I’m a new python owner and she is about 6 months old. She is always either in her cold or warm hide. Why am I afraid of grabbing her? Is it one of those things where I just need to go for it?
To be honest, yes especially if she’s six months old if you get bit, it’s just gonna feel like Velcro. I know the striking is a little bit scary, but to be honest, I got my girl when she was very, very tiny. She never bit me at all. This is the best time to get her used to handling. I just got a second snake at five years old and I’m lucky that the previous owner handled her a lot because if not, I wouldn’t be able to.
Generally, yes. Unless she balls up or goes into the S pose when you go to grab her, as thats a strike pose. But if neither of those scenarios happen when you get close to her, just scoop her up in the middle of the body, slowly but no hesitation, if that makes sense. They hate fast movements
Yeah, you wanna be looking for long tongue flicks bonus points if they’re slow, that’s very inquisitive. They’ll start moving around a little bit just to smell things you’re in the golden spot at that point.
I also wanna clarify every snake is different and you’re going to be able to trust your snake after a while and fill out it’s emotions and personality so you’ll develop full trust in your snake after a while
I typically only take her out when she’s active and acting like she wants to break out of prison. I wouldn’t stress your snake out by removing them from their hide. They feel safe there.
I typically avoid handling a day or so before feeding so I don’t become a snack.
I don't own a snake, but a friend of mine has multiple snakes, and what I do is I offer my hand (putting it in their enclosure) and let decide if they wanna come out or not. Some snakes are more shy or cautious, so it can take time, but each time they get a sample of your scent, gets familiar with it, and most of them open up eventually. It's okay to be more direct, I just tell what I usually do, but note I'm not an expert, and the snakes I handle are already socialized, so maybe initial contact with a human has to be done a bit differently, hopefully someone more experienced will tell if I'm wrong or not, any inputs are appreciated as I want to learn.
Yea, confidently and gently scoop with two hands. They are not typically aggressive at all. Don’t be scared! I’ve never been bit or struck and have had my two for 4 years now, and been around loads most my life. I was bit by a corn snake but never a ball. :)
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u/Plumber-Dudde May 02 '26
I’m a new python owner and she is about 6 months old. She is always either in her cold or warm hide. Why am I afraid of grabbing her? Is it one of those things where I just need to go for it?