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Re: How can you tell when a Ball Python is going to bite?
[tries to suppress a grin]
You remind me of my wife (then girlfriend) when she first got introduced to reptiles. She liked snakes, didn't mind handling them.....just was afraid of getting bit. At one show where I was playing "helper" to one of the vendors, I brought her over, picked up a baby ball python that I knew had a bad attitude, and let it bite her. After that she was fine.
Some people disagree, but this is really the approach I often employ when I encounter this problem. Most of the time, the person has this fear, this apprehension of getting bit, almost like getting a shot at the doctor. OMG, it's going to hurt like the dickens, I'm going to bleed all over the place, etc etc. With few exceptions (larger constrictors, arboreal species and the occasional voracious kingsnake), most snake bites are hardly anything to write home about. You have probably had paper cuts that bothered you worse and for longer. The majority of the time, the bite is over before you know it, and you're like, "Oh, that's wasn't terrible."
That said, ball pythons in my experience give pretty good warning before biting. Most of them are docile, and will adopt the rolled-up "ball" position of hiding their head. I have never had one bite from this position. Those that are more acclimated to handling do not ball up at all.
Every once in while, there is a BP that likes to go against the grain and be a pain. They'll adopt the traditional S-shape position of the neck, with their head on the top. They may hiss, and/or inflate/flatten their body a little. The most pissy ones will strike at anything that comes near them. I've never had a BP "surprise" me nad bite me without warning. Not saying its impossible or could never happen; its just never happened to me.
One thing you can do is whenever you open the enclosure, toss a towel over the snake and then scoop it up from underneath.
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