This is a light tap, almost like a high five. The first type is the defensive or aggressive bite. Overall Ball Python bites aren’t painful, but there are two types of bite. I haven’t been bitten by an Emerald Tree Boa, but what I’ve been told is that it’s a bite you won’t be forgetting…Īh, and now the question we’ve all been waiting for! And the answer is… it depends.
In species like the Emerald Tree Boa ( Corallus caninus), which eat arboreal rodents and birds, the teeth are HUGE! They obviously need to latch on extremely well to avoid dropping a prey item or letting an agile one get away. A bite from this species feels like almost nothing – if you can get them to bite at all. In small, invertebrate-eating colubrids like the DeKay’s Snake ( Storeria dekayi), the teeth are about as dangerous as you would imagine. Generally, they are adapted to grip prey appropriately, and will be as big as they need to be for this. This doesn’t mean they don’t vary between species, however. In these species, the teeth have solely a gripping function. The teeth of Pythons and other non-venomous snakes are aglyphous, meaning they lack a groove and are not used for venom delivery. We’re going to discuss Ball Python bites and aggression in a moment, but first let’s look at the hardware involved…Ī snake’s teeth always reflect their function, having a size and form that allow them to carry it out. The Calabar Python/Boa ( Calabaria reinhardtii) and the American Snail Eater ( Dipsas articulata) both employ it, despite being completely unrelated.Īll in all, Ball Pythons are not aggressive, and 99 times out of 100 will choose this highly effective balling tactic over biting. The behaviour is so ingrained that captive Ball Pythons still have a strong instinctive urge to do it, with shy animals suddenly retracting into a ball when you disturb them – even after years in your company.īalling is in fact such a successful a defence mechanism that several other snake species have adopted it. Also, let’s face it, you probably won’t bite an enemy to death without any venom! Better to just hide and wait out the attack. This is a great way for a snake to protect itself, as the head is their only real weak spot. Balling is of course where the species gets its name and consists of simply rolling into a ball with the head protected in the centre. The reluctance that most Ball Pythons have to bite is probably due to the fact they have another, more pacifistic defence mechanism called “balling”. As I mention in my Ball Python Care Sheet, I even have Ball Pythons I’m comfortable letting children handle. They are in fact one of the calmest, most peaceful snakes available in the pet trade.
Ball Pythons are not an aggressive species, and in general they simply do not bite.