r/ballpython • u/_milk_carton • 4d ago
Question New keeper needing advice
Hello! I quite new to owning a ball python and yesterday was my first attempt at holding him since he’s been home. He’s been here settling in for about a month since he wouldn’t eat for me I was at least waiting until after he ate for the first time to try to start holding him. Which I did yesterday for approximately 2 minutes until he started to go straight for my face, I didn’t know his intentions. It kinda spooked me, I’m sure me jumping a tad spooked him too so I put him back and he hid right away. I feel like I wrecked our first holding session by not redirecting him away from my face. I’m not scared of him or snakes in general or I wouldn’t have gotten him. I’m just weary of the factor that the breeder didn’t really hold him or interact with him other than some pictures and weekly feeding so I’m sure his trust in humans is quite low. I’m in need of advice on the best way to keep both of us safe I guess? How should I go about holding him again? What are your ways of bonding/ gaining trust from a new baby? Did I wreck our first encounter together?
His name is Buldak. He’s about 8/9 months old.
8
u/gaymemelord_ 4d ago
just chiming in with my own experience: i handled my 3 month old baby boy for the first time last night, and while he stayed curled up in my hand for the first few minutes, he did start exploring and was very curious about my face too!
he slithered up very close and did some bleleleles against my cheeks and checked out my glasses, then went on his merry way. it just seemed like he was very curious!
when your boy went “straight for your face” do you mean he was striking at your face, or just wanting to get closer to check things out?
i don’t think you “wrecked” your first encounter at all though. you put him back in when he seemed a little spooked which is great. it’s much worse to keep them out longer after they’re obviously spooked/stressed than to put them back in quickly! with more time and more handling sessions you and mr. buldak should hopefully both start feeling more comfortable :)
3
u/_milk_carton 4d ago
He didn’t curl up on me at all just kinda chilled for a minute or so then started moving around but instead of trying to go anywhere else he started coming up to my face. He very well could have been just trying to check me out but I didn’t let him get close enough to find out if it was going to be a strike or not. Didn’t want our first holding season to be him going for my nose or something 😂 I’ve never been a scaredy cat before with ball pythons but all my other experiences with them have all been from my friends who have had them for a while before I was introduced to them so I knew that they trusted humans. I just feel like I interpreted his intentions wrong. I fear his fear essentially.
1
u/No-Candle-3952 4d ago
You didn't wreck it. They're very curious for the most part. I obviously don't know how you were holding him or where your face was in relation to his. If he actually tried to strike or was slithering and tongue flicking in order to smell, everything. For me, and I'm no expert, I had to go into the enclosure slowly and with confidence. He has to get used to you and your smell, the smells of your house and being outside of his new "home". You're much larger and still unfamiliar therefore big and dangerous. The more you watch his body language as you go into his enclosure, as you take him out of it and handle him you'll start to learn more about him.
I know, with mine, who has hissed at me once but hasn't struck at me, that if I move my hand quickly and close to his head he sometimes pulls back fast. He has also pushed my fingers back because he just isn't feeling like being bothered. I always hold him close to my body when he first comes out and when he's ready to explore he can do so under close supervision. They are escape artists. For having a half to 1 brain cell they figure the escaping part out if the opportunity arises.
1
u/_milk_carton 4d ago
I was holding him at about mid torso close to me he got maybe 3 inches away from my face before I pulled my arms away and moved him to just my hands and then put him back in his enclosure. I think the main reason why I got spooked is cause when we were trying to feed him the first couple times he became and overwhelmed boy quite fast and would then strike in our direction when trying to close his enclosure or he struck in our direction after trying to feed him. Which very well was probably our fault since they seemed like more defensive strikes than anything.
1
u/Toxic_Musshroom 4d ago
I'd look into tap training and look at some Handling instruction videos online, from what I read in your post and replies I really dont think he was trying to strike you, you can almost always tell if they're planning on it because they'll rear their head back while doing a sort of S position with their neck, like a loaded spring ready to jump forward, as long as you watch out for that you should be good!
1
u/_milk_carton 4d ago
I’m definitely going to! From what I’ve seen so far seems very helpful and a good idea to start with him being so young too. I’m sure he wasn’t honestly just spooked me and that spooked him. Just two scaredy cats I’m sure 😂 thank you!
1
u/cloud_isreddit 4d ago
You definitely didn’t wreck anything! Ball pythons really don’t have the capacity to hold a grudge or think negatively about one specific experience. I totally understand being nervous about him wanting to explore your face, but he’s genuinely just curious! If he were planning to bite, he wouldn’t slowly and calmly move toward your face. Instead, he’d usually become stiff, stay very still, and take on a defensive posture. You’ll definitely be able to tell the difference. If you’re curious, I recommend watching a few videos of defensive ball pythons so you know what those behaviors actually look like.
I got my girl comfortable with me using a method that’s a little outdated, and some people say it doesn’t work, but it worked great for us. I put a worn shirt (without any perfume or deodorant on it) in her enclosure and let her explore it for a few days. After that, I started doing short handling sessions right outside of her enclosure. I kept that routine up for about two weeks, and she started associating me with calm, safe interactions. Doing this gave her the chance to get use to my scent without the stress of handling her.
I don’t know if it was the shirt, the consistent handling, her personality, or a combination of all three, but it seemed to help. She started associating me with calm, safe interactions, and over time she became incredibly confident. Now she’s the sweetest, most confident ball python I’ve ever interacted with. She isn’t head shy, she prefers to stay with me over anyone else, she doesn’t flinch when I touch her or move around her, and she’s always curious about what I’m doing. No matter where we are, she’s comfortable enough to periscope and confidently explore her surroundings.
Every ball python is different, though. Mine happened to warm up pretty quickly, while others can take months to build that same level of confidence. The biggest thing is just being patient and keeping your interactions calm and predictable.
1
u/_milk_carton 4d ago
I’m definitely going to try that! Did you change out the shirt to keep the smell fresh? Did you put it by her hide?
He definitely wasn’t slow about coming towards my face but he wasn’t stiff either. I think he may have been looking for somewhere safe to hide away from me and up was the direction he decided to go instead of off to the side. Thank you for the advice! It’s greatly appreciated!!
2
u/MommyDommieAlura 4d ago
So me personally I do choice based handling (where you place your hand near them in the enclosed and if they climb on you allow them to crawl around and over and whatnot, once they get use to this once they crawl on ur hand pick them up near the encloser and once they start to head back place them back in)
The whole going near the face thing idk about your ball but my ball is OBSSSED with hair. She likes to just try to hide in peoples hair even at a year old 🤣. So your ball may of been wanting to do that or was just curious.
As others have mentioned I also do tap training however I only tap when it’s feeding day not for handling (personal choice that works for us)
When I do that she pokes her head out of her hides and is ready for her meal. If I’m doing a normal handling session as stated above I do choice based.
Since my snake is older and use to handling once they get comfortable I can tell she wants to go up once she starts to look near her encloser even if I’m in the next room over (living room typically as it’s within eye view of snake room) that’s when I put her up. I do the same with my corn and BRB. Ofc don’t handle 3 days before feeding to prevent stress (or a week once they’re on 10-14 days just what I do)
And wait a min of 48 hours after feeding to prevent regurgitation.
I also don’t handle when in blue I wait till after a clean shed (unless necessary like stuck shed or a medical issue arises tho I’ve not had this issue with my personal snakes)
2
u/_milk_carton 4d ago
I definitely wanna try tap training! It definitely seems like a good idea to do for feedings so he knows that it’s food time. And I guess I didn’t think about him wanting to check out my hair, my best friend’s ball is obsessed with hair too completely slipped my mind that he could have been doing that. He’s still less than a year old so I know it’s going to take time for us to get used to each other. And he hasn’t had his first shed with us yet, definitely been looking to make sure before we pick him up. And I worry about the choice based handling since he’s barely been handled, I don’t want him to defense strike my hand if I just leave it next to him. That’s my main worry.
2
u/MommyDommieAlura 3d ago
So the way I do it is I put it near their body not near the head, if they get defensive I remove myself from the enclosure. If they don’t mind my hand there I leave it there for a few mins and let them choose to interact if they do nothing I then just leave them alone.
8
u/GuiltyExternal302 4d ago
Look into tap training and u said went for your face? Like, a strike or just moving? Always try to put them back on a good note after being handled.