Since my daughter (7) got her new baby ball a week and 1/2 ago, she has been the snakes "tree" for most of this time. She absolutely fell in love with Gentle, and says she is going to be a herpitologist.

Oops! Tonight dear Gentle bit her! She has one hole in her finger but her heart is broken into millions of tiny pieces! We are still trying to decide why Gentle bit her.

1. We just fed her last night, about 24 hours ago.

2. Her sleeve probably smelled like Guinea Pig & maybe mice, too. She was petting her under the chin while snake was laying on carpet next to her.

3. We finally got Gentle's cage temp up where it should be, we aren't sure whether she is captive bred -- could be she is warmer than ever & her real personality showing? Are going to find out if captive bred in a.m.

Any input on whether we're on the right track would be much appreciated. Wondering if we should get captive bred instead if Gentle is not. Trying not to give up on her but are leary now...

Thanks!

please read over our ball python caresheet. its full of a ton of useful info.

Ball Python Caresheet (Python regius) - Reptile Information - Caresheets Database

your snake may have been nervous. generally you should leave a new snake alone in a new environment for at least a week, no handling or feeding.

also you should leave a snake alone to digest its food for at least 2-3 days. handling too soon after can risk a regurge and that is nasty business.

its possible the smell of mice or other rodents prompted a bite. but also ball pythons can be head shy and having been touched so close to the head may have caused her to bite out of nervousness.

hope this helps.

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Any animal can bite, its a perfectly normal reaction, these are wild animals, In captivity however we do try to curb this behavior.
I would always say captive breed is the best way to go, but you already have the snake, i don't agree with getting rid of ANY animal simply because it bites, however I also understand your worried about your daughters safety. Ball Pythons don't get as big as a boa or a retic, but they still get to be about 6' long. For a 7 year old thats pretty big.

Most likely the python felt threatened and scared, explain to your daughter that as upset as she may be, imagine how the snake feels.
If A Giant were to come along and lift the roof off my house, reach in and pick me up, Im sure i'd bite.
Even a captive bred snake can bite.

It takes time, patience, and band aids to get a defensive, (and I say defensive, because this sounds like a defensive snake, not an aggresive snake) snake to become handleable, but it is possible.

Also a few questions,
Do you feed live or pre killed?
What are the temps on te tank?
Does the bp have the proper setup?
Where did you get the snake?

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Make sure to have your daughter (and yourself) wash her hands after handling the rodents and before handling the snake. The smell can cause a feeding response.

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We are both feeling better about the whole thing. The snake struck but did not hold on. I really think it was the fact that she had been handling her guinea pig & pet mice all day, and although she washed her hands, her long sleeves still smelled like them, I'm sure. My daughter said the snake probably thought she was food because of how she smelled & because she forgot to be careful around Gentle's head/face. She said that she thought that as soon as Gentle bit her & realized it was her & not food, Gentle felt sorry that she bit her girl. (-: She said it was the shock that scared her most & she cried because her heart was broken, but she still loves her snake.

We were just freaked out because Gentle has been just that, gentle, since we got her. She hasn't seemed stressed and never agressive, wrapping around my daughter's wrist or arm and seeming very content. We've decided it was a fluke & are going to be careful, of course, and try not to be too fearful until we are comfortable again. My daughters friends have held her; strangers that are intrigued have touched & held her. I don't usually feel like a bite means get rid of a pet either, unless it's one of the mice, then we just call it snake food. (-:

We were told that if we got bit it would be our own fault...right, usually???

We got Gentle from a very reputable reptile store called Aligator Alley in OKC. We had the tank but got the substrate, a hideout, bowl, light for day time, even the frozen mice from them. We asked all kinds of Qs and called a couple of times to ask more. I assumed the mice were the size she needed since they picked them out for us could she still be hungry because they are too small? They don't look too small when she swallows them.

We finally got her tank to show 80 on the thermometer in the middle of the cage (went from a 60 to 75 watt bulb, have a heating pad, padded so it's not directly touching the tank, under the warmer end & the water on the cooler side, though she has yet to get in the bowl.

The first time we fed her -- she was due to be fed two days after we got her -- we wound up giving her one of the feeder mice (live) that we bought while we were at the reptile store (we were down to one old lady mousie & want to start raising again for Gentle), because we couldn't get her to take the frozen/thawed one. 7 days later, we tried again with the frozen, putting Gentle into her feeding box for a bit first, tried with the mouse for a while, left them for a while & tried again and she took it! That is really something to watch -- the live & the thawed -- she is SOOOOO fast. I wanted to get her to eat the dead mouse, even though she, WHAP, jumped right on the live one, because I've read that they can get hurt by live prey.

We are still studying & learning about her. I was just really afraid that she was docile because she wasn't as warm as she needed to be and was actually more aggressive than she seemed once she warmed up. But, you know, I'm sure she has been very warm right next to my daughter's skin, and we are just going to keep on working with her.

Thank everyone for their input & all comments are still very much appreciated as we are new to this (though we have & have had too many pets since my daughter was tiny -- and my dogs even before). We love animals & it is so good for us to care for & love them. She knows how lucky she is, knowing other kids who have never had even 1 pet; she is very good with all her "kids," too. (-:

welcome.
Its good to hear your daughter has'nt lost interest in the snake, and understands what happened. While it is true that when the proper temps are reached it allows them to be more active, and with cooler temps slower and easier to handle, it could very well have had a lot to do with the smell, many of the members here i'm sure can tell you stories about there big boids, burms, retics, boas, all tagging them, and unless there talking about a very defensive snake, its usualy a feeding response.
I highly suggest exclusivly feeding prekilled food. Your ball will get to the point where it will be eating rats, and a Rat can do Serious damage to a snake.
At the petstore I work at all the boas and pythons we get are babies, but we usualy get a few snakes known to be a bit more prone to biting.
Even now, we have 4 Boas, 2 redtails, and 2 common. Before they started getting extra attention both of the common boas would go after anything in there cage, after a bit of handling, one of them is just as calm as the redtails, and the other can still be a bit hissy, but bites alot less.
Most, if not all, problems like this can be worked out.

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"Nobody can do Everything, but Everybody can do Something."

Hello Lisa and welcome to HerpCenter.
I too am in OKC and I have known Bryan, the owner of Alligator Alley for over 20 years. You picked a good shop!

As for the bite. A feeding bite would be a bite and hold on. What she got was a "tag," meaning a bite and release. This is usually the snake warning you off of doing something it is uncomfortable with, in this case messing around with its head. Ball pythons are notoriously head shy and it takes a while for them to get comfortable with having their heads touched. After all a predator is going to go for the head to make a quick kill.
Moving toward them from in front of thier face is also an invitation to get bitten untill the snake settles in and gets good and used to you. The same with rapid movements toward the head. This will not be different with a captive bred snake. They just have to get comfortable with you.
My male tagged me when I first got him and it was indeed my fault. The snake was sitting in my lap and I wasn't paying attention and moved toward his face. He got me. I have had my pair for 6-7 years and that was the only time either one even offered to bite.
And my grandkids have been handling them since the snakes were hatchlings.

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Thanks again for everyone's input! I'm glad we found this website. Lot's of good info & we can cry out for help! (-: I was pretty comfortable with the people at Alligator Alley, they really seem to know their stuff. We are considering a male for my daughter's birthday in Aug. that we would definately get from there.

Thanks again! Will post a pic of Gentle as soon as we can.

Welcome to Herp Center....glad you are starting to understand Gentle...they are really great little snakes....enjoy yourself!

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Warmest Regards from Lyn