Can I Pet My Ball Python?  Yes, you most certainly can pet your
ball python. Snake scales go in one direction, and you should
always pet with and not against the grain of their scales. This
means that you should be petting in a downward motion from the
direction of their head to the direction of their tail.  Many,
though not all, ball pythons are head-shy, meaning they do not
like to be stroked on their head, and will recoil or potentially
even become aggressive if they are touched on their head because
of the amount they dislike it. Many head-shy ball pythons will
also not like to be stroked on their necks. Other ball pythons
will be perfectly fine letting a human stroke them on their
heads and necks, but be careful around a new ball python in case
it is in fact head-shy. Sometimes, with increased handling, a
ball python is able to go from being head shy to being perfectly
fine with a human stroking its head. Yet this takes a lot of
effort, patience, and increased handling time on the part of the
owner (not