Chapter 6 of 12 · Manny's Care Guide

Handling

Disclaimer: I'm not a veterinarian and I don't hold a degree in animal science or animal care. This is a guide I compiled and use with my own ball pythons. For a sick animal, a reptile vet is the authority.

New arrivals

Leave a new snake completely alone for at least a week: no handling, no peeking, just water and a check that the heat is right. Most guides say one to two weeks and until it's eating reliably [1][2][3]. Then offer the prey the previous keeper used.

Our practice: seven days alone for every adult that comes in, then an offer. If it's refused, we wait another week and try again rather than handling in between.

Picking one up

  • Wash your hands first so they don't smell like a rat, and after, because every reptile can carry Salmonella; children under five, adults over 65 and anyone immunocompromised shouldn't handle reptiles at all [1][4][5].
  • Approach from the front, never from directly above, lift from mid-body, and support the whole snake with both hands. No fast movements [1][2][3].
  • First sessions 10 to 15 minutes, a few times a week [2][3]; we lengthen them over the following weeks.
  • Don't handle a snake in shed (the "blue" phase) [1][6], for at least a day after a meal, and Zen Habitats says 48 hours; we wait 72 [1][2], or in its first week after shipping [3]. A brooding female coiled on her eggs will strike at anything that comes near; that's normal and it's temporary.

Reading the snake

Hissing, an S-shaped neck, balling up and trying to get away are stress signals, not aggression. There's no such thing as a mean ball python, only a scared one [1][2]. A snake that hisses or balls when first lifted and settles within a minute or so is a normal ball python.

A snake that keeps striking from its hide weeks after it should have settled is telling you about its setup before it's telling you about its personality. The stressors the sources name are constant light, no tight hide, feeling threatened and being handled too soon after food [2][6]; in our experience too open and too cold belong on the list too. Fix those first.

Sources for this chapter

  1. ReptiFiles, Ball python handling tips
  2. Zen Habitats, Ball python care guide
  3. CB Reptile, Ball python care guide
  4. CDC, Reptiles and amphibians: healthy pets, healthy people
  5. Merck Veterinary Manual, Bacterial diseases of reptiles
  6. PetMD, Ball python care sheet

Last revised November 2, 2026.