We thought it might be interesting to talk about some of the differences between the different snakes we have.
Excluding the major visual differences, these will be some things that might jump out at you if you’ve never touched a snake, or have limited handling time.
We will break them down by species, and just as a disclaimer, we do only have 1 specimen of 2 species, so personalities and attitudes may very.
How they feel.
One of the first things you would notice when handling a snake is the way it feels right?
Between the 4 species we keep, I would say that our Dwarf Reticulated python feels the softest.
We love holding stretch because of how slick and soft her skin is.
She is not full grown, so we aren’t sure if her scales will stay the way they are, but we hope so.
Silky is a good way to describe the way she feels.
Reticulated pythons are known for getting long, and even though Stretch is only 2 years old, she feels long do to her gurth being on the slim side.
To put it into perspective, a Boa Constrictor her same weight is probably almost a foot shorter.
So, when you combine her slick smooth skin, and her long slender body she offers up a unique holding experience from the others.
the next species feels similar to the Retic, but does have a slightly different texture, and that is the Ball pythons.
They are also pretty slick feeling, but their skin does feel thicker, and almost more plastic like to us.
Ball pythons are not very big snakes, so they are not too imposing to hold.
There isn’t a lot else to say about the way a Ball python feels really.
The next 2 types of snakes (Blood pythons and Boa Constrictors) have a different feel than the Ball python and Reticulated python.
They are more textured. Not rough or bumpy, but you can feel the scales more.
It is as if each actual scale is bigger and more broad and defined.
As a side note, all of the snakes subcottle scales (Belly scales) feels different than their dorsal scales. For example, the Blood and Boas bellies are big, feel almost ribbed as you go down their boddy, and have a verry slick plastic feel compared to the more small bumpy texture of there sides and back.
Mary The Blood python.
One thing you will notice about Mary over any of the Boas is the actual body structure.
Not only are Blood pythons very short and very heavy bodied snakes, but they have a pronounced spine.
Meaning, they feel heavy and wide, but also kind of tall because of the way the spinal ridge protrudes.
Other than that, she just feels like a tank.
The Boa Constrictors
The Boas texture is similar to the Blood python (Mary) but they do grow longer.
Boas are also heavier bodied snakes, but they feel completely different than the Blood python.
While a Blood python has a softer feel, a Boa is much more muscle, so it is easy to feel their power just hiding underneath the surface.
It’s always fun trying to unwind a Boa off of you while your trying to convince them it is time to go back home.
How do they act?
This topic is not so easy to write about.
Think about it, , snakes do not show affection, they don’t play, and sense we are blind we can not sit an observe them to see how they behave while not being handled.
Some of them do have a few quirks while being handled though, so we’ll tell you about those.
We will start with Mary the Blood python again for this subject.
Because she is such a heavy bodied snake, and has an extremely short tail, they are built for ground living. This means when you go to pick up a Blood python or hold a Blood python for that matter, you need to grab the snake at the heavy points, and make sure you are supporting the snake.
Blood pythons do not hang on like some of our other snakes. They are a good snake to sit down with, and let them lay in your lap for example.
Another weird thing we have noticed about Mary is that she moves backwards a lot! It is not unusual for you to be holding her, and you think a tail is her head. We aren’t sure if all Blood pythons move this way, or if it is something that our girl just does since we only have one currently, but it is definantly noticeable compared with the rest of our constrictors.
Next is Stretch, our dwarf reticulated python. She’s so long, that it’s easy to lose part of her while holding her, and not realize it! Stretch is long and slender, and built for tree climbing as well as ground dwelling. She’s most comfortable being held in the lap, but occasionally she takes a peek over the shoulder to see what’s on the other side. She acts a little different with both of us, and sometimes even loops herself around your shoulders. The most favorite thing of our’s is that she likes to play turtle when retrieving her from her tub and hide. She pokes her head out of her hide, and she looks like a turtle emerging from it’s shell!
when you first pick up one of the Ball pythons, they usually stay balled up for several minutes. Then they poke their head out and after realizing they aren’t someones meal, they then usually end up trying to crawl away. lol
Also, with Ball pythons it is not too uncommon for them to flinch their heads towards their bodies. They are head shy, so sometimes a startling movement that they might catch will make them try to protect their heads by tucking it up close to their bodies.
This is where the term Ball python originates. When they sense danger, they tuck their heads into a ball.
While holding a Boa Constrictor, it usually ends up with them holding on to you.
If you are holding a small Boa, it is pretty common for them to rap their tail around a finger, or wind their body around multiple fingers.
If you are holding a larger Boa, they will rap a section around your hand, arm, leg, neck, waste… and we think you get the idea. Boa Constrictors like to anchor themselves.
One place they seem to rap around a lot is your rist around your watch. While holding Bob, he has actually activated the emergency call feature on the Apple Watch because he rapped around, and started mashing the buttons. Talk about embarrassing!
That’s The Gang
That is a quick introduction to the gang. They are all snakes, but as you can tell, they have diferences between them all. Their differences run from different textures, to different colors, and most important to us, different personalities! It’s the different textures and personalities that really make a snake a rewarding pet for someone with a bisual impairment.