r/snakes•
DrThrowitallaway

How long did it take your baby snake to trust you?

Pet Snake Questions

I got a seven-month-old Children's python a few weeks ago, my first snake. I left it alone for a week, then fed it, then left it alone for another week, fed it a second time, and gave it a 48 hour digesting period before I started trying to interact with it at all. There is SO MUCH conflicting information out there on the best way to go about "taming" or "socialization". Some recommend choice-based handling, some recommend just grabbing the snake from its hide and handling it for 5-10 minutes every day, etc.

I've been watching some Green Room Pythons and Snake Therapy with Shira Loa videos and I like their recommendations for an intermediate approach, where you start slowly by doing things like presenting your hand to the snake when it's not hiding, presumably gradually working up to handling. But what do I do if my snake runs and hides as soon as it sees me? It's will come out at night when the enclosure lights go off, but as soon as it catches sight of me it will hide again. How do I present my hand to it if it's always hiding? Do I just keep trying and it will become less afraid as it gets older/bigger? I don't want to chase it down or pull it out of a hiding spot because that seems like it would just make the snake more afraid.

I'm following their recommendations for approaching slowly and not looming over the enclosure/coming from underneath. It's a front opening enclosure on a table and I've been sitting on the ground nearby, but as soon as the snake notices me it hides. This is super discouraging and I don't know what to do. I didn't expect the snake to like or trust me right away but none of the videos talk about what to do if the snake hides as soon as it sees you or won't even come out of hiding if you're nearby.

Posted Mar 6, 2026, 4:02 AM UTC

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