They are beautiful!! 
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Yeah i get what you are saying. I have an mbk (kingsnake) that i got as a hatchling, and he was so small that i found it very difficult and nerve wracking to handle him. I mainly left him alone until he was a bit bigger in result. Once again it kinda depends on the person, but yeah in my opinion especially as far as hatchlings go, ball pythons (and other thicker bodied snakes) are easier to handle when they’re young simply because there’s more there, ya know?
And yeah they can vary a bit as adults, but the biggest girls I’ve seen are never past 6ft. Which sounds like a lot, and it’s certainly big for a bp, but it’s a lot smaller than you might think in reality. My male is 4ft and he’s a little small for a bp, but not much more than the average bp adult male. (Like 4.5ft) if anything a female will probably be 5 to 5.5ft. which is cool because then you can choose if you want the smaller or bigger side of your desired animal outright by picking a gender.
I like to think that they’re big enough to be a lot of snake for the average normal person, and but not too big or ornery to be unsuitable for most people. I have two siblings who grew up around me and my snakes and the bp was the perfect snake to introduce them to snakes with because they weren’t very likely to be able to break him.
And bp’s are easily the world’s most docile snake on average, you’ll be pretty pressed to find one with a real spitting attitude.
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I basically second everyone else’s opinions on the matter at hand. Get something you know you’ll like and will enjoy long term. Something that’s going to fit your time, budget, and handling schedule (some snakes like to be handled more than others even within the same species)
I personally keep ball pythons, western hogs, and have a sand boa. But I’ve also heard rosy boas, house snakes, BCCs/BCIs (they even come in smaller varieties now) are also good choices for someone starting out and that are good for handling.
Also from what I’ve heard if you want something that’s a bit on the higher intelligence side I’ve heard drymarchon species such as indigos, and cribos are good though they are fairly large colubrids.
I also agree that you should check out some expos/shows nearby and spend some time talking to breeders and maybe handling some snakes you might take an interest in.
Good luck in finding your new friend and keep us all posted!
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I would not recommend a ball python for a beginner because they are very timid as a species and can have weird eating quirks and be picky which a new keeper might struggle with. I would recommend colubrids like corn or ratsnakes. My biggest advice would be to first know that their minds are not like dogs and cats and are much more solitary, leave it completely alone (do not handle it) until it fed for a couple times without issue so you know if it stresses out during handling that it won’t go off feed
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You’re absolutely correct that larger snakes are going to be less delicate, easier to pick up, and more “sturdy” than very tiny snakes. I honestly think part of why ball pythons have become so popular has to do with their size. They’re not so large as to be unmanageable or intimidating to the average person, but they’re big enough to be pretty sturdy. Even as hatchlings, they’re a little more substantial than, say, some colubrids or similar species, that come into the world as tiny, fragile little shoelaces.
The few times I’ve handled teeny tiny babies of species like corn snakes or garter snakes, I was so worried I was going to snap them in half if I so much as twitched the wrong way.
Also, the smaller the snake, the easier said snake can escape through an overlooked gap in the enclosure!
That said, garters, corns, house snakes, and others that start out tiny and fragile don’t stay that way for long. They usually mature into a more easily-handled size pretty quickly.
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I’m biased… I would say a ball python 
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They are beautiful for sure, the only thing that put me off was the amount of waste when they poop/pee. It looked like someone dropped a bowl of soup lol bedding can get expensive 
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It’s really not that bad and, they eat pretty infrequently once they get to adult size. Usually every 3 to 4 weeks.
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Clint’s Reptiles is absolutely the best!
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