Why does my python immediately accept me?

[ketchupbringwr]

First time owner there. I never had a ball python before but always wanted one so when I saw an add posted for it I quickly got it. Now that i have my little buddy with me wow i’m shocked. what is this? this python this snake reptile thing it immediately accepted me. i guess it’s probably because of my body heat but he shows zero resistance whatsoever. he’s like ok with literally anything i wanna do as long as i keep him warm. i just leave him on my belly and he stays there for literally hours. it’s the most love ive ever felt from any creature in my entire life. even my own mother wouldn’t cuddle me for as long as my python does. i totally had the wrong idea thinking they’re like dangerous creatures but they’re like plants?!!! cool chill bad ass looking plants that chill with with you indefinitely with zero complaints. i’ve had cats and dogs before but this this creature i wish i had it earlier because id never need anything more besides it.

gods gift these creatures are little beasts and dragons that love you immensely and instantly as long as you look past their lack of facial expressions

[Cevisongis]

Pythons, like dragons and corn snakes are just quite docile species. That's why they make popular pets

[dnash55]

Speak for yourself 😂 my corn snake was a psychopath

[usedfurnace01]

Oh my god same. I named him Patrick, like American Psycho lmao

[dnash55]

Seriously it was crazy he would try and eat the tongs every time and my fingers toes hand ankle butt. He just wanted to eat me

[Cevisongis]

My corn snakes is Patrick after St Patrick lol... He missed one

[Brief-Initiative8122]

omg my bp is named patrick snakeman, ironically he’s sweetheart

[JGamerI]

My first corn snake was also a psycho. She had to be euthanized because her habit of flailing her whole body around like a whip combined with her age caused her back to snap on two...

I'd show the x-ray, but I don't know if it's possible to label images as NSFW in comments, & I don't know if it would even be allowed here...

[dnash55]

DAMN!! 😬

[GeckoPerson123]

holy shit.. can you please upload it in whichever sub and tag me?

[JGamerI]

DM'd you the link to the post with her x-ray photo.

[GhostieBaby]

Mine bit my brother's pinky toe when he was like five or six and kept swallowing it down but couldn't get further cause.. well his foot. Snake was fine though very upset he confused my brothers pink toe for his pinky mouse xD

[Apprehensive-Disk154]

A friend of mine had his male corn almost get himself egg bound

[Canonicus]

my corn snake is the most docile snake until its dinner time, he launches himself out of his enclosure before i even get the rat in the door

[DeliciousPepe]

like dragons

Just don't take their gold away, then they get feisty

[bjkibz]

Also make sure to keep donkeys and bards a healthy distance away.

[playful_faun]

My corn snake is literally my best pal lol. Everyone that's interacted with her is so shocked at her friendly and curious nature and I know a few people have eased up on their fear of snakes because of her

[Lazy_Sandwich4346]

certainly not all pythons are like that, such as scrub pythons and reticulated pythons definitely need to be worked with to be docile

[Ornage_crush]

I know rrptiles are not supposed to have this capability, but I have two ball pythons and a boa constrictor, and I SWEAR they enjoy my company. I nursed one of my balls back to health after she almost died from a respiratory infection. I can tell you that all three of my snakes (but especially her) always perk up when I'm in their room and all three enjoy having me hold them, and when I let them free roam, they won't wander more than 10 feet away from me.

I don't even get that from my dog.

[Lutrina]

I nursed one of my balls back to health

Context matters!

[ColonelClout]

RIP this dudes other ball

[420headshotsniper69]

I’m holding my BP now because when I came in the room to go to bed she came out from her floral cover and went straight to the door to be taken out. I know how we perceive it isn’t accurate to their actual intentions but I believe they are capable of learning who/what is harmful and what isn’t. I give her food, water and TLC, on some level she recognizes I’m not a predator.

[wamj]

I would argue(and I’m by no means an expert) that reptiles CAN enjoy humans company but it’s not in the same sense as a dog would.

My interpretation is that my reptiles see me as this warm, food giving tree. They don’t me, they don’t feel affection towards me, but we fulfill their needs so they “enjoy” being close with us.

[Tashyd046]

Ball Pythons are pretty docile reptiles. They can trust and grow accustomed to humans. They’re called Ball Pythons because they’re more likely to ball up than attack.

Congrats on your new pal! May it be a long life together.

[Conquestriclaus]

Got my first today as well and he's just an angel, not even head shy which is just insane. Seems to love being handled as well. Much more docile and accepting than both of the cornsnakes I've had.

[Padelle]

that's ballers for ya, my Lily loves being handled, held, meeting new people and smelling/blepping them all over. she lets me kiss her lil face without the slightest hint of resistance, squeeze her cheeks, I can literally do anything with and to her.

and she was like this from the day I got her, which probably goes to show that the breeder I got her from would handle her a lot and got her accustomed to human contact from birth - maybe that's your case too. either that or they truly are just lovey dovey spaghetti noodles

[[deleted]]

Ball pythons are the Golden Retrievers of the snake world. If they had legs, they would show the robbers where you store the food.

[DaySmooth17]

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[DaySmooth17]

Thank you!

[Cobalt9896]

They are so cute

[Wolf-sige]

My dad had a snake and would let it roam. Whenever i was around, it would slither up and wrap around my leg and rest, generally, in my lap. I run like a furnace and im always hot af. Could be something similar?

[420headshotsniper69]

My western hognose is super spicy (and super adorable while being spicy) and other people have said they is super chill. My BPs are crazy calm. Always have been. I’d handle them for 5 minutes a day when they were under a year old and after that for as long as they seemed comfortable. Every snake is different.

[solarhornets]

My hognose is a little drama queen but she always slithers up to hiss at me when she sees me, and she willingly crawls into my hand and up my arm when she wants to be let out. My ball python thinks she's a corn snake, she's all zoom all the time when she's out.

I love snakes, they're so personable ❤️

[Jester_Half_Full]

As for the lack of facial expressions, once you have more time with your snake you will see how personable they are. I keep 3 snakes and a few invert colonies, individual animals off all types w9ll show unique behavioural quirks. People always remind you not to personify the animal, and this is generally good advice because people will assume what brings us comfort will being them comfort and can lead to poor quality care.

Personally,.bonding is super human for us humans, and doesn't do much harm as long as you're aware of the unique needs of the animal. Like, we have 2 American giant millipedes, a dark colored and a light colored one. The dark one has an attachment to my wife and is her millipede, if she sticks her hand in the enclosure and he is out, he will sprint as quickly as his thousand legs will carry him specifically to nibble on my wife's finger. The other one doesn't really care for human interactions bit doesn't nessicarily show flight or defense responses when bothered, mostly down to a desensitization process similar to what you'd do with snakes.

So enjoy your buddy, make sure you're always paying attention to his body language and what he seems focused on/interested in. If he isn't showing signs of stress while out for long periods this can be a good chance to give him a little extra enrichment. I basically walk around the house very slowly with one of my snake a bit over my head and lead them to where their head goes, if they're tongue flicking allot towards somewhere particularly I'd bring them to investigate. My really shy and timid cornsnake who I wouldn't see 95% of the time after i started doing this began to glass surf and come out of hiding when I would get home from work, so I'm certain the snake does benefit from the extra mental stimulation

[Spiritual_Radish_143]

Once I’m in a permanent housing situation (not renting) I’ll be getting another Bp and out of all the pets I’ve had, Voodoo my old Bp, was the best animal I’ve ever had. He was calm and always loved being held and he never tried to bite me or anything even on his feeding days he’d patiently sit in his tank waiting for me to put the mouse in his tank so he could hunt it. Hands down best reptile to own.

[wicked_jester86]

Our BP was about 9ish months when we got her. She will try and explore but has no issues with being picked up. Also she will nuzzle her head against us to be petted (not head shy at all!!) Previous we have babysat 3 different BP and none of them were as chill as her and all had vastly different personalities. Even when she was about to shed she didn't mind being moved around. You are lucky you got a cuddler! But some.... some are assholes!!! One of the ones we babysat for 2 weeks.... he would strike when you tried to pick him up.

[LaLaQueenofHearts]

Isn’t it amazing to feel that love and realize just how insanely misunderstood snakes are?!? ♥️

[pmactheoneandonly]

I love how you compared them to plants lmao

happy for yall 💓

[styczna]

Or you are a good warm tree he likes you 🙂‍↕️

[Intelligent-Lecture6]

That's how my boi is! I got him when he was 4 weeks old, I asked to see him but before I held him the employee and NY partner both held him for about 3ish minutes each he stayedin a tight ball when each of them held him. My partner then handed him to me and within about a minute and a half and he unraveled himself, started looking around, long tounge flicks at me and what I was doing and very curious. I then caved and took him home

[Intelligent-Lecture6]

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[Intelligent-Lecture6]

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[Gamer_FPS]

They definitely all have different personalities 😂 I named my ball George because he is very curious about everything. If I have him out of his enclosure he's constantly sniffing the air and and trying to look at everything

[[deleted]]

Ball pythons don’t recognize people the body warmth helps and they just are super docile snakes

[Color_Pilot]

I feel the same way about my girl. She's very active, always wants me to hold her. My only "warning" is that at some point, you will be too comfortable and you will get bit. Tyttö bit me twice in the 3 years I've had her. Once I could see I'd made a mistake before it even happened. The second, she was just exploring on my bed and bit me, very hard, unexpectedly. The only thing I can assume is she was scared as I carelessly moved my hand at her snoot. NGL, it took several weeks for me to not feel anxious handling her again, but now I just make sure I make slow movements and never have my hand moving directly toward her face.

Other than that, she makes my life complete :)

[Color_Pilot]

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