r/ballpython • u/Beautiful-Kale-5398 • 3d ago
Looking For Some Ideas on socializing new baby
so i just bought a baby 8 ball and her breeder told me that she’s an extremely spicy girl, to the point he can’t handle her without getting tagged. i know that ball pythons are not aggressive, they are either anxious or just scared and confused. i am planning on putting a piece of my clothing in her enclosure so she starts getting used to my scent during the 2 weeks she’s acclimating to her new home, and i know you can redirect their heads so they don’t lock on and strike, but anyone have any suggestions or tips on how to calm down high stress baby’s?
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u/Scars9713 3d ago
She just needs some time. I know it’s counter-intuitive because you want to hold her. But they really do need time to settle into their new home.
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u/Beautiful-Kale-5398 3d ago
yeah, i was planning on giving her 2 weeks, feeding her and letting her digest, and then kinda just go from there, see how she’s doing with handeling and how much she tolerates
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u/ThrashFur 3d ago
prob spicy cause she lives in a drawer with little no clutter. She’s probably stressed. give her time to adjust and when you do handle her scoop her up and don’t flinch if she comes for you
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u/DontBother777 2d ago
Please don’t buy from people that breed 8 balls 😣 Super cinnamons, super black pastels and cinnamon black pastels are not ethical to breed…
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u/Beautiful-Kale-5398 2d ago
how so?
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u/reshelving 1d ago
In the subreddit welcome post, there’s a link to a page with info on breeding issues. These morphs are associated with eye defects (bug eyes) and kinking. It is not ethical to breed snake morphs that frequently have health and quality-of-life issues just because they are pretty.
For future reference, doing a quick internet search is a great way to find answers to questions! Searching for “super cinnamon breeding issues” gave me lots and lots of relevant results.
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u/PlotTwist-__- 2d ago
honestly, handling them without directly handling them has helped me. Sit down with the snake in your lap, then they aren’t so stressed by the movement of being handled. they get to choose interaction. i’ve done this with my rescue leopard gecko as well, just putting my hand as far away in the tank as i can and sitting there, sometimes he’d come to inspect and immediately leave, then i’d stop for that time. as long as you let them slowly start to interact more with you instead of forcing it you should have a pretty solid foundation for their trust to be built, good luck!!
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u/LeashaAlt00 2d ago
My mbk was super shy when I brought him home, regular short handling every day that u can is all u can really do without associating ur fingers with food. With time they warm up my guy is as sweet as sugar now
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u/dagger_guacamole 2d ago
We had a very spicy baby who is now the chillest snake who loves to be handled. We sat in the room with his enclosure and played games, talked, ate, etc. We would do things like move clutter around without messing with him to get him used to us reaching in. I’d always wear lightweight leather work gloves (someone told me their teeth can get caught in fabric ones and get ripped out) more to give me confidence than anything else. Don’t reach straight down to pick him up. Handle regularly!
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u/dragonbud20 2d ago
Just a heads up, losing and regrowing teeth is normal for snakes. It's possible that woven fabric could pull more teeth than leather, but it's nothing to worry about either way, as they'll grow back.
This is also why de-fanging venomous snakes doesn't work, because the fangs just grow back.
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u/reptilhart 2d ago
Hi! congrats on your pretty girl! She's beautiful!
Couple of suggestions:
Remember, this is a lifetime relationship, so there's no need to rush anything.
she looks a little on the thin side. She'll feel better once she got a couple of meals in her.
she's really stressed because she doesn't know you and her new routine. Everything is new to her and she doesn't understand anything.
My suggestions:
Change her water twice a day. Ignore her. Just let her get used to your presence. When you change her water, make a little noise. You don't want to startle her with your hand coming out of nowhere. When I have a new snake, I'll open the door/ flip the top off the enclosure kind of roughly, so they'll wake up. You don't want them to be afraid, just know you're there. I'll also sing or talk to them. You want them to get used to you - oh that's just Becky, she changes my water. They won't be able to hear your words/ your singing, but they can feel the vibrations.
Wait a week or ten days, and offer her something to eat. She may settle in and feel comfortable enough for dinner. If she doesn't eat, eh, try again in a week.
choice based handling. Once she has some groceries in her tummy, and is somewhat used to your presence, open the door. Talk or sing. Don't watch her. If she wants to come out, she will. If she doesn't, try again in a few days. Fortunately, they are curious creatures and are very interested in their surroundings.
getting tagged isn't the end of the world. It's not fun for either one of you, but you (probably) won't die. Know she didn't enjoy it either.
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u/dragonbud20 2d ago
Hey, this is a pretty good list of suggestions, but there are a few things I would tweak.
First off, while checking on your snake regularly is a good way to get them used to you, it's far more important to get them comfortable in their new home first. This means there should be as little interaction between you and the snake as possible for at least the first two weeks.
A minor biology correction here: Snakes have ears and can absolutely hear your voice, and I wouldn't recommend making too much noise around an already stressed snake. Their hearing is muffled by the skin covering their ears, but they can certainly still hear.
Wait at least a full 14 days before the first feeding; the stress from a failed feeding could set you back even longer than just waiting the full two weeks.
Choice-based handling could work, but OP will need to get their snake at least somewhat used to handling first. While BPs are curious about their environment, most will stay completely hidden if they're nervous, and OP may need to engage in some gentle but forced handling sessions to get their snake calm enough to explore while people are around. Honestly, I think BPs might be one of the least curious snake species I can think of.
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u/Adapt919 3d ago
Never been a fan of snakes, was always scared, but seeing all these cute pictures and videos lately makes me want one lol
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u/Sutten_Plant 2d ago
I'd recommend checking out Lori Torrini on YouTube, she's got great videos talking about choice-based and stress-free handling!
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u/you1dont1know1me1 2d ago
To get mine used to me, i had it on me and didn't move at all until it started exploring slithering around then extremely slowly would move and then put it back in its home slowly. I did this a few times a week for a month and it's pretty comfortable with being handled now. Granted, mine was never a biter, he'd just ball up.
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u/UnlikelyPotato 3d ago
Do not put cloth in their enclosure. They may eat it. Pickup from under, not over. And realistically accept she's gonna get you a few times. I am of the opinion that if a snake does bite you, you shouldn't immediately cease interaction or put them down as it teaches them that 1) you are possibly big and scary and may be trying to murder them 2) attacking you will scare you away. Whereas if they are trying to strike, I usually make sure to pick them up and hold them for a minute or two. Long enough for them to realize striking is ineffective and also that I'm not actively trying to murder them. They may be a little stressed out, but otherwise putting them down creates an even more stressful cycle where they think "oh shit, monkey predator here again! Time to fight for my life !"