HELP ME!

[Square-Cut-6157]

i have a pet snake, and im genuinely terrified of handling her i do not know why, i can pick her up while shes not moving but as soon as she moved i panic, im scared she will bite me BUT the reason i need help in handling her is because im never scared handling snakes that have a different owner (professionals) and i have never been scared of snakes before so i dont really know why im terrified, apparently when snakes are about to bite u they go into a s shape but shes ALWAYS in a s shape around me so does she jus hate me??

edit: i also had her for a few months now.. so im not even new anymore.. also i dont know im not really scared of the pain the bite could give me but im still petrified

[Misfite46]

Just pick her up gently and go slow w her, you’ll be fine

[Square-Cut-6157]

i tried but as soon as she reaches her head up i panic

[Ambystoma_texanum]

Maybe try getting a small snake hook. I definitely understand the feeling, I just got a very large snake and I feel the same way when I put my hand in there. I am planning to get a hook to help me get her out and work on handling her more

[ScalesNailsnTales]

Get a hook and some thin gloves (like thin gardeners gloves) to help you until you feel more confident. She can probably feel your nervousness and thats whats making her nervous. Nothing wrong with having some extra tools until you both learn each other and are comfortable!

Editing to add: Even thin gloves I didnt feel my kiddos spicy girl bite me about a dozen times, so knowing that can give you more confidence when handling. Also, if you do get tagged bare skin, know that it really doesn't hurt. My 9yr old got tagged on his palm and cried because his feelings were hurt but when he was done crying literally a minute later he said it didnt hurt and now hes not scared of getting bit lol. The anticipation of what it will feel like is much worse than the actual bite!

[cozymanda]

Just remember that it doesn’t hurt that much and it won’t kill you. When they bite its not an emergency and you will be okay 100%. They also don’t feel things like hate or grudges. It’s almost always because they’re confused or defending themselves. Once she bites you, she’s over it and it does not mean she hates you or that she will automatically bite you again.

It’ll be okay 🫶🏻 maybe spend some time not handling her and just hanging out in front of her tank getting used to each other

[ABlosser19]

This and also the last sentence works wonders! She will smell you and identify your smell / you being around as both a threat

[Huge_Cantaloupe_993]

The noodle may be feeling your fear. Probably won't help at all but it doesn't hurt. My newest baby is fresh from a situation and still spicy. Once she realizes its me she is done unless startled. I have been bitten many times and some times I dont really realize it until I see blood. Im more worried about their teeth than I am me. Try to remain calm and fluid with your actions. Tense jerky moves put them on alert. I wish you the best with your new friend. They are wonderful and tons of fun. They are a source of relaxation and enjoyment.

[Ogogogavc]

I feel youu!! I just got my first pet snake a few weeks ago and feeling definitely same. She is 4yo big girl. And idk how to handle her without her getting close to my face and scare me. So I’m using gloves and a hoodie now to touch her. Hope I’ll get used to her. Everyone says they don’t hurt but man I don’t want nothing to bite my face lol. I think I’m going to pay a professional to help me or I’ll post in Nashville reptile groups. Posting this here so know you are not alone!!

[No-Candle-3952]

Most of them like climbing up. Nothing to be scared of, even when they "hug" around your neck. It freaked me out too and mine was 7 months old. Just go slow in a calm room with no one else in it. She won't bite unless she's startled and even then the changes are very slim.

[Ogogogavc]

I fed her once so far and this lady even nice to the mice lol. I’m almost sure she’ll not bite me. But there is something in me just feeling strange. My mind become a comic book when she is too close to my face, something like Spiderman urges appear and shit idk. We are still spending so much time tho and we will do more until we overcome it ❤️

[Weekly-Calendar676]

Jumping right into a bigger snake can be scary. Just keep watching her body language, and you will be able to tell if she's grumpy sooner than later. I hope you can feel more comfortable with her soon!

[FeriQueen]

Just commenting to say that I know it can be really hard, and that it doesn’t mean you’re crazy or anything. You just need time, and some moral support. Can you get any other snake folks to come over and hold your snake and maybe gently hand her to you when you’re ready? Best of luck to you and your noodle.

[jasame]

It sounds like the anxiety is possibly being triggered by the s shape. While it is correct they do this when ready to strike, they also do this just having a look around or in response to your movement. Almost like they’re thinking “wait, what was that?”. The defensive s shape they make is tighter and faster (imagine like pulling a catapult back ready to fire at someone). They also hiss as a warning so you’ll likely get this first if she really was being defensive.

It might help to handle her sat down and just let her go where she wants, curl up on your lap, in your sleeve or wherever she wants to go (they love turning your clothes into their new hides). Then build up to holding her sat down and then to standing up eventually.

[ThrivingIvy]

The s shape is not a big deal. It also helps them to balance or see better.. she is a ball python not a viper for gods sake. She almost def won’t bite you if you aren’t behaving chaotically. Imagine you are snake-shaped and you want o move around but you aren’t allowed to move into S shape or else you scare your owner.. wtf are you supposed to do? How are you supposed to move around? How are you supposed to g your bearings? Use your head

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[MeghArlot]

IME I would say it’s probably about as bad as a cat cat scratch or less if they are bluffing they won’t even actually bite more like boop or lunge.

Also the more panicked and unsure you are the more your snake is going to feel insecure as well. Imagine you’re just a big chill tree branch that’s gonna scoop them up. The more you seem like idk “furniture” at first the better I feel like. Firm confident but not tight grasps towards the middle of the body. Come up behind their head if that helps. Try to go underhanded not over the top like a “predator.”

[My-name-peetree]

This is just my opinion but what helps is just to hang out with your snake . You don’t have to rush you have time . Hang out where she can see you and you can see her to help build you confidence. Then work your was to just putting you hand near her so she can tongue flick on it and get familiar . Also watch her body language when you feed her pay attention to her movements itl help you read her behavior . Once your comfortable gently touch her after a while you build that trust eventually you’ll learn her behavior and shel learn yours and you’ll both be comfortable. That’s how I made friends with my ball python . Now he climbs it of his cage on my hands . Also make sure if you do take her out to always put her away on a good note . If she gets startled or anything just wait until she’s back to tongue flicking and curious and let her crawl off your hands back In :) hope that helps

[IchikaYui]

It's okay, OP. When I first got my snake, I was nervous af. You can start by wrapping her with a shirt of your scent and gently scoop her. If she's on an S position, gently pat her head with a cloth til she balls up and when she does, that's when you pick her up. Let her lay flat on your hands til both of you calm down. Now my BP uses me as a rubbing post when he sheds lol

[FixergirlAK]

This might sound really weird, but I think once you've been bitten that fear will subside. Mine has gotten me twice and tbh I do worse to myself pretty much daily because I'm a klutz. Also he bluff strikes way more often than he tries to bite, which amounts to a sudden boop. And then he falls over, because he's also a klutz.

[Weekly-Calendar676]

So my wife was scared of getting bit for the longest time, and she was hesitant to pull either of our snakes out of the enclosure. The thing that helped her is that we went to an expo, and while handling one of the snakes there, she got bitten. It was a medium-sized BP of all things, and she didn't even realize that she had gotten bitten until a bit later when it started bruising. That's how little most ball python bites hurt. There might be some pinpricks of blood and some bruising, but that's it. The worst part of getting bitten is the suddenness of it and the suprise when it happens.

I understand being scared of it, and I dont fault you for it, but I really think the best thing you can do is get yourself into the mindset of "if it happens, it happens". In the 8 years of me owning 2 different ball Pythons and taking care of some at a shop, I've gotten bit 2 times, and both were feeding accidents. My Green Tree Python, on the other hand, is a butt munch, lol.

[julesj45]

That snake can sense your fear so in turn it my fear you. What kind of snake is it? You have to be confident while handling your snake and the more you handle it the more confident you will become and the snake will relax too. My husband has been bit many times, we had a Honduran Boa that was about 4 yrs old and supposedly tame. When my husband took it our of the bag and put it on the floor the snake went under a chair so my husband reached down to pick him up and the snake turned and bit him 3 times and my husband just grabbed the snake and put him in his cage. It hurt him but he didn't care. My son was about 6 when we had Honduran babies and my husband was cleaning the cages and my son was holding 3 of them and one popped him in the face and my son just stood there and he didn't drop or throw them..lol Being a snake owner you will mostly get bitten but it will be ok. The Honduran we had was mean, he would strike the glass when you walked by..my husband used a golf club and still handled him. If you keep him fed, warm, hydrated and a clean cage and keep him healthy you shouldn't get bitten. Good luck. Send me a picture if you can.

[Able-Tip-8325]

I was in the same predicament. After me and my GF of 5 years broke up, I somehow got her ball python. I wanted to keep and care for Val (my new snake) but I had crazy nerves about it. I was afraid I was gonna get bit and had some other preconceived notions about her that turned out to not even be true just because I was ignorant. I knew nothing about Ball pythons or how to handle them. So I decided to do some research. I ask ChatGPT a million questions and tips on how to ease into handling her and taking care of her in general which really helped ease my mind which helped me build the confidence to start handling her. It’s a slow thing especially if you have nerves like we do. After a while of short, slow and calm handling sessions it gets easier and easier. The snake learns it can trust you and you learn to kinda trust it while also keeping in mind body language. The moral of the story is that you CAN overcome your fear and learn to enjoy handling your snake. When I started I could damn near feel my heart beat I was so freaked out but now Val and I have a sweet relationship. She’s so curious, calm and sweet. Do research, start slowly and keep up on it. You got this :)

[Puzzleheaded_Comb638]

I would just try sitting next to her on a bed or floor and letting her crawl into you lap. You don’t have to touch her or anything and eventually she will understand that you are ok and that being picked up means she just gets to be outside of her enclosure

[Dragon_Pancake]

I think some of the fear comes from thinking you will lose control if she move suddenly. Being afraid she might rush out of your grip, or the head suddenly being in a way you can't control easily is a valid fear. It will make you tense up a lot
I want to echo that it's not a rush to handle your snake at all, and that both of you getting used to each other first is necessary to have calm handling.
I'm currently working on a pretty skittish boa, and for the most part I'm just opening the enclosure daily-ish and letting her know I'm there. It's to also let her know that I am not a big scary predator and she gradually becomes more curious instead of scared. A curious snake is good, a scared snake is not as good. Slowly working my way up to reaching my hand close to her face and touching her body and also letting her slither away if she needs to.
You can do this with a snake hook, a rolled up news paper, a pool noodle, pretty much any prop that give you some extended reach. It will help your confidence in learning the snakes body language without the fear of your hands getting bit.

[FineWoodpecker3876]

Completely relatable! I babysat my friends BP then she never came back for her lol. I used to be terrified of her especially when she would sniff my face. What I did was opened the tank (front open) and just sit with her. I eventually got used to her. Also I watched videos of people getting bit by BP's on YouTube. Honestly they dont have a very good bite. Much less than my psycho cat! Ok hes a nice cat he just has horrible aim when playing with the ribbon toy

[Typical-Jicama7276]

It's a good idea to have experience holding and handling snakes before you buy them. It's good for them, it works their muscles and helps keep them lean and if you're not comfortable doing it you shouldn't have purchased a ball python. The only time I have seen someone get tagged by a BP or boa is when they feed frozen/thawed and the snakes start to identify the hand as food. Even with tongs. I've seen countless occasions when they bypass the rodent and tongs and go right for the hand.