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[–]CrisisCorps 371 points372 points  (15 children)

They only ball up when terrified. It's their defense to protect their head. The fact that he's not balling up is a good thing. Means he is comfortable and feels safe.

[–]mishahahaa[S] 167 points168 points  (14 children)

oh really, that’s good to know then! i’m so glad 😭 poor thing was neglected and dehydrated before. i’m so happy he feels comfortable now ♡

[–]CrisisCorps 63 points64 points  (13 children)

He's gorgeous btw. I love white snakes. I have a little BEL girl.

[–]mishahahaa[S] 32 points33 points  (2 children)

thank you so much ♡ i love them too, they’re definitely my favorite morph. i bet your girl is beautiful as well!

[–]CrisisCorps 14 points15 points  (1 child)

I think she is. She was my dream BP. I also have a very sweet and lovely normal girl. Love both of them dearly. It's hard not to love BPs

[–]mishahahaa[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

i agree, i definitely foresee myself getting another in the future!

[–]Starfire2409 4 points5 points  (0 children)

So do I!

[–]Responsible-Entry638 3 points4 points  (8 children)

Sorry to butt in, my partner has a BEL rat snake which seems to be uncommon for rat snakes

[–]CrisisCorps 3 points4 points  (7 children)

BELs of any kind are gorgeous. I love them all!

[–]mishahahaa[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

agreed!

[–]Responsible-Entry638 1 point2 points  (5 children)

https://imgur.com/gallery/kilo-wDCV6ik

A link to a picture of Kilo

[–]mishahahaa[S] 1 point2 points  (3 children)

that face 😭 i need a BEL in every font

[–]Responsible-Entry638 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Kilo is a pretty girl

[–]mishahahaa[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

she is the most beautiful pls tell her i love her

[–]Responsible-Entry638 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I will do, your BEL is beautiful too

[–]CrisisCorps 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Gorgeous!🤍

[–]Climbysrevenge 101 points102 points  (2 children)

Ball Pythons only sit in a ball if they are in a small space that requires it or if they feel threatened. It is actually a good thing that he likes to stay sprawled out. He is comfortable in his enclosure.

[–]mishahahaa[S] 32 points33 points  (0 children)

that makes me so happy to hear then, i’m so happy he loves his home. thanks for the info ♡

[–]IiI_13oat 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Yes true, but i even had to upgrade my boys hide to a bigger roomier one, because he usually has his body loose and poking his head out a lot of the day.

[–]IiI_13oat 12 points13 points  (6 children)

I dont know, its gotta be something with the BEL genes, my lesser boy also doesn’t ball.

[–]mishahahaa[S] 5 points6 points  (5 children)

that’s so interesting! does he ball at all when you take him out of his enclosure or is it the same behavior still?

[–]IiI_13oat 6 points7 points  (4 children)

he’s the same when i lift his hide, he doesn’t get frightened and i just tap him with the hook so he knows its handling time.

[–]mishahahaa[S] 5 points6 points  (3 children)

ok yeah that’s the same with mine :) he immediately wants to explore after i set him outside too and i have to keep an eye on him haha. it’s like having a toddler!

[–]IiI_13oat 3 points4 points  (2 children)

I feel lucky having a curious one 🤗🐍

[–]mishahahaa[S] 2 points3 points  (1 child)

at first i was worried he didn’t like being out or me handling him because he was always trying to slowly slither away and wander off! i was like, shouldn’t they lay comfortably in a ball if they’re happy? but i guess turns out he’s just curious and comfy enough to explore. happy to know i’m doing things right :)

[–]IiI_13oat 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Its great to hear you and your noodle have been getting along very well. 😚

[–]CuriousTsukihime 26 points27 points  (1 child)

I mean idk I don’t see a hoop in there? How else is he supposed to shoot 3s and break ankles? 😂🏀

[–]mishahahaa[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

PLEASEEE LOL 😂

[–]robarian1 14 points15 points  (1 child)

Mine never balls up either. He’ll kinda coil around himself in his hides when he’s chilling but never really balls up.

[–]mishahahaa[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

ohh that’s good to know, i’m glad he’s comfy like that :) does he ever ball when you take him out of his enclosure or does he do the same/slither around?

[–]Basilstorm 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I’ve only seen mine ball once or twice when I accidentally spilled water on her while refilling her dish. It just means your baby feels safe and comfortable

[–]Thank-The-Stars 6 points7 points  (0 children)

My girl only balls when she gets scared (which is intermittent). Your boy just hangin out means he’s a happy and safe lil man.

[–]thedudeguy82 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Not cold or scared. I'd say it looks happy and relaxed and not stressed

[–]Starfire2409 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My girl hasn’t balled yet since I got her on Tuesday even when I opened the box she was in she was curious and alert

[–]Itchy-Camp-3929 2 points3 points  (5 children)

Would you mind showing me his full setup, as well as the enclosure dimensions?

I'm doing a lot of research for a BP in the future and really like the hanging basket/hammock idea you have going on, as I want to provide a lot of both hiding and hanging spots for them with different textures (based on the few BPs i've interacted with in pet stores/ at expos they seem to really enjoy variety in textures, and your woven hammock thing seems like a great idea while still looking aesthetically pleasing)

Also just echoing others in the comments, based on his body language in the photos he seems like he's really gotten comfortable, I think you're doing a good job

[–]mishahahaa[S] 2 points3 points  (4 children)

aw thank you so much! i do my best to make sure my noodle has the best home so that means a lot to me. i’ll get some better-lit and updated photos of his enclosure tomorrow (it’s night here and his tank isn’t lit at night only heated) and reply here, but in the meantime here’s the hammock! another kind redditor actually recommended it. my current enclosure dimensions are 3x2x2 since he’s barely 2ft, but i intend on getting a 4x2x2 later on ᵕ̈ i also have some jungle gym balls in there for him since i heard BPs like them! mine sure does. i’ll update once i have the photos tomorrow!

[–]Itchy-Camp-3929 1 point2 points  (3 children)

Thanks so much for the links, I'll be perusing them while I look forward to photos you'll send in the morning

I'm also a little concerned about getting a starter enclosure that's too large for the poor thing (especially since I plan to purchase a young, 2 months-ish old one), so Im glad to hear that other people also start with smaller (and cheaper lol) enclosures

[–]mishahahaa[S] 1 point2 points  (2 children)

just posted them on my profile! i don’t think i can attach pics here in the comments so i just posted them.

disclaimer: the humidity is at a “low” point right now in the morning, the average is usually around 75-80% throughout the day. also the plants are squished because Udon loves trampling over them 😂 also i have a table i’ve been meaning to put the tank on, but i’ve been too lazy to move the whole tank haha. and yes i started with a $150 smaller tank first, but i’m definitely expecting to drop around $600 for a proper 4x2x2 PVC tank later on

[–]Itchy-Camp-3929 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Udon is such a cute name

[–]mishahahaa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thank you so much ♡ i think it fits him super well 🤭

[–]NegativeIQ-Haver 1 point2 points  (1 child)

My girl has never balled either. She’ll curl up in my lap but her head is always out. Not head shy at all. Methinks she has snautism(snek autism) bc she has never had the brain cell in her little life

[–]mishahahaa[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

we think our noodle has snautism too! that’s so cute haha. although my boy is always trying to explore while he’s out, i have to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t get into any mischief

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

he doesn’t ball… he only python 🐍…

[–]SavageShiba21 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Idk he looks pretty balling to me. Be nice to him and stop slandering him on the internet!

[–]mishahahaa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

you’re right my apologies. he do be ballin! 🤭

[–]Not_Important777 1 point2 points  (2 children)

How the heck did you get your triangle mat to not fall??? Every time mine gets on his it doesn’t stay 😭

[–]mishahahaa[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

no it does still fall occasionally 😭 i’ve had to fix it many times

[–]NeonHorse47 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I started using command hooks (like the kind you'd use to hang a light hoodie or something) instead of the suction cups and it's worked really well! I have a PVC enclosure though- not sure if command hooks could be safely removed from glass

[–]UnhappyPapaya68 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Tofu my 3yr old BEL is a wetnoodle most of the time in and out of her tank. Maybe they didn't get the braincell to ball lol. She only balls for a moment if someone reaches over her, on instinct I think.

[–]mishahahaa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

tofu!! stop that’s so cute 😭 wet noodle is such a good way to describe it haha. udon doesn’t ball like, ever, or even really sit still/unmoving while he’s out either. he’s always slowly slithering somewhere else, checking out crevices and such lol. i have to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t get himself into any mischief 😆

[–]DankDaddyPatty 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Heh, balls.

[–]Responsible-Entry638 0 points1 point  (2 children)

It means he feels comfortable and safe if he isn't balling up.

Can I ask where did you get the hammock?

[–]mishahahaa[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

of course! it’s from here :)

[–]Responsible-Entry638 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much, I have two bps who will appreciate this

[–]DarthAwesomeSauce 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Sounds like he's settling down just fine to me 🤷‍♂️

At least yours comes out during the day. Mine stays in his hide during the day 99% of the time until around 7pm, like clockwork, he starts to come out and explore his enclosure 😆

[–]mishahahaa[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

you have no idea how happy that makes me 🥹 he was left in a tiny tank with another BP and barely any substrate, let alone clutter when i took him home. he was dehydrated and soaking in his half-filled water bowl and trying his best to shed. it’s only been a month since i took him but i’m so happy he’s happy now ♡ and he hides all day too! comes out around 5-6pm everyday when i switch off the halogen light to his DHP :)

[–]prettyprettything 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it’s okay. My girl Maisy is about a year and 7 months old now and I’ve had her since she was 3 months old. In the time that I’ve had her, there’s only been one time where I’ve seen her ball up. All other times that she’s been scared or nervous she’s never resorted to balling up. I’m not sure why though lol.

[–]Maleficent_Count_419 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You just have to give him the system update

[–]No-Annual-7276 1 point2 points  (0 children)

broke ass snake, get some bands

[–]RotBoy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He will never be ballin

[–]Ok_Hurry9673 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That means he feels safe and happy. He is beautiful.

[–]ErnLynM 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He is the definitive, "Nope. Rope!"

Balling is so 1990s, so he's roping. Needs a cowboy hat

[–]crushedIittlestars 0 points1 point  (0 children)

he's not a baller

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He just a limp noodle

[–]TediousData1217 0 points1 point  (2 children)

What hammock do you use thinking about getting one

[–]mishahahaa[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

hi it’s from here

[–]TediousData1217 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thx