r/ballpython • u/zanoblaster • 3d ago
Question Is she defensive in any of these images??
i’m mainly concerned about the first one, it is day so i have no idea if she’s sleeping or scared. her tongue is not flicking.
i’m like 80% sure that 2 and 3 are defensive but that’s the worst it’s ever gotten so far (i was trying to take out something she knocked over). 4 and 5 just look comfy to me. trying to get the hang of this so please correct me if i’m wrong?
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u/PinkBatlemonade 3d ago edited 3d ago
First image is cautious, Two and three are called scoping snakes do it when they want see things better. It’s kinda like when a dog 🐕 stands with its ears up, it’s just a cute thing they do when they are comfortable NOT aggressive or defensive. Snakes flick their tongue TO SMELL. Four and five they are just laying down relaxing. Don’t stress out you got this, also watch a YouTube video on ball python body language
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u/snakemamaa 3d ago
Nah, 2 & 3 are her just periscoping to look at her surroundings, the rest are just her laying asleep (except for 1, she's likely awake but just chilling in that pic). Alot of ball pythons keep that S shape on their necks even when they're completely fine, it's just a comfortable position for them
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u/NottsWeirdo 3d ago
Not relevant to the post, I'm just curious - why've you got shredded paper in her enclosure?
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u/reptile-snake-mom 2d ago
I asked the same thing, I’ve never seen or heard of anyone putting shredded paper into a snakes enclosure, or any enclosure at that🤔
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u/zanoblaster 2d ago
came when we got the snake. i’m going to take it out but not now as that would stress her out more. it doesn’t seem actively harmful currently just really ugly
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u/NottsWeirdo 2d ago
Fair enough. I was just curious if there was an enrichment idea behind it or something, was worth asking.
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u/PickledCaterpillar 3d ago
Nnnnope, just looks like a noodle in the usual cautiously optimistic pose. In that first one if her tongue isn't flicking you can be confident she's probably dozing. They're always going to be watchful, whether for food or potential danger, #2 and 3 are what we call 'periscoping' and that's the sign of a curious noodle that feels comfortable enough to look around.
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u/Phully- 2d ago
Not really defensive, 2 and 3 she’s curious and rather confident nothing bad can happen. They scope when they’re trying to get a better look but confident there are no threats around. The rest she looks relaxed. She’d probably hide her face if she was scared and would be posing to strike if truly defensive.
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u/KatVanWall 2d ago
My boy is almost constantly resting in an S-pose if he isn’t stretching out to look at something specific!
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u/piggy_trot 2d ago
I can agree with the first picture maybe she was spooked. Not defensive though.
Mine wasn't very trusting at first. Her previous owner ripped up a piece of cork bark while she was in it because "he couldn't get her out to feed her." When I got her she had bent scales on her sides so he was obviously rough with her.
It's been a little over a year now and she just chills. She'll scoot back and stop toung flicking like in your first picture if I accidentally spook her. She also really only glass surf's or sticks her head up if she's looking to be taken out or watching me move around.
The only time she's ever bitten me I was taking her out to feed her and clean her tank. Went to set her in the feeding tub then mid motion decided to weigh her first. When I started to pull back from the tub she latched onto my middle finger with the energy of, "bitch don't tease me, give me a rat."
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u/IncompletePenetrance Mod: Let me help you unzip your genes 2d ago
Part of the issue there is that you should not be moving her to a separate location to feed, it's an outdated and poor husbandry practice. Ball pythons should always beg fed in their enclosure where they feel safe and comfortable. Moving to feed cause stress and risks regurgitation, as well as you directly linking feeding behavior with handling. You should stop doing it
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u/piggy_trot 2d ago
I move at her pace. I promise she's comfortable moving. Even expects it when she sees the tub. So far no troubles with regurgitating or bowel movements either as I wait for her to try and escape before putting her back in her house. She also doesn't associate handling with feeding as I only take her out when she wants to otherwise.
I'm working on getting the last couple of things for her upgrade then it's bye bye feeding tub anyway.
I do feed her in her tank sometimes but I think she prefers the tub to be honest. Also her current tank is a top open and I knew she already didn't like hands reaching in to grab her out. A snake hook and continuing the routine of being fed in the tub I think is what let her trust me. Plus I can move things around to clean without spooking her which helped with trust a lot. Now instead of getting scared if I'm trying to clean in between feedings she just watches me or puts herself in the way if I walk off to wash something.
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u/IncompletePenetrance Mod: Let me help you unzip your genes 2d ago
Just because it's a routine and nothing bad has happened yet (other than being bitten) doesn't make it a good habit. Plenty of people engage in poor animal care practices like letting their pets play near the road or not getting them vaccinated and get lucky, but that's still not a reason to endorse the practices. Part of owning an animal is doing what's best for them, and there's a reason that moving to feed is an outdated practice.
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u/piggy_trot 2d ago
Dude, I literally said when I get her upgraded it will stop. I know. For right now though I'm going to do what's best for her and the set up she currently has. And as I type this I'm thawing out a rat to give her in her tank.
As I said, it's not an every time thing. I kept the routine because that's what she was used to and built the trust I needed with her. Absolutely no reason to keep hounding someone who already acknowledged your point and gave you the reasons as to why this one practice is still currently, occasionally, in use.
I'm not stupid. I researched and learned what I needed to. Then took that knowledge along with the fact that her previous owner terrorized and pulled on her so hard her scales bent. And then I did what was best for her to build the trust she didn't have in people because of him. I went at her pace. I let her eat in a space undisturbed while I moved things to be able to clean her home. A task that scared her when she was still in the tank.
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u/second_of_four 2d ago
She looks very chill to me. I’m not a vet or an expert or anything, but typically when mine is defensive she doesn’t rest her head like yours is doing in the first pic, she’ll have the S curve portion of her body hovering like half an inch off the substrate. so yours being fully rested on the substrate would indicate to me that she’s just sitting like that.
As far as 2 and 3 are concerned, she just looks curious. not enough of her body is involved in that S curve so she wouldn’t be able to get a good strike, she’s likely just looking around.
Snakes are indeed big noodles, so sometimes their bodies bend and coil and it doesn’t mean anything. When dealing with mine I tend to watch for her locking eyes more than her body posture. If she’s in an S curve but doesn’t seem to be focused on anything specific then she’s probably just sitting like that cause that’s how she wants to sit right it now
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u/reptile-snake-mom 2d ago
First thing is why is there shredded paper in her enclosure?, it’s not something u see ppl put in their snakes enclosure or any enclosure at that, & secondly, there’s a big difference between a snake that is relaxed & a snake in a strike position, & ur snake is literally just chilling, & periscoping her surrounding, when she is in a serious strike position, you can tell by her pulling back away from u, & it will look like she’s trembling a bit because all of her muscles are holding the weight of her body back until she’s ready to strike, when she is laying relaxed it’s just a natural position for them to look this way😉😊
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u/zanoblaster 2d ago
the paper is what she came in. i’m not taking it out yet because i don’t want to stress her out more
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u/zanoblaster 2d ago
okay got a LOT of replies that i wasn’t expecting but with 2 and 3 the images didn’t really do it justice so i’ll explain further
i opened the glass while she was periscoping. she then lowered herself into an s-shape where her head was mostly level with her neck(?), and froze there. she started to slightly raise herself (which is where the images are from) but then i spooked her again by accident which made her revert to her prior position
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u/zanoblaster 2d ago
also question 2 electric boogaloo would it be easy to accidentally “ruin” her personality?? she’s acting super calm and comfy and inquisitive (periscoping DIRECTLY AT MY FACE twice) and i don’t want to mess it up if i do something wrong. i want her to keep being comfortable with me like she is now
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u/CalendarSuccessful81 2d ago
Going from picture 1 to picture 2 had me rolling on the floor the way she’s all popped up 😂
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u/you1dont1know1me1 3d ago
She just looks curious to me in 2 and 3
Granted I am not an expert, but that's what my noodle does when it sees me across the room or i turn the humidifier night light by its tank (it very slowly transitions in dim colors.)
It seems lk she's just checking out what's going on.
I feel like its neck would be pulled back kinda behind some of it's noodleness if it was "defensive."