All snakes should be handled with caution, as they are among the cleverest animals, and may begin to associate you with food. Pythons are no different. Ball Pythons will be easier to tame, though you should still expect to be bitten or scratched. It is important to keep a good lock on the tank. Remember: Snakes are wild animals and should be treated with caution.
Things You'll Need
- Large tank with decorations
- Water dish
- Heating source
- Lock for tank
- Bedding
Instructions
Train your python not to attack by creating a hiding place for your python. Pythons are ground creatures, and used to living in hot climates. Hiding places are a part of their natural habitat, as they provide shelter from the sun or a hiding place from predators. Pythons become easily stressed when they do not have a place to hide. A stressed python may not fare well with a human presence, and may mistake you for food or think you are a predator. In this instance your python may attack you. Hiding places can be made out of cardboard.
Do not touch your python for the first few days or weeks, in order to help it develop a routine. After that, start handling it twice a day, for a short amount of time. If the python becomes stressed, reduce the handling time. Make sure that your python is well fed and watered before handling.
Train your python to eat dead mice. Pythons are used to killing their own prey in the wild, and may find it hard to adapt to eating dead animals, especially mice, as normally they eat larger rodents. Encourage your python to eat the mouse by waving the mouse around to make it appear as if it's alive. Using tongs, insert the dead mouse into your python's tank and wave it around. If your python does not respond well to mice, try gerbils instead.
It can also be beneficial at feeding time to remove the python from its enclosure to allow the python to become accustomed to being handled. Then, in the future it is less liable to mistake your hand as prey when you reach into the tank.