

I think I saw a thread on this somewhere, but I can't find it now, so...

My ball python is a year old and hasn't been handled in a few months. When I touch him he balls himself up. He bit me once while I was playing with a humidifier hose right outside his hide entrance, but has never hissed.

When he finishes shedding and is handlable again, how can I avoid future bites and make handling as non-threatening as possible?

[xdeus]

Handle them when they are awake, usually right after dark. Move slow, and approach them from behind their head. Also, it would probably help if you didn't handle rats or mice before grabbing them.

They'll usually either ball up or hiss to let you know that they don't want to be bothered. The young ones might be a little nippy, but they grow out of it.

[pinkspore]

He always balls up as soon as I touch him. Should I pick him up anyways?

I really gotta make sure to wash my hands between cages, since I have three pet rats.

[JLC]

Ahhh yes...do wash up, well. I wouldn't even wear the same shirt if I'd been playing with the rats before handling the snake.


It's ok to pick them up if they're balled up. Sometimes just being held in your hands...still and quiet....will help them relax and they'll begin to explore you. If not...just hold her for a few minutes and then put her back. Eventually she'll realize getting picked up and held won't hurt her.

It just takes time and very gentle patience.

EDIT: Her....him.....hehe...the advice works for either. Sorry!

[Razaiel]

What is a humidifier hose? If you've got a fogger in the viv I don't think they're recommended for anything but amphibs.

[JimiSnakes]

What is a humidifier hose? If you've got a fogger in the viv I don't think they're recommended for anything but amphibs.

Yeah, good catch! I don't think they are either.

[Pythons Rock]

With any of mine I pet them from behind the head down the body to let them know I'm there and make sure they are awake, they are usually balled up so I hold them flat handed until they un-ball and start to explore. Hand washing after handling rats/mice is a must. My girlfriend didn't follow that rule and got hit by one of the big ones. Funny thing was all the kids were in the room and I brought them all over and showed them why we wash our hands after touching rats/mice before handling the snakes (as my girlfriend is standing there bleeding and being on display at the same time.) Now I have no problems with hand washing!

[Adam_Wysocki]

Holy signature Batman!

Anyway ... don't forget, sometimes you just have to accept that fact that if you're going to keep a snake as a pet there's a good chance that you could get bit ... other than the occassional hiss, their "teeth" are just about the only way that they have to communicate with you.

ROCK ON and be merry.

-adam

[elevatethis]

Maybe the humidifier hose at the entrance to his hide has something to do with your snake's bad mood. Just a thought!

[pinkspore]

The humidifier hose is attached to a do-it-yourself humidifier, just an aquarium air pump attached to an airstone in a plastic bottle and a hose going into the cage. The hose runs into the tank and down to the floor between the hides, but at the time I was trying running it along the side of the tank into an upper corner. I was using suction cups to stick the section of hose above the hide to the wall when he bit me.