What Traits Look For?

**Hello to the group again. What traits do I need to look for in a Ball Python for calmness and easy to handle? Any help is appreciated. **

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Temperament and personality are going to vary on an individual level, but as a whole, ball pythons in general are calm and easy to handle. I think it’s more rare to find a ball python that isn’t.

However it’s definitely something you can ask about and emphasize when talking to breeders about a potential purchase.

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Some breeders make it a point to handle the babies, at least during tub cleaning, for the very reason you are asking about. But as @chesterhf Hilary said, in general ball pythons are quite docile, some quite shy so they curl themselves into a “ball” to hide their heads. :blush::heart: (If they can’t see you then you can’t see them) :joy:

Even if you end up with a baby that’s a bit nippy, it most likely will calm down once it realizes you’re the “lunch lady”, or in your case, the “lunch gentleman”, and you are not going to make lunch out of it! :sunglasses:.

However, keep in mind there is the proverbial exception to every rule and you could always end up with a “wildcat”! :rofl::snake:

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Unless you are told how it act like, there is no way of knowing. Handle as much as you can so it gets used to to it and you. We had one that would strike every time you opened the encounter. Handling it often help calm her down. Then when it wasn’t handled for a while, it went right back to its old habitats.
For one that is scared or nippy, Handling it could just be holding it and sitting with it. Just let it move when it wants to. When it gets use to that, then you can start moving it more each time you hold it.
As stated, most are pretty laid back and can be handled with ease.
Another thing, if one is nippy, pick it up from behind, don’t reach straight in toward its head. You can distract it with the other hand so you can get it. (again, this is for one that is hard to handle. Not a typical one). Most, you can just reach in and get it.

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If you are able to pick in person the ideal laid back ball python stays extended as you open it’s enclosure and neither balls up or bends it’s neck to prepare to strike (or hisses).

Most are still unlikely to strike but I believe some breeders have selected for more aggressive ball pythons because they believe those ones are better feeders.

I have seen a really aggressive gene passed down three generations in my collection before I gave up on that line in spite of the morph project I was working.

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Reptile shows, if you have any nearby, can be a great place to hold them and usually you will find great prices!

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Now that’s interesting and something I have never heard of before. But if possible it would certainly make sense, especially to get new babies to start eating. Not that it would matter to anyone else but I am not so sure I agree with this practice.

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I don’t know if the aggressive ones really eat better but I think it would be unfortunate if selection for aggression causes captive ball pythons to loose their gentle reputation. I try to select for confident good eaters.

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BTW, the two generations of the aggressive line I grew up to adulthood never outgrew striking every time handled. As it carried forward three generations without inbreeding I suspect a single dominant gene was responsible.

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Great ideas reptile show, picking it out in person, gentle, short handling sessions! I just wanted to suggest the same thing picking it out in person, but you may want to go for a sub-adult, or adult. A lot of species of snakes can be slightly nervous or bite when young. You can’t blame them, everything would try to eat these small defenseless creatures in the wild! I find with some size comes more confidence and they seem more relaxed overall.

Also I know this has been talked about on other threads before, but my Corey woods line het. Red axanthic line always is more aggressive as babies for sure! (As older, tame except when feeding!) They also are always the best eaters too! I love em! I don’t know though if I would say it’s the morph. I would think more of a bloodline thing. @caron @rlremington

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I am blessed that all of my ball pythons are great eaters. Six of them especially! :thinking::wink::sunglasses:

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