Meet Pandora 🌱

[lily_jacobsen]

Ended up going out to a local reptile shop to look at the snakes, I’m a sucker for reduced dorsal pattern snakes and asked to look at her a bit closer out of interest since I enjoy counting scale width of markings and taking notes on color and pattern shapes (of course if it’s ok with the seller to be holding and/or closely observing their snakes) ended up getting myself into an ordeal where she was on the counter and I was paying for her before I had even said yes. Pandora I think is a rather fitting name given I opened Pandora’s box upon asking to view her. At least I can say she’s a gorgeous proven het pied het albino (whose babies were also for sale) and she was only 100 bucks so not too bad, besides the fact I’m most likely going to put off breeding anything until later and she takes up the last snake slot I had open before I set up a new snake operation. Ultimately on me for not having the guts to say “no” or simply asking to slow down, I didn’t say anything about buying, but I’m also a bit upset about the situation I was thrown into. My fault in the end and I still ended up with a beautiful snake but definitely not what I was originally planning on using my last available slot for a snake on, nor did I plan to buy a snake today

I’ll offer a couple low res pics just because she’s a cutie. Mainly posting since I just wanted to remind everybody else that saying no is a good skill to have especially when dealing with live animals, and that you’re generally in the right to ask a seller to slow down when you’re looking at something for fun or whenever you’re seriously interested since all might be well, sort of, like my case, but sometimes it’s not ok and it’s not ok to be in a position where it wasn’t something you had taken time to plan out and figure out yourself

I also wanted to ask some questions about coloration on this gal and wanted to share some observations on her behavior!

When I first got her out upon getting home I noticed how she was acting like an paranoid insomniac of a snake, eyes darting around, head moving from locking onto one thing after the other, insanely afraid of human touch or so much as seeing people, but warmed up so so so fast after chillaxing with her and standing outside holding her for a bit. I noticed she defensively struck at the shop keeper twice but she hasn’t acted defensive towards me hardly at all, mainly towards other people, especially my ride. I was wondering if it was possible that in a sense this snake was “traumatized” (it’s a snake I get it, but by that I mean starved of healthy human interaction, and by healthy human interaction I mean being given proper exercise and care, and overall being desensitized to humans being near her. I’ve had snakes and so have snakes that are just nasty, it’s their personality, but this one seemed genuinely fearful at first and seems like she wants to be curious and act just as friendly as my big spider ball python or most pet ball pythons but she seems way too fearful and scared to do so, she was acting like this even at the store and it was definitely not busy along with the fact the snake was bred by the store owner and raised by him, meaning she had grown accustomed to that situation her entire life making me think she was mistreated in some way or another that made her at least somewhat afraid of people) I ultimately have no idea but she’s by far one of the most peculiar acting snakes I’ve gotten next to my disabled ball python who passed away awhile ago.

Onto coloration questions. Currently I don’t have any pics since my day consisted of waking up, sitting in garage until 5:30, go to reptile shop, have a snake sold to me, drop off snake at home in enclosure, go out to do errands and eat which it was dark by the time I had gotten home and didn’t want to spook her worse. Anyways I’ll get pictures tomorrow (or really later today) but I wanted to know if anybody has seen a green spotted ball python??? As far as I know she’s only DH pied and albino but she has a green tinge to her, especially around her face with a very blushed out head and a blushed out back with green spots and freckles on her side. For the tinting it’s the usual more-■■■■-yellow-than-green-at-all that’s marketed as green but the green freckles, are, well, very green. Olive green. I’ve never seen this on a snake before meaning for now she just goes into the pile my other random pickups include that are my “whoopsies your coloration is weird but I’ll just call it special because the conditions I got you under were to a degree special anyways so I should expect a weird snake” any advice would be much appreciated

Below is a quick doodle of what colors best match her markings and tinting as far as I can tell (tinting left markings right) obviously he actual colors on her are bit more diluted and organic looking, although I have no idea how to work a color wheel very well so apologies, but here’s the basic gist

[lily_jacobsen]

I also wanted to clarify regarding her behavior: I understand almost any snake you newly being home is going to be upset and freak out and be generally nervous and just not happy since they just got taken from their home, sent off with strange smelling warm trees and get shoved into a moving box until they’re plopped into a completely new environment they have to make home in, but the way she was acting, at the store, and once I got home was so much more erratic compared to any other animal I got home, she tried to bite the store owner two times I believe (defensively, not food bites 110%, I’m no expert on snake behavior but I’d say I can at least tell when an animal is attacking out of anger, hunger, or fear from my experience with rescues) which is not unusual with a spicy snake or a baby, but she’s a full grown adult who has now proven to, once calmer down and shown that the people around her aren’t a threat, to be a very very sweet snake, earlier before I put her away she ended up just taking a nap on me and allowed me to pet her without tending her body. But otherwise absolutely insane acting snake, I’m talking waving her head around with her tongue fully stuck out, flailing her back end, tensing her body up so tight she looks and feels like she’s going to hurt herself if she keeps it up all the time but didnt strike at me at least. I also understand you generally should not hold an animal who is freaking out, especially a reptile, but given how she was reacting to the enclosure and having new stuff put in I wanted to see if some quiet calm time outside would do her some good and it seems to have worked. I definitely don’t recommend doing what I did with a snake acting the way she has been unless you WANT to stress the animal out or get a face full of fangs but I used it as a quick solution since I couldn’t think of anything else at the time.

[banereptiles]

I believe you are most likely correct about her behavior. I wouldn’t say traumatized, but being a breeders snake she probably wasn’t held at all or just grabbed and moved when they had to clean the cage or something out of necessity. I’ll bet she was never really handled for fun on the keepers part, and has just grown accustomed to short picking up and putting down type handling if any. Your method of calming her down is not recommended you are right, but can work in certain situations. I acquired a pied, almost year old snake that would constantly strike, tense up and react to any slight human interaction. He would eat fine and everything I just couldn’t go near him, so I got frustrated picked him up ignored the strikes and sat on the couch with him on my leg. He was so tense and agitated but I just let him sit there, then all of a sudden he went out of defensive mode and into exploring mode. From then on he became better and better and I actually rehomed him to a father and daughter as one of the most tame large adult ball pythons I had! Also have done the same with wild caught bullsnakes when I was a kid, worked as well! So you are right I wouldn’t advise that technique, but it can work! As for the colors we will have to wait for your next pics. Just can’t make anything of detail out. Sorry you felt pressured to buy, sometimes I think that’s how some people try to sell, very quick with limited questions and answers. I hate to say this, but maybe even more so to women buyers, kinda like some car repair/sales people have a tendency to. Sounds like you will be happy with her in the long run, so hopefully it will all work out!

[lily_jacobsen]

Here’s some better pics of m’lady, unfortunately I couldn’t get too good of pictures since it’s awfully cloudy out today, meaning the lighting is about as good as indoors but I tried my best for what the outdoors were throwing me

Because of how dark it is outside the only good pics I could manage were of her very bright freckles but I’ll do my best to get pics later today if it lightens up outside, bonus pic of her face since she has such lovely bright cheeks in person

[gina5678]

Aww shes beautiful!

[caron]

She looks very bright and quite calm, at least in those last pictures! Congratulations on her! I am sure she will be a good fit for you in the long run!

[banereptiles]

She is very beautiful and looks to be in great shape! I do see what looks like green and I would almost say light goldish color on her. Very nice! I do know that het pieds do sometimes have weird non alien head patterns on there sides so that could be where that type of stuff is coming from. She is bright also! I wonder if she is just a bright snake or if that has to do with being het. for albino. I know in retics, you can almost pic out het for white albino just from how bright they are in a wild type animal. I know it doesn’t always work that way with ball pythons, but maybe in this case there is both some het. Pied and het. Albino influences on both pattern and color on this pretty lady! Also have to say the wide eye stripes and blushed brown head are very pleasing to the eye! Enjoy your new animal