Handling my new baby?

[Yvette]

I am trying to do the right thing by her & reading alot. In the beginning I read to quaritine her for about 90 days.
That I am doing. I also thought that meant handling very minimul
if at all. So now, here, I read that I can handle her now? I got her on March 8th of this year. She does seem aggresive & tries to strike. Is it ok to handle her? I've also never been bitten by a snake. Yes, I am a wimp & do not want the hurt.
How long can I handle her without getting her too stressed out?
I also now have a 10 Gal. available. Should I switch her to that?
Right now she is in a 15 Gal.

[SatanicIntention]

Has she been eating on a regular basis?

If she is still young, and easily stressed, it's fine to leave her alone. Minimal handling, such as 5 minutes before you clean her enclosure, is fine. I would start with a couple days a week, 2-3, and 5 minute handling sessions. I rarely handle my 07 babies more than that.

[Shelby]

Quarantine doesn't mean you can't handle them.. it's mainly to prevent any disease/parasites from being passed to other animals that you own. Typically you wait on handling them until they've eaten at least once for you.. then you know they're reasonably settled in. (never handle within 48 hours of feeding.. you may cause the snake to regurgitate)

How long have you had the snake? Has she eaten for you yet? If so, go ahead and start taking her out for short handling sessions.. maybe 15 minutes at a time to get her used to coming out and being held. If you're afraid of being bit and you think you might jerk your hand away if she were to bite you, consider wearing some leather gloves so you're more calm. You wouldn't want to scare her (or hurt her) if you're really nervous. Ball python bites are no big deal though.

If she's eating well for you, and you are able to keep a proper temperature/humidity in the tank, don't switch her to a smaller tank, it'd just cause unneccesary stress.

[Yvette]

Oh, I am sorry, she is about 2 to 3 months old.
Just a teeny thing.
Yes, she has eaten about 3 days ago.

[Texas Dan]

Oh, I am sorry, she is about 2 to 3 months old.
Just a teeny thing.
Yes, she has eaten about 3 days ago.

Is that the first time she's fed since you got her in march? Are you trying to feed her once a week? If she's that young... If 3 days ago was the first time she's eaten, I wouldn't handle her again for a little while, at least another 2 feeding sessions.

When I purchased my spider bp, I couldn't handle him for almost a month before he started eating on a regular basis.. Now we take him out twice a week for about an hour and he always does well.

Good luck.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Is it the same snakes that has a red belly, that is bath every day and eat pinkies?

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...211#post773211

If so I would address all the problems first, from red belly to stress due to bathing the snake everyday to underfeeding it!

Than once the snake is healthy and eat appropriate size preys with consistency I would start handling every other day.

[Yvette]

Her belly isn't pink anymore. I stopped bathing her since posting on the other board.

[azak323]

As far as handling amount goes, I'm not the expert, but here's a few bits of info I've picked up. For one, BPs usually outgrow their snappiness; babies are always more scared than adults because they haven't experienced the new environment. You're still a huge threatening mammal to them! (Poor things). Secondly, I'm not sure this is true so someone correct me if they know otherwise, but I heard that since babies don't have all the muscle built up yet, handling them a lot can overwork the muscles, making them really sore (like after working out) and can even damage the muscles, too. Just something to keep in mind and be careful of.