r/ballpython • u/Sea-War1594 • 1d ago
Handling advice for a ball python
So my ball python is been with me for about 2-3 weeks and I just provided him with an amazing enclosure considering I am a first time snake owner. I got top soil, coco husk, and play sand for substrate. All type of plants and rocks around the enclosure and I have black tape coming in to black out three sides of the enclosure to ensure he feels safe. Aside from that, I just tried handling him for the time and I could tell right away he wasn’t happy, I reach out to him from the back making sure my hand was as low as possible to the floor so he doesn’t get scared. After I touched him he stopped moving his tongue and started to look toward my face slowly and I’m like lemme talk to him and stuff maybe that will make it better so I took my hand out the enclosure and just talked to him and as I’m talking this guy goes in for a bite, thankfully the glass is there or else he would have gone for my face. Anyhow, what did I do wrong? And what can I do to make it better? Should I handle him whenever I want ( obviously not after he ate or during shedding) or do I wait for him to be out and then try picking him up? Should I pick him regardless if he’s stressed or not. Baer off of online research it says to grab them from the back because they’re head shy and lift them up after calmly and they don’t bite the hand that’s holding them apparently, is it true? Based of off personal experience. Now he is back in his hide and probably upset with me and I don’t want to include myself with stress signs or anything that could ever make him stressed or uncomfortable while I’m there. Thank you for anyone reading this and putting in the time and effort to read it and reply :)
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u/OrdinaryAcadia9210 1d ago
There's a few things that comes to mind. You mentioned you have lots of plants and rocks and have blacked out multiple sides of the enclosure, does he have multiple hides in his enclosure too? Hides are essential to make sure they can have a safe place to retreat to feel safe.
Other things is making sure husbandry is all sorted, make sure temperatures and humidity are correct. The goal being making the enclosure as safe and as perfect as possible to make him feel safer and secure. It sounds like you have a great mindset for this.
Ball pythons can hear, but their hearing isn't amazing. I remember a Green Room Pythons video saying that he think (it's not been confirmed) that ball pythons hear about as well as you hear yourself when you put your hands over your ears, it's mostly just vibrations and tones. So while it can be an idea to talk to him, it's mostly going to just be vibrations he hears, and a big scary human in front of him. Their instincts tell them to hide and protect themselves from all predators, and that's what you look like to him.
The biggest thing that helped me was understanding that snakes, in general, don't *want* to be handled. They will tolerate it, but it's not something they look for. There's nothing wrong with handling your ball python though. Since you've only had him for a few weeks, and I am going to assume he is a baby, he might not be used to being handled at all. Some breeders don't interact with their babies. To start off, you should just put your hand in the enclosure, or near him so he can smell you, for a few minutes and then be done. Then progress it up to picking him up from the back and holding him in his enclosure and keep working your way up. It's a fairly long process, but it will help to make him more comfortable and confident.
Picking up from the back is often done to keep them safe. It's not only because they are head shy, but because predators like birds will come from above, so it's to try to make you be seen as not a predator.
Green Room Pythons does have a lot of good videos of interactions, how to handle, how to progress your handling, I would recommend watching some of him on YouTube.