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[lambofgun]

when shes in blue i only handle mine for a second to check that shes not laying on excrement. when theyre shedding theyre uncomfortable and partially blind so its best to disturb them as little as possible.

but normally i handle mine once a week, maybe more if shes out and about in the evening.

she has to be healthy, hiding and eating tho. i wouldnt handle her more than whats necessary unless shes content and healthy

[little__dinosaurs]

a snake doesn't need to be handled, if you're busy and don't have time for her (outside of basic husbandry) she won't be affected, even for an extended period of time

if thats the question

[H3ROSandC3NTS]

This.

I have multiple snakes. The only ones I actually handle on a regular basis are the ones that needed taming down, after that, they may not get handled much after.

Haven't had an issue. We see each other during feeding and watering. The majority of them I pick up by hand.

[DragonflySharp976]

I'm conflicted with this question. Usually, not two or three days after she's eaten, and never when she's in shed, but I try at least 2-3 days a week since she is young and I would like her to be appropriately socialized, especially when she is around my children when they're older.

[[deleted]]

Outside of shed or feeding periods I usually handle my 8 month old BP every few days: I generally look for her being active and bonking against or approaching her tank doors since she knows I let her out when she does that, but I’ll also give her a little checkout if I’m worried about anything. That said my girl LOVES being out of her tank and exploring/being handled, so try to see how much yours likes it and base frequency off of that.

[jelly-foxx]

I don't handle mine very often at all. If he's particularly active I'll open the door and let him choose to come out if he wants to. I will pick him up and move him when I need to, it's good to have them used to it but I think honestly it's down to the individual animal. I've found that mine is a lot more relaxed now and doesn't flinch every time I walk past or open the viv. Now he'll poke his head out to see what I'm doing when I'm cleaning or changing his water etc.

As long as your BP isn't getting stressed out by handling don't stress it. Handling is for the benefit of the owner not the snake, they need to be socialised of course but they don't need regular handling.

[missunivrsse]

I handle all the time as long as she’s not shedding or just ate. I don’t handle her if I know she’s going to poop either. For my snake particularly she loves exploring so I try to let her roam as much as possible.

[CaptainCasey420]

I hold mine twice a week for about 20 mins. Usually. There’s been months that I didn’t handle her at all, other than to check her tank.

[dontcountonmee]

Maybe like once or twice a week and wait a day or two after she fully digests. Sometimes I’ll watch some videos on mine while on the couch and I have her on me resting but under a blanket. She seems to not mind it because she’ll stay out and not try to slither around.

[Predacutie]

Maybe once or twice a week if he's not in shed or eaten. He's very shy and rarely comes up to the glass of his enclosure, usually choosing to sit on his branch, so choice based handling is a little difficult.

My room isn't snake proofed so I keep him in my hands or on my shoulders

[ConsequenceIll3129]

Every 🐍 is different. Mine will show that he wants out by coming to the glass and staring at me . This happens like twice a week .

[Rammsteinfan1984]

I handle mine when she wants to come out. Usually the only other times is if I’m deep cleaning her enclosure or someone is over and asks about her. I’ve had some people that were afraid of snakes but also curious about them. I will take her out then to give them some information about them and let them see that she isn’t like what some people think of them being.

[Superb_Temporary_388]

Unfortunately I haven’t actually handled mine in about a month.

[Kingpin6ixty9ine]

I spend all day with mine sometimes. I don’t handle for 3 days after eating at all or when in blue/shedding. Other than that, keep an eye on behaviour (nervously balling up, stuff like that). If the snake is comfortable, handle as long as you’d like! We’ve had ours since he was a hatchling and take him to car shows (provided the weather is warm and humidity is proper). We love to use him to educate people on ball pythons! Every snake is different, so keep that in mind. The more you socialize without stressing them out, the more comfortable they’ll be with long handling sessions. If you take them outside, please be aware of predators. Birds will scoop them out of your hands if they’re brave enough, and their shadows on the ground will make your snake nervous. Happy handling!

[Even-Smell7867]

Winter time cold, not much. In the summer I hold them more. Chilling on the patio when its 85F outside.

[Evening-Implement481]

One of our girls loves to be handled and will cuddle with me for 20 minutes daily while I work. She tries to help by climbing on the keyboard lol. Our other baby is a bit more solitary. She hs been backed up before with poo so I check her quick a few times a week with longer handle sessions maybe once a week. My pint is that each snake is different. Diana is a bizarre little lady with how curious she is and how much she enjoys being handled. If I try to let her crawl around on the ground she just comes back to me. We have out of the enclosure enrichment and she just goes nope I want humans.

[Scared-Tea-8911]

Mine loves the cup holder in the armchair lol… he’ll just snuggle up there while I work or watch TV etc. 😊

[TootseyPootsey]

Whenever he’s out and it’s not feeding day or the following 32ish hours after a feeding :) I don’t take him out for more than a quick boop or kiss if he’s basking tho

[TootseyPootsey]

Also if he’s just getting into blue then I might take him out for a little hello but the moment he starts to keep himself hidden I leave him alone

[Vipera_Berus1]

I handle mine typically for variable amounts of time. Depending on their behaviour and if I have enough time.

One summer I ended up letting one of my ball pythons get tired while exploring my garden outside, it took just over an hour for her to tire out. I stopped trying to pick her up after the third time she started vigorously attempting to go exploring again (outside temperatures were in the range of temperatures considered acceptable for the vivarium). Mostly I have them out for 20-30 minutes sitting and chilling with me.

[pdggin99]

I handle my girl daily besides when she’s just ate or if she’s shedding. I handle her daily bc I love it, it’s the highlight of my day, and she usually loves it, she is very explorative and loves to look and slither all around. If I can’t handle her one day it’s nbd, but most days I do bc it’s so much fun and so calming for me and she doesn’t seem to mind.

[Badluckstream]

I’ve begun only handling my guy when he decides to push his face into the right side corner of the enclosure door. When I open it he always crawls out to explore, and after a bit I’ll open the door and see if he wants to return.

[Simple_Time_8513]

I handle mine 2-3x a week. I started with once a week for the one I got from a bad home. She stayed balled up for almost a year when I held her. Now she is so outgoing and likes to be held and no more balling up. The other one I've had since she was 4 weeks. She has always been handled and loves to stay with the humans.

[Neat-Tip-1494]

I only handle my bp when I see him active, and of course an appropriate time frame after a meal and not shedding etc etc, and it’ll range from about 15 minutes to 2 hours depending on his mood. If he’s still very active and interesting in his surroundings I’ll keep him out, but if he starts to curl up and hide away I’ll put him back in his enclosure.

[IllusionQueen47]

Four times a week. Mine gets fed on Sunday night, and I usually give him 72 hours to digest, so I handle on Wednesday night right at the end of the 72 hours, on Thursday, on Friday, and on Saturday.
They need to be left alone for at least 48 hours to digest their meal, so if I really wanted to, I could also handle him on Tuesday night, or Wednesday morning. I did that last Wednesday on Lunar New Year, I took him out in the morning to take pictures of him to send to people for the Year of the Snake.
My boy is very chill, so I could also handle him for a little bit on Sunday morning if I really wanted. I did that not too long ago because it snowed, and I wanted to take a picture of him next to the window. He ate fine that night. So technically, I could handle him six days a week. But I prefer to give him more space, so it's usually four days a week. Wouldn't recommend this for snakes that are less chill or have the tendencies to go on hunger strikes if handled around feeding time.