My snake bit my girlfriend and now she is scared of us. How do I get her back to normal again?
I have a 1.5 year old ball python. We always put her in a separate cage to feed her. About 2 months ago after she had finished eating, my girlfriend went to get her out of the feeding cage and she bit her.
I know ball pythons don’t really bite unless they are scared but now everytime we go to get her out or feed her she coils back and today she actually struck at me but missed. She hasn’t been out of her cage since the first incident because she is so hostile towards us. I just want to get her back to normal so that we can play with her again. Any suggestions?
That happened with my and my boyfriend. After his ball python bit me I would be scared of any snake that anyone had. He bought me a baby red tail boa, which is my baby now, and I built up my tolerance with it being a baby, now its three feet and I feel more comfortable than ever. I used to make my boyfriend always feed his ball pythons but now I have no problem with it. And to change her temperament you really need to take her out and interact with her. If you notice her lifting her head and looking like shes about to strike do not take her out. Try getting a hook to take her out, or place a towel over her head and grab her right behind the head. You should really wait about an hour before you try to take her out of her feeding tank.
Sorry to hear that. The only way to get it back to where it was before is to handle it. I know thats kinda scarry givin the circumstances but its the only way. You can start by placing a cloth over it to blind it and then pick it up. Take baby steps and gradually work your way up to where you were before. Good luck.
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That happened with my and my boyfriend. After his ball python bit me I would be scared of any snake that anyone had. He bought me a baby red tail boa, which is my baby now, and I built up my tolerance with it being a baby, now its three feet and I feel more comfortable than ever. I used to make my boyfriend always feed his ball pythons but now I have no problem with it. And to change her temperament you really need to take her out and interact with her. If you notice her lifting her head and looking like shes about to strike do not take her out. Try getting a hook to take her out, or place a towel over her head and grab her right behind the head. You should really wait about an hour before you try to take her out of her feeding tank.
References :
Own two ball pythons and one red tail boa
yep i agree with the above answers, only way is to take her out and get her back used ta you instead of her seein u as a threat. now all snakes are different and i would never grab my Jake rite behind his head or try tha towel thing cause that freaks him out so i would more likely get bit by doin that than just reachin in an grabbin him. but he has never bitten me or anyone. but like i said all snakes are different. another thing is try wearing a thick glove when you first reach in and get her then after u have her out take it off, snakes dont very often strike or bite the hand holding them. try blowing into her cage before getting her also so she will associate ur smell with being handled and not being food, could also leave a t-shirt or such in her cage with ur sent on it ta help her recognize it when you reach in. just whatever u decide be consistent. take her out daily, each day moving tha time u are holding her a lil longer an longer till one day u can reach in and get her with no problem just like old times.
hope i was of some help and good luck ta ya’ll.
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owner of Jake, Fionna, and Stitch all Ball Pythons