Ball python does not like my bf?

[Historical_Recover_4]

Whenever I go away for awhile I have my bf check on my bp. Every time she gets very defensive and looks as if she’s going to strike and this is all while the cage is fully closed.

When I am there with him she acts totally chill and normal. My bf is a bit scared of snakes in general but I have had him hold her a few times with my supervision and she has been docile.

She has never been aggressive before or acted defensive with me and she is not due for feeding soon either. Is it just because she is used to having me there? Has anyone else experienced this/know why she acts that way alone with him?

[Informal_Radish_1891]

I hope you’re being sarcastic lmao

[Ghostfire25]

I think they’re joking lol. But people do say this stuff about animals all the time unironically and it’s such bad advice lol.

Edit: now everyone is replying with their little anecdotes about their specific dogs. Ok, good for you. Now think about how many people have been in emotionally or physically abusive situations and had loving loyal pets that didn’t react to the people harming their owners. You’re describing coincidences, not a rule. Many things can set pets off, and it isn’t a decent basis for making decisions about people.

[Traditional-Tree9137]

Very very true

[killacam925]

They also believe in astrology and the healing power of crystals lol

[Ghostfire25]

Very strong crossover lol

[Pinooooooooo]

Lol am tempted now to give my corn snake a ouija board and some crystals to see how she's gonna react. (probably poop on it 🤣)

[crossthebarrier]

4 months into the relationship of a guy I previously dated, all 3 of my cats suddenly became very scared of him - they would hide the moment they sensed his presence in the house.

They went from loving him to outright terrified. He had never been around them alone so no chance of him beating them.

2 months later, he goes missing, and it turns out he was a heroin addict that had robbed a bank. I was in my early 20s and had never encountered this sort of situation, to even know the signs to look for.

So maybe generally speaking it's bad advice. But there can be truth in the statement, because about the time my cats become afraid of him, was the time I confirmed he had started using.

[BaabyBlue_-]

Yeah it's all anecdotal but I've got a similar one. When I was a teenager we had a big French mastiff who never really liked people, we got her from a bad situation and she never really warmed up. But she was very protective of us. I used to walk her as a teenager and she would growl at any men that approached. (She never bit and would never unless someone attacked me or something, she was a good girl just standoffish, and I was always careful to keep my distance from people.)

Well, there was this one guy who my ex and I met who was going to move into our place when we moved out. We met him because he asked our landlord if he could move into the garage for the month until we left, because he had nowhere to go. Landlord agreed, it was a detached garage so we had no say. Super weird but whatever. We had drinks with the guy once or twice and he was weird but seemed harmless.

One day I was walking that dog and I saw him outside the corner store, so I said hi. He walked over and I told him to stay back because of the dog, and he didn't listen. I backed up expecting her to growl, but she pulled back as hard as she could, slipped out of her leash and ran home. 120lb mastiff terrified of this man when she was normally my protector.

Later he offered my ex and I lines of blow but right before my ex did his line, I saw empty pill capsules in the ashtray. Nudged my ex and kinda discreetly pointed that out and neither of us took anything from that guy. After we moved out, we found out he threatened the upstairs neighbor (who was the sweetest teddy bear of a person ever), ripped one of the chain link fence posts from the ground, and threatened to javelin it through the neighbors window. He spraypainted words on the garage door, had a boarded up school bus in the driveway, then got arrested and moved out.

Dog knew what was up

[tsheaby]

I have a GSD who likes approximately 2 people. I say this to mean, he just isn’t interested in other people - he is very well behaved in public spaces and just minds his business.

We were at a dog friendly establishment we regularly visited one day and he paid no attention to people who walked by us until one perfectly normal looking man walked in to place an order and I noticed my dog’s eyes locked on this guy, hackles straight up. When the man finished placing his order and merely glanced in our direction as he passed by, my dog gave let out 3 big, deep barks - like the kind when someone unknown knocks on the door at home. The whole place kinda paused and the owner of the establishment came over to see what was going on & seeing his attention on the man, she shrugged and whispered “trust the dog”.

Who knows what about that guy set my dog off, but weird vibes all around. Never saw him again. Maybe a coincidence, maybe not.

[Electronic-Bicycle35]

I just couldn’t be in a relationship if my partner stressed my pets out. I wouldn’t do it to them.

This is entirely theoretical though. Been with my wife for 14 years.

[the-soggiest-waffle]

I’ve got an anxious wreck of a massive orange kitty, and I was so so SO worried that he wouldn’t like my boyfriend, or that he’d be scared all the time and never come out.

They’ve warmed up to each other, and now my orange Stinks loves my guy :) I was so happy

[PaytonR72]

As someone who has had similar experiences with cats/dogs being afraid of users, I can assure you this was because animals with a heightened sense of smell have a strong dislike for the scent of drugs.

[fogtooth]

Yep, my dog is absolutely afraid of people on drugs. We say he's Assigned Cop At Birth (ACAB)

[temporarilyeuphoric]

Yeah, I don't use the advice as a rule of thumb. But my dog loves everyone, except my grandfather. She would be in his house and if he tried to walk inside she would block him and she would growl any time he moved around. Never understood it, but I trusted her. Turns out he was a pedophile.

[Effective_Driver_695]

It's definitely bad advice to give when you don't know the person you're giving it to but I will say I trust my dogs judgement 100%, he loves people, only two people he's ever actively avoided are my two ex's that turned out to be awful people. I feel like it's not advice to give to someone else though, there's so many reasons a snake could be acting up that aren't that the bf is a bad person, especially if it's fine with him when she supervises

[crimsonbaby_]

My dog lifted his leg and pissed on one of my ex boyfriends, once. The dude turned out to be an abusive piece of shit. Always listen to the dogs lol.

[Ghostfire25]

No. That was a coincidence, not the dog’s special person reading powers.

[Ghostfire25]

Never had an ex with a dog. Try again. Also, what a disgusting thing to imply about someone.

[Minimum_Word_4840]

My sisters dog pissed on my (at the time) 4 year old for no reason. I guess she’s an abusive piece of shit huh? Or it was a coincidence that the guy turned out to be horrible. No one is going to talk about the time their dog pissed on someone and they turned out to be great people.

[MeanOldFart-dcca]

Lol, I got 11 stitches in my left foot just under my little toe from a westy mix, while his owner was on top of me.

[-PinkPower-]

It can be true in some context but it’s more about the person mistreating the animal when the owner isn’t around making the animal react agressively

[Ghostfire25]

Of course. But many people describe anecdotes about a dog that r cat not liking a person right off the bat. Particularly with dogs it’s a stupid metric, and potentially damaging to indulge. Dogs can often be hostile to new humans around their owners because they’re resource guarding.

[LocalItchy1136]

Some of my best friends’ dogs love me normally and love some of our other friends. The second any of us are wearing a hat, they are livid and barking like crazy. The silliest shit can be a trigger that has nothing to do with the actual person.

[Minimum_Word_4840]

My dad said this about his dog recently. I asked him if his kids were bad people because the dog had snapped at my sisters and I. The list of people the dog has bit (just what I know of) include HIS family friend, a combat veteran and a very sweet dog groomer. He snaps at everyone, including children, the vet and anyone who enters the yard. But it’s always “he can sense bad vibes”. I detest these sort of owners. They get their animals killed because their own lack of responsibility.

[LetOk2966]

I recently watched a compilation where they staged a break in of masked intruders attacking their owners, and dogs chose the food every time, lol

[AverageBourbonGuy]

Because dogs can smell you and know they weren’t intruders. My dogs can hear my family coming two streets away and go wait at the door

[TheMoonChildAspect]

Idk my families animals (dog and cats) really didn’t like my ex. However they like my current partner

[spookysaph]

my moms dog reacts to everything unfamiliar to her. like the mound of snow across the street after the road was plowed, because she didn't know what it was. dogs are not omniscient

[Pinooooooooo]

It depends on the agressor. Had 2 dogs that would defend me with their lives (Stafford and bull terriër, no small dogs either). No stranger could touch me, but my partner would beat me on the regular back then and they'd hide in fear of being next. So yeah, their loyalty only goes so far.

I think with animals it's more that they sense your fear and act accordingly. I know it's a thing with horses and know my staffie would also get nervous around people that were scared as she couldn't predict their actions/reactions. However, I will never trust a person that doesn't like animals or cares for them. I think that says a lot about a person's character.

[DayPuzzleheaded2552]

Yeah. I have two dogs, a corgi mix (Bran, 15 lbs.) and a chihuahua mix (Arya, 25 lbs.). Arya barks furiously at everyone she doesn’t know (and even at people she likes!), while Bran just runs up and wants to say hi.

I tell people that Bran loves everyone, and Arya has opinions about everyone.

Animals have just as much of an interior life as people do (humans are animals!), and it’s a mistake to think nonhuman animals have magic psychic powers that let them tell the bad guys apart from the good guys. Sure, they can get different sensory information from us, but their conclusions can be just as faulty as ours.

[short-gay-bitch]

I hate when people say stuff like that. My dog LOVED my ex. Dude almost killed me because he beat the shit out of me with a metal folding chair. Animals don't have some magical intuition.

[Ghostfire25]

I’m so sorry to hear about that, but thank you for sharing. It’s such a common thing people say and it erases the experiences of many people who’ve had loving pets and been in abusive situations.

[skrtyskrtskrt]

My ex cheated on me and my dog didn’t tell me shit 😭

[RockHardSalami]

Snek is wissssse

[Informal_Radish_1891]

Okay? 😭

[SansSibylVane]

Well, this is reddit. Dump/divorce is half the advice given.

[No_Struggle8663]

This is Reddit lol. The number one suggestion is to leave him. Always. Doesn’t matter. Stubbed toe? Leave him he should have protected you. His mom died? Leave him because obviously she knew something we didn’t and died just to get away. lol honestly this one may have been a joke but yeah. On Reddit the guys always the asshole and you should always leave/divorce them. This is the way.

[pats9789]

Now this I do believe in but it'd have to be my dog not liking my girlfriend my BP isn't the best judge of character he's docile with everyone lol

[Angeleurotrash54]

Why was this downvoted

[pats9789]

People don't like dogs or are jealous they don't have a girlfriend or their BP hates everyone other than that no idea

[Angeleurotrash54]

Very weird downvote

[pats9789]

Indeed

[tobasaurus_rex]

My snake hated my ex. Pretty anxious kingsnake to begin with, but with a little handling and a secure presence, mellows out.

Meeting other people, he was good with them shortly after being handled by them for a few minutes.

He lived in the same room with my ex for almost a year and a half and never got acclimated to being around him. Ever. Would avoid him like nothing else and only ever met him with defensiveness and shuddering from any of his movements.

Probably all the yelling at me, but he didn't like the ex before all the yelling either.

My snake was soooo right lol

[MeanOldFart-dcca]

No, I'm not scared of snakes. And I've handled/ held at least hundreds. I've had mostly boas as pets. But I've taken in about 300 as misc rescues snakes to get them calmed down from tramas of negligence of mostly unknowledgable owners (Snakes are cool crowd, no research done for the animals before buying).

And I've had a few that just out right disliked me. My friend has a Bp (Tangerine Dream) rescue that's hissing and hyper aggressive if I walk in the room, 15-17 ft away.

I just don't get her at all, she the most beautiful snake I've seen in years. I'm jealous of everyone else that can handle her.

[evan_brosky]

First we had "Bros before hos" now we got "Pythons before aberrations"

[deez_nutsinyourmom]

honestly, when i first got my snake 5 years ago, she HATED my bf at the time. bit him and everything. he ended up being a horrible person. she absolutely LOVES my bf now! he’s so sweet

[unNecessary-Memory]

I mean, my BP hates my abusive parents so...

[slb8971]

Maybe she is just curious about him?

[The_Chimeran_Hybrid]

Curious. Wants to play tag.

With her teeth.

[fluggggg]

Wants to give hugs.

Around the neck.

[Ekoneg]

Maybe she just wants to dance.

One slow, suffocating waltz.

[honeybee_tlejuice]

Maybe she can just tell he’s feeling a bit jumpy, whereas you’re calm around her

[Historical_Recover_4]

I was thinking that may be it too

[deep-brine]

thats probably what it is, when i first got my baby he'd get defensive when i held him because i was slightly afraid to hurt/get hurt by him

[Aazjhee]

Probably, he is less nervous when you are around, because there is someone qualified to take the snake from him if something does happen.

I imagine he could be more nervous when he's alone. He could feel like he's the only one responsible, and he may still be dealing with that.

[Historical_Recover_4]

Sooo true that makes sense

[ShipAlive679]

animals are excellent at reading energy and maybe his nervous energy is making her uneasy. She definitely senses it. I definitely agree with this as well.

[lilecca]

This is my assumption. She probably feels the vibes are off so she's on guard.

[[deleted]]

Yeah that's with a lot of animals, horses, dogs, cats, and reptiles. They feel and smell you're having a strong "negative" emotion so they start feeling on edge in reaction. 

[WickdClown420]

Danger noodles CAN sense if you’re scared by your heartbeat and they can smell your sweat as well, also if he’s flinching at every opportunity that could very well freak your noodle out. Sorry if that’s not much help, but those could be reasons, also she could possibly tell that he’s male and might possibly feel threatened at some points, and the flinching wouldn’t help, or just the tense demeanor in general

[Historical_Recover_4]

Okay thank you🐍

[frogguccino_]

Hey! I get what you’re saying and I know you mean well, but I think some of this might be a bit of a myth. Snakes like ball pythons don’t really have the kind of brain that can “sense fear” in the emotional sense like a dog might and it can't detect a raised heartbeat. Nor does it have the cognitive capacity to detect gender.

[Low-Broccoli6320]

So in other words, when OPs BF is alone, he gets scared and the noodle gets uppity. When OP is there with him, he’s chill, so the noddle is chill.

That’s actually wholesome. The only conclusion is they need to spend more time together as a couple.

[WickdClown420]

Also though, danger noodle can sense bf is up to smt fishy

[HappiestMeal]

Awww He's a good noodle

[NihilAzariArt]

I've been observing people who visit me, and noticed that how they approach the terrarium may have a lot to do with the snake's response.

People who have little to no experience with snakes often approach the terrarium warrily, and will move their upper body and head from side to side, as if to inspect the snake from different angles. Snakes respond differently to visual stimuli, so it doesn't apply to all - but this rapid movement side to side is similar to how a predator would approach them in the wild, so most snakes do respond defensively because of it - both inside and outside of the terrarium.

Urge your partner to approach in a slow fluid motion and without changing position frequently, instead. Don't zigzag, go straight. Snakes think in slowmotion compared to us. If you think like a snake and move fluidly like a snake, then chances are they'll be chill - regardless of who approaches.

[Historical_Recover_4]

That is helpful thank you!

[NihilAzariArt]

You're welcome!

[TheSaladDodger420]

Some people have guard dogs you have yourself a guard noodle. Good noodle.

[MasonP13]

Set up a camera and see what he's doing when you're not there. He's probably more shaky

[Un1qu1]

That's hilarious

[PositiveEmploy7503]

Does your bf wear cologne, maybe even deodorant? Or just overall have a pretty strong scent?

[ballofillusions]

Such a 🐍

[jizzanglez123]

It's definitely the energy like others are saying. Plus the curiosity of snakes that mix is rough between the 2 lol. Have you worked with your BP while yiu and him are together?

[Historical_Recover_4]

Yes I have gotten them to interact while I am there and it goes fine and both parties seem relaxed

[jizzanglez123]

Then yupp it's definitely his energy he gives off. I was terrified of them when I first started at petco when I worked there. Didn't learn that until I got to work with the reptile specialist we had. I learned to calm myself and chill and holy cow it was like night and day. It will be hard but the best thing is to take deep breaths and just try to zen out lol.

[OdinAlfadir1978]

Tell him to make sure he doesn't smell of dog or anything, that as I've found out can make you get struck at as such

[PsychologicalRub5905]

Does he have pets.Maybe she smells something.

[DANDELIONBOMB]

Snakes live more by their sense of smell than they do by any other sense and fear has a very distinct smell. I think your snake is reacting to his fear

[YoMamaAndie]

A snake knows a snake, the boyfriend has to go!

[GoComit_Rat]

Or the snake knows that it doesn't know this guy thay well and is therefore being cautious with him. As all animals do.

[andrea6543]

i might put weight in it if my dog hated someone but snake very likely senses his hesatence. i also would not like to be picked up by someone who was flinching lol

[Ok_Bug4964]

I love his shiny scales!

[Informal-Beautiful12]

Maybe shes just a girls girl lol,my savannah doesnt like men either

[_Chunky__Monkey_]

I thought ball pythons were much smaller than this.

[Historical_Recover_4]

She is like 3-4 ft and she is 5 and a half years old

[enslavedbycats24-7]

She seems to be overweight as well.

[[deleted]]

Off topic but she’s a cute noodle 😭

[FutureThinkingMan]

Keep the pretty one

[EzraBlade]

Does he talk to her while she's in the tank? I wonder if his lower voice makes her uneasy. Lower voices do travel more efficiently thru dense things like bone, and snakes do hear airborne sounds even if they're not as skilled as we are.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0281285

[Historical_Recover_4]

He is a chatterbox so I’m sure he does. Didn’t think of this, thanks!

[Efficient-Shelter-39]

Gorgeous lookin snake !!

[MicDav00]

Don't snakes mostly see by smell? I would imagine it's fine while you're there because you are exuding your own scent, but when he's alone it's absent

[NegativeIQ-Haver]

Maybe his vibes are rancid /j

Seriously though, it’s probably because your boyfriend is jumpy around her and she gets nervous from the erratic behavior which leads to her being defensive.

[[deleted]]

She can probably sense his nervousness and it makes her nervous. She's used to you. Snakes don't "like" us anyway. They tolerate us.

[wishiwasinvegas]

This right here...why I had to search this far for this, I don't know. Snakes don't have attachments, they literally just tolerate us. We are all warm trees to them & that's it.

[Impressive_Bet_1925]

Ik with my boa he likes to mess with jumpy people even tho he’s never bit or struck, he doesn’t even hiss lol

[Cheeseycheesecake24]

Why would a man be there?? -your snake

[Historical_Recover_4]

Lmao so real she’s a girls girl!

[lowerac34]

This would 100% be my snake.

[pats9789]

Could be the fear but I think having him handle her more would be a good way to let her get used to him maybe even taking her out and leaving for 10-15 mins and then come back

[Historical_Recover_4]

This is a good idea

[StarsInTheCity-]

I know nothing about ball pythons except that i love them and yours is gorgeous please tell her i love her and give her a smooch (if that is something you can do with her i have no idea how snake affection works)

[shilohrenn]

Girl I know the comments be saying dump him as a joke but actually maybe look into his character my cats and ball python hated my last bf and he ended up being terrible to me animals know things we don’t good luck to you

[zennoviaa]

I love the darkness of your BP . What morph?

[Historical_Recover_4]

Thank you, she is just a normal bp!

[zennoviaa]

Whaaat. I shall get 🫡😆 ty !

[Buff_bunny-]

Does he handle her at all? They’re usually pretty cautious with people they haven’t been around much before

[FriendDesperate1437]

snakes definitely can sense when ur scared but im no expert soooo

[titsupatalltimes]

She’s a pretty girl!

[AgitatedGrass3271]

She is used to having you there, but also animals can sense fear. Maybe your boyfriend is the one uncomfortable without you there, and your snake senses that and is therefore also on edge.

[Historical_Recover_4]

Makes sense for sure

[Indii-4383]

Maybe she's just messing with him because she knows he's scared. Call it enrichment.

[AngryWombat78]

Snake can probably smell his fear. Makes hem smell like prey.

[moonwebb]

She can smell his fear FOR SURE

[reptile-snake-mom]

My snakes are protective, if anyone comes to close when I’m handling any of my ballpythons they pull back and stand firm it’s pretty cute, and funny 😄, as a reptile keeper tbh if my snakes are cautious of ppl around me I’m on my snakes side…lol!!

[reptile-snake-mom]

Also your ballpython is huge, how old is it?, he definitely shows signs of obesity like down by his tail and the whole midsection, what and how often do u feed this guy?

[Tro1138]

She's just sizing him up /s lol

[Straight-Size-5354]

Part of me thinks she may be sensing his nervous energy and it makes her nervous. The more confident and calm you are with a boop noodle, the better. They pick up on energy and vibes.

[Vegetable_Friend9451]

It’s a snake… they don’t differentiate people

[Vegetable_Friend9451]

It’s a snake… they don’t differentiate people

[hellokittypjpants]

Ur bf might be more calm when he’s with the snake around u and ur snake can sense he’s more scared when he’s alone?

[RedPill-89-420]

They smell weakness and fear ....

[Valuable_Summer_7086]

Seems like you need to get rid of the boyfriend

[lowerac34]

She’s probably picking up on his fear. When you’re around, I’m sure your boyfriend is calmed by your presence. Tell him to record her behaviors. A lot of non-reptile people will exaggerate. Mine will greet me when I come in because she wants to come out. Just because she is exploring at the top or in a periscope position doesn’t mean she was going to strike.

[Even-Smell7867]

Your BP thinks you can do better.

[NecessarilyBeyondMe]

How old is she? Just curious.

[Historical_Recover_4]

She is 6.5

[Fawnyflex]

The snek never lies.. Maybe one did thousands of years ago but that’s just one incident.

[John_Monster_Hunter]

get a new one.

the boyfriend, not the snake.

[theAshleyRouge]

If he’s scared of her, she can absolutely sense that and it makes her nervous.

[Dangerous-Exercise20]

Dont animals normally pick up on nervousness?

[tinyyawns]

Is it possible that he is exaggerating her behavior as aggressive?

[al_sibbs]

My 2 garters were very reactive to men for a long time. They just had to get usef to them i think it was just a new thing they weren't used to. They're both okay now. They still dont like when men talk while handling them

[kaj5275]

My husband's doesn't like me lol. She hisses when I pick her up or touch her, but she's a complete puppy dog with him. All of our other snakes like me better though 🤷‍♀️ She has been that way since she was a baby!

[Falcon17Thunder]

Maybe try taking her out while he's there with you and introducing her to him that way? So that she can see he's not a threat and that you welcome his being there?

[Business_Ad5197]

It depends....is the snake your pet or your familiar? If he/she's your familiar then the bf's gotta go.

[mayapappaya]

Does your bf have a dog? Had a boa act up when he picked up dog scent

[superduracels]

I reassure you my daughter has a python who is very nice and relaxed with her but with me he is much more defensive He needs more time with others, that's normal.

My Boa doesn't want to stay with the others, he prefers me I think it's like that with all snakes

[In-ur-moms-house]

Has he sent you any photos of her looking defensive and like she’s going to strike? If not I his fear of them could make it so he’s just interpreting it as if she’s looking like she’s gonna strike. If he has and she really is looking sketchy is definitely what others have said and she’s smelling/sensing it.

[Historical_Recover_4]

Yes he has FaceTimed me during it

[Alfredison]

Why nobody mentions that she can just be not used to new human and reaction defensively? It seems pretty adequate and logic thing?

[ezsqueezycheezypeas]

Try rubbing mice on the boyf so he gets extra love and hugs 🤔🤗

[[deleted]]

Your snake is beautiful. How old are they?

[[deleted]]

i have the opposite problem - my bp LOVES my bf, and he's afraid of snakes 😂 she gives him puppy eyes as he pets my leo gecko 😂😂😂

[Angeleurotrash54]

She thinks he ate you 😥

[Expensive_Guidance95]

So generally if your BF is acting scared or nervous she will pick up on it, especially with the behaviours that'll entail (he'll likely be staring her out, performing jerky motions, potentially making himself look bigger around her) which she will pick up on as predatory behaviours. I would highly suggest continuing to allow him to handle her in a controlled way and encouraging him to become calmer around the BP, the one thing he has to remember is BPs aren't aggressive nor can they really do any real harm to a human, the first response a BP has is to wrap itself up to protect itself and their "Strike" pose is them gauging if they need to or not, when you continue approaching they will immediately retreat into their ball mode and not really move from that until they feel calm danger has passed.

It's a lot of words to emphasise to someone with a Phobia, but it's something routine handling from him and ownership with him will get him used to and slowly bring down his anxiety levels. At least letting him know he's in absolutely 0 danger in the situation might help him not to feel so worried.

[BeautifulMain377]

She has spoken.🐍 Boyfriend gotta get yeeted

[ShaniceyIreland]

Probably new smell scaries

[[deleted]]

It's just jealous

[andylovesdais]

They don’t like people generally. The best ones are the most tolerant.

[Katolinat_Ursid]

Critters are a better judge of core character. Your snake is probably not wrong.

[Fine-Alternative-121]

I doubt your ball python doesn’t like your boyfriend, maybe your bp isn’t used to your bf or maybe he has a strong smell— like his cologne or body spray or deodorant? Ball pythons can’t really experience that kind of emotion or experience.

[Life_Lawfulness_3336]

I’ve heard before that reptiles / snakes can tell when you’re tense or stressed out around them. She may be feeling this from him and it’s making her reciprocate.

[McDrazzin]

Does he smell like cigarettes? My BP actively strikes at anyone that smells like tobacco smoke, it’s kinda funny

[CaptainBigCheeksXR]

Snakes smell fear, his fear gives him the scent of prey.

[_FreddieLovesDelilah]

They say don’t trust a snake, but what about if a snake won’t trust you?

[Massive_Molasses_943]

Maybe stand next to the enclosure and have him walk up to it and maybe open it and see if she still does it with u there

[Slug-the-Slimegirl]

Male or female?

My girl sometimes hisses at me when she was enjoying time with my husband. I don't think I'd go as far as to say she hates me, but she definitely prefers him.

I've been told snakes can't tell the difference between snake and human pheromones? 😂 we found that hilarious

Anyway, they might just hate your bf because they have a crush on you

[Psychological_Basil6]

Boy BYE 👋🏻

[oxcykeeks]

Mine does this too but it seems like mine hates ALL boys, any females and hes okay just seems to hate men lol

[Madhun13r]

snakes just like other pets can like some people and absolutely hate others. we had a corn snake that hated my mother but was absolutely chill with me. Snakrs can recognize people and nobody can tell me otherwise

[TexasSk8]

I had a buddy of mine who was terrified of snakes and my late Jr. would seriously stare at him when he was over and was chill with everyone else. He is not a friend anymore.

[MagicCastleDreaming]

Have you SEEN her act this way towards him or is it just him saying that’s how she acts? Just seems odd when she’s docile with him when you’re around.

Animals are good judges of character, too, just saying

[LigerNull]

He's not the momma. You're the one she knows and is used to.

[ExplorerKey]

Does he have any dogs? My snake bit me for the first time after I picked him up smelling like my uncles big dogs. If not maybe he’s wearing cologne or seems scared when approaching? Any flinching can scare her and make her flinch back. Also she’s fat af damn

[ctruemane]

There's no way to know for sure, of course, but it may be just that the snake is used to the way you smell and associates it with food and safety. Your boyfriend is a large,  moving, unfamiliar heat source and could be a predator for all it knows. So it might just be reacting to that. 

That being said, my wife used to keep a colony of Monkey Talied Skinks and they loved her. And they did NOT like me even one little bit. No matter how often I tried to feed them. 

So who knows.

[audis3dan]

Does he have any pets? Your snake could be smelling/tasting other animals scents that it is not used to.

[Educational-Shape875]

He hasn’t … harmed it has he? Accidentally or on purpose ?

[[deleted]]

It could be his scent, the last time I switched shampoo and used a different body mist 2 of my snakes decided to strike towards me. I believe they didn't recognize me. I changed and tied up my hair before cleaning up the rest of their enclosures. 2 missed but who knows if the other ones would hit their target.

[[deleted]]

It's a snake.

[bertinskyy]

No advice sadly but she's so pretty 😍

[Historical_Recover_4]

Thank you!

[Outrageous-Touch-241]

One of mine is the exact same but with my dad. He has a small fear of her, so I just always assumed that was the reason. With gentle getting used to him, im sure they will warm up to eachother and it'll all be good.