# Site General > General Herp >  Where have you been bitten?

## Ax01

ok i was just inspired by a read through of Red FiFi's manly thread here: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...s-bite-you-LOL

so where on yo body have u been bitten by a snake? maybe u weren't wearing gloves and got bit on the hands or fingers. or maybe u were out herping and got bitten on the ankle. where were u bitten and what bite u?


Edit: i've been bitten plenty of times by my BP's and Colubrids on the hands and phalanges.

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_Sonny1318_ (08-29-2018)

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## enginee837

Forearm by a rather large scrub python.  Other forearm by a large burn.  Fingers and hands by everything else.  Nock on wood I have never been bitten by a snake I was not currently working with so no surprise bites to my lower extremities. 

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## Craiga 01453

So far, snakes have only gotten my hands/fingers. 

I've been tagged by a handful of juvenile Kings, a juvenile BP, an adult BP and two adult Kings. All defensive strikes, and only one latched on. 
The only one who latched on was Django, my adult King. He didn't wrap, he just chilled there with his teeth buried in my index finger for about a minute. 

So far, nothing more than a few drops of blood, hoping it stays that way...

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## Slicercrush

Ive been bitten by a couple garter snakes in the hands/fingers and arms, by a black racer in the arm and leg a good couple times, and by an eastern water snake on the hand, all while working the ecology area of my camp. Needless to say i was usually the guy called to be a snake wrangler.

Never been bitten by my own pets, though, i did almost take a bite to the face the other night out of my own stupidity. Ouch.

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## Sonny1318

Like you stated, been bit at least a dozen times by baby boas and balls on the hands and fingers. I had a female Dumerils bite my forearm when changing her water. Also another on the forearm by a Peruvian boa, he liked to bite when you least expected and loved to strike the glass when you walked by on occasion. And once I got tagged on the ribs by my Surinam boa. The worst part was he never ever bit, not even as a baby. And when he did I had on a white shirt and a bunch of people over. It was not pretty, nor a good way to win over non snake people, lol. The  three bites were all from adults too. I think it kinda comes with the territory of being a snake keeper.

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Craiga 01453 (08-29-2018)

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## Craiga 01453

> . I think it kinda comes with the territory of being a snake keeper.


Yup. Hang around the barber shop long enough, you're gonna get a hair cut. 
Hang out with clowns, you're bound to get some paint on your face.

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_Alter-Echo_ (08-30-2018),ryu80 (08-29-2018),_Sonny1318_ (08-30-2018)

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## ryu80

In the hands and fingers multiple times by babies and once in the arm by sub-adult Burmese.

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## Bogertophis

Gosh, is this a memory test or what?  I've been at this a long time, but no serious bites ever, & certainly none with venom.  Mostly nips on hands from raising 
neonates & hatchlings.  A few managed to reach a forearm I guess.  The most memorable was right on the bridge of my nose, in a reptile shop, when I was 
handed a shoebox with an adult king snake inside:  as the box was opened, he sailed right to my nose, causing very impressive bleeding (the bridge of your 
nose has no "padding") & well-justified teasing of the owner* of the shop (about a 'lawsuit') before I actually went on to buy the snake- he was a mate for my 
female at home, & it wasn't his fault that when that box was opened, "normally" a mouse was thrown in.  (*I won't name names....some of you would know 
him, I'm sure, though this was many years back- he was well-known in the business.  Anyway, it's always great to shop with a bloody Kleenex held on one's 
nose...good for business, right?   :ROFL:  As you can see, I survived, I held no grudges & the snake calmed down and fathered some great offspring.

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## alittleFREE

I've somehow managed not to get bit by anything.... Despite owning 7 snakes over the past 14 years. 

I'm sure my luck will eventually change.  :Surprised:

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## Bogertophis

> I've somehow managed not to get bit by anything.... Despite owning 7 snakes over the past 14 years. 
> 
> I'm sure my luck will eventually change.


Keep trying, you'll get there... :Very Happy:   The difference is that I've been doing this for more than twice as long as you, and for many years I had 85-90 snakes in my house, 
& even more at times with offspring & "house-guests" (those being re-located).  I "only" have 16 snakes now, but the numbers do make a difference...

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Craiga 01453 (08-30-2018),_distaff_ (10-16-2018),_Sonny1318_ (08-30-2018)

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## alittleFREE

> Keep trying, you'll get there...  The difference is that I've been doing this for more than twice as long as you, and for many years I had 85-90 snakes in my house, 
> & even more at times with offspring & "house-guests" (those being re-located).  I "only" have 16 snakes now, but the numbers do make a difference...


My little sister did get bit by one of my BPs that I had back like maybe 10 years ago. Latched on and everything. But he was small so no biggie. Did kind of freak her out though.

Most I've had at one time was 4, I believe. Just now got out of my parents house finally at 25 lol, so those numbers might be changing soon, now that I have more of a say in things.

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## 67temp

Of my own snakes only the retic has bitten me as a defensive strike on the hand. Baby atb and carpets are very nippy but I just let them keep trying since they don't hurt or even break skin.

Another persons collection I tend to each week I've been bitten by both of her retics, a corn and several balls. I'm working with all them to break their food response.

I've never had a snake wrap my hands or arms. Even the food response bites they realize it right at the last second of the strike. 

Now if there was a poll for parts of your body a snake has poo'd on I might have to check every box.

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*Bogertophis* (08-29-2018)

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## Bogertophis

> ...Now if there was a poll for parts of your body a snake has poo'd on I might have to check every box.


I'll happily let you "win" that contest,  :ROFL:

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## Bogertophis

> My little sister did get bit by one of my BPs that I had back like maybe 10 years ago. Latched on and everything. But he was small so no biggie. Did kind of freak her out though.
> 
> Most I've had at one time was 4, I believe. Just now got out of my parents house finally at 25 lol, so those numbers might be changing soon, now that I have more of a say in things.


I've always had a say, I got into snakes as an adult with my own house so yes, that sure matters.  And technically, a bite is a bite whether or not it breaks the skin:  
when you raise hatchlings as I have, they can be very defensive & nippy, but corn snakes for example, cannot break the skin.  I've had no "significant" bites...I've 
heard of ppl getting bit by a large boid & getting permanent nerve damage, so bites should be avoided IMO.  And I don't want my snakes to be afraid of me so I like 
to take the time so they don't feel they have to defend themselves...but hatchlings are are healthy & NORMAL when they're nippy.  Especially some of the larger rat 
snakes, and believe it or not, I've raised a lot of scrappy rosy boas too- 49 of them.  (I've raised king snakes but their defense as hatchlings is to squirt you with poo-
their mouth isn't big enough for a good defense so they gross you out instead.)

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## redshepherd

Finger/hands the most! And one time on my forearm. Always defensive strikes or otherwise totally random strikes from my tanimbar scrub while she doesn't even show any defensive behavior... -_- She's just chillin along like nothing's wrong, then suddenly whips around and bites me. Really lame. 
I've never been tagged by a feeding strike!




> ok i was just inspired by a read through of Red FiFi's manly thread


I laughed out loud when I saw "Red Fifi"! LOL

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## enginee837

> Finger/hands the most! And one time on my forearm. Always defensive strikes or otherwise totally random strikes from my tanimbar scrub while she doesn't even show any defensive behavior... -_- She's just chillin along like nothing's wrong, then suddenly whips around and bites me. Really lame. 
> I've never been tagged by a feeding strike!
> 
> 
> 
> I laughed out loud when I saw "Red Fifi"! LOL


It is not a "feeding strike", it is "holding hands" or better known as the "aspedities secret club handshake".

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_Alter-Echo_ (08-30-2018),*Bogertophis* (08-30-2018),_distaff_ (10-16-2018)

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## ckuhn003

My 1st snake bite came last week after my baby BCI got me 3 times in the hand. It was my fault as I had him out in a high traffic area and I think he was getting a little stressed. As I was walking away with him, I felt a little prick and looked down and he was biting my hand. In a way, I was kind of glad it happened because I was able to refrain from jerking away and plus the pain from the bite was non existent. I'll be honest, it's still in the back of my mind when I pick him up but the fear of the unknown is not like it was in the past.

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*Bogertophis* (08-30-2018)

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## Bogertophis

> My 1st snake bite came last week after my baby BCI got me 3 times in the hand. It was my fault as I had him out in a high traffic area and I think he was getting a little stressed. As I was walking away with him, I felt a little prick and looked down and he was biting my hand. In a way, I was kind of glad it happened because I was able to refrain from jerking away and plus the pain from the bite was non existent. I'll be honest, it's still in the back of my mind when I pick him up but the fear of the unknown is not like it was in the past.


I think you're right, the high traffic area confused and scared him.  One time I got a bite when, without thinking, I walked past a mirror holding a snake.  The sudden 
appearance of images nearby in the mirror startled the snake into a self-defense bite...after all, they don't understand mirrors.  My fault, oops.  Snake-keeping with-
out bites is a "practice" that improves with time, most bites are preventable...often we just need to slow down to a speed the snake can process.  Congrats on your 1st.

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_ckuhn003_ (08-30-2018)

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## dakski

I've been keeping snakes for 20 years. Probably a total of 10 different snakes over that time period. I have 4 now. I've been bitten a total of 2 times. 

That seems like a pretty good ratio to me. They were also 28 years apart (not 20 consecutive years of snake keeping but a total of 20 years). Both times were my fault and neither animal was an aggressive/defensive animal. 

Bite 1: Went to pick up my juvenile BP from his tank and slipped and smashed my hand down in front of his hide. Nailed me quick on the hand and then went quickly back into his hide and curled up scared. 

I was young and a) barely felt it and b) new it was my fault and felt terrible that I had scared him. 

Bite 2: My juvenile BCI Female (Behira) was about 600G and looking for food. Her body was in the middle of the hot side of the tank and her head was around the other side of her hide hunting. Me, being a tough guy, said, "I'll call her bluff." Well, she wasn't bluffing. She couldn't see my hand either, so when she felt something warm touch her body, WHAM, over the house and onto my arm. She let go immediately (although she got me good, top and bottom teeth, and drew a good amount of blood) and was like, "Sorry Dad, I thought you were a juicy rat!" I picked her right up and she was her usual calm self. 

I have since hook trained Behira as she has a killer feed response (no kidding, right). We have had zero incidents since and she's about 1,100G now. I am very careful when I feed her, and always use the hook to stroke her a few times and make sure she knows it's handling time and not feeding time, when I take her out. Works like a charm and once out, she is a total puppy dog.

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*Bogertophis* (08-30-2018)

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## Bogertophis

> ...make sure she knows it's handling time and not feeding time, when I take her out. Works like a charm and once out, she is a total puppy dog.


That's what I love about snakes, really...if you take the time to communicate & don't rush or scare them accidentally, the fiercest snakes when it comes to food are 
still "puppy dog tame" about handling.  When I've used mine for "meet & greets" with people (-many who've never met a snake before) I often think to myself "it's a 
good thing they don't see this guy being fed" -they'd never feel safe holding or touching him, LOL!

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Craiga 01453 (09-02-2018),_dakski_ (08-30-2018)

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## Alter-Echo

A handful of times on my hands and fingers from an assortment of things, but the worst was easily a bite from a 7ft mangrove snake. He nailed me on the back edge of my left hand and I needed to pry him off. Over the next few hours I had extensive swelling and jolts of pain and tingling up that arm with a numbness in my lips that lasted two days and heart palpitations that lasted a few hours. A few days after the bite the swelling receded but the bite was numb and there was some dark blistering that took a few weeks to heal and the skin to peel off.

Fun stuff indeed.

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*Bogertophis* (08-30-2018),Craiga 01453 (09-02-2018)

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## Bogertophis

> A handful of times on my hands and fingers from an assortment of things, but the worst was easily a bite from a 7ft mangrove snake. He nailed me on the back edge of my left hand and I needed to pry him off. Over the next few hours I had extensive swelling and jolts of pain and tingling up that arm with a numbness in my lips that lasted two days and heart palpitations that lasted a few hours. A few days after the bite the swelling receded but the bite was numb and there was some dark blistering that took a few weeks to heal and the skin to peel off.
> 
> Fun stuff indeed.


That's what I'd call a memorable bite for sure.  Glad you recovered OK in time.

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## dakski

> That's what I love about snakes, really...if you take the time to communicate & don't rush or scare them accidentally, the fiercest snakes when it comes to food are 
> still "puppy dog tame" about handling.  When I've used mine for "meet & greets" with people (-many who've never met a snake before) I often think to myself "it's a 
> good thing they don't see this guy being fed" -they'd never feel safe holding or touching him, LOL!


Yeah, I know! I showed my 7 year old niece, Meghan, Figment eating the other day. First time she had seen a snake eat and it blew her mind. Didn't scare her at all though. She's been handling all the snakes for years and loves them. Luckily it didn't turn her off. However, I could see if you show them a snake feeding first, before they got to meet the snake, that could be a huge turnoff. 

She said, "Wow, he moved so fast!" When he struck and coiled the F/T mouse. Then she said, "How does he open his mouth that big?" when he was downing the mouse. 

She thought it was cool and seems to like the snakes even more now that they have cool tricks up their sleeve (metaphorical sleeve of course; no arms, no sleeves). 

I have to tell myself sometimes, like when Behira (BCI) is nailing the acrylic doors in anticipation of a rat, that "A Snakes feeding response is not indicative of their behavior towards me or how they act when being handled."

Kind of like in the financial industry (where I work). "Past performance is not a guarantee, or necessarily indicative, of future performance."

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*Bogertophis* (08-30-2018)

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## Alter-Echo

> That's what I'd call a memorable bite for sure.  Glad you recovered OK in time.


Yeah, it's rather amazing to think how bad these rear fanged snakes could be if they had a better delivery system. I'm fine now but my hand had a weird tingling sensation in it for months after the bite, especially if it was exposed to hot or cold.

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Craiga 01453 (09-02-2018)

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## Bogertophis

> Yeah, it's rather amazing to think how bad these rear fanged snakes could be if they had a better delivery system. I'm fine now but my hand had a weird tingling sensation in it for months after the bite, especially if it was exposed to hot or cold.


You had to have been wondering if it was ever going all the way back to 'normal' again.  I would have been, anyway.

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## ontariosnakelover

My bps never bitten or struck at me. My Boa Hestia on the other hand I have to read her mood since she was sold to me as a nippy aggressive baby and I was pre warned pre sale. I thought it was cute as hell. Took me awhile but I got a hand on her now. When shes jumpy or I cant read her great I have a thickish pair of work gloves on her enclosure when I dont have time to mess around. I love em <3 <3


0.1 Het VPI Boa ,Hestia
1.0 yellowbelly , Kronos
0.1 yellowbelly, Rhea

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Craiga 01453 (09-02-2018)

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## Craiga 01453

> That's what I love about snakes, really...if you take the time to communicate & don't rush or scare them accidentally, the fiercest snakes when it comes to food are 
> still "puppy dog tame" about handling.  When I've used mine for "meet & greets" with people (-many who've never met a snake before) I often think to myself "it's a 
> good thing they don't see this guy being fed" -they'd never feel safe holding or touching him, LOL!


Such a great post...

...and soo, sooooooo true. If some of my family and friends who were new to snakes or apprehensive about them had seen my snakes eat, there's no way they would have gone near them.  
I always love the inevitable "do they bite?" question too. Yes, yes they do. But I always tell them "not typically, but they are animals, so I can't 100% say no." Then I go on to explain that all animals bite. Your dog does, my cat does, my ferrets do, my fish do, hamsters do...they are animals. And that animals typically only bite when they feel threatened, so I go over the do's and dont's. 
Then I tell them that I've never been bitten by any of my snakes but Django. And I'm honest. I explain that I spooked him and it was defensive and my fault. I teach them what I did and "why" I was bitten. 

But yeah, if they saw them eat FIRST, it would have been much more challenging to teach them that my snakes aren't "scary" or dangerous.

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*Bogertophis* (09-02-2018)

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## Bogertophis

It's so ironic, because the pets that people are more familiar with (dogs, cats, small mammals, birds) ALL routinely do more damage with their bites & claws than 
our snakes ever do with their tiny teeth...but perhaps the big difference is that most of our snakes pounce aggressively on food instead of taking it gently from 
our hands.  Even that sweet horse that eats from your hands can easily kill you, mostly unintentionally, but instead people maintain their irrational fears of being 
strangled & consumed by a snake.   :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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Tessellate (09-09-2018)

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## Tessellate

I've only been tagged once, on the finger, resulting in a single drop of blood. Felt like being flicked. My BP was in a friend's lap chilling and when it was time to take her off, I quickly passed my hand over the snake's head. She immediately jerked back into a defensive pose. Then, like and idiot, I reached DIRECTLY FOR HER and she struck out, tagged me, and Immediately curled into a tight ball. It was entirely my fault and I still apologize to her over it.

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*Bogertophis* (09-09-2018)

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## miechBIG

> ok i was just inspired by a read through of Red FiFi's manly thread here: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...s-bite-you-LOL
> 
> so where on yo body have u been bitten by a snake? maybe u weren't wearing gloves and got bit on the hands or fingers. or maybe u were out herping and got bitten on the ankle. where were u bitten and what bite u?
> 
> 
> Edit: i've been bitten plenty of times by my BP's and Colubrids on the hands and phalanges.


i havent made it that far yet.. many strikes but no bites but Im sure when the hatchlings come along I have plenty in store..

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## Dianne

Ive continuously kept snakes since 1991, up to 42 at one time, so Ive had lots of opportunities.  Most have been defensive bites from neonates or juveniles, and lots of bites from one wild caught adult female Solomon Island ground boa.  There have only been a few large adult bites...two were totally my fault, the other was just the snake was done with handling. 

Adult male Colombian redtail, about 7...used feeding tubs at that time but this wasnt a feeding day.  Id put him in a tub to clean his cage and instead of using the hook like I usually do, I reached in to pick him up.  He bit my hand and wrapped my arm.  This is where I first put into practice the trick of pouring rubbing alcohol around the mouth, he spit me right out.  No harm to him, I had a nice set of cresent shaped punctures on the top and bottom of my hand.  

Adult female Burmese (keeping for a friend), 13 and about a week after the boa bit me (evidently I was a slow learner)...I reached in to take her out of the cage to clean it.  She was in shed and evidently asleep when I touched her.  She grabbed the same hand as the boa had, no wrapping but she wasnt letting me go either.  Alcohol worked here, too.  I bleed very well, this one was messy but no major damage because I wasnt trying to pull away.  Wrapped my hand with a towel and cleaned her cage anyway.  

Adult female Colombian redtail, about 8...I was trying to sell her as I was getting out of breeding and selling anything not specifically a pet.  Id learned to consistently use snake hooks now! It was near the end of the show and a guy was interested in her.  I had taken her out several times for prospective buyers and shed finally had enough.  She grabbed my hand and really clamped on.  Id forgotten my rubbing alcohol but hand sanitizer worked.  The guys girlfriend was saying oh h*** no...cant say I blame her too much. lol I used my other halfs handkerchief to wrap my hand and paper towels to get my blood off the floor.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):   That really freaked out the lizard vendor next to us.  I felt bad for the poor guy...and Im reasonably sure he will never keep large constrictors after that display.  The prospective buyer didnt purchase her, but I did end up selling her by the end of day...she really was a beautiful snake.

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_distaff_ (10-16-2018)

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## nikvon

Haha! Good one. Almost all of the above. I've had snakes for over 50 yrs.

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*Bogertophis* (10-16-2018)

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## bagnew

Growing up most of the snakes I kept were wild caught.  Couldn't remember if I wanted to all the times I was bitten.  In most cases the snakes were smaller that did not do to much damage.  I did get bite on the back of my arm by a relatively large 6' + Boa one time when I had it out cleaning it's cage.  It was an orphan I had taken in while looking to re-locate it for someone.  I tell most new snake keepers it is just a matter of when you will get bit it you handle snakes long enough.

Bill

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## distaff

As a kid, I had had no fear of the garters/ribbon snakes(?) I chased around the yard.  I don't think the possibility of a bite even occurred to me.

Was bit by a hatchling king, but the little thing was the size of a pencil.  It still got my heart rate going.  
The corn got me when I wasn't paying attention - I had him on my lap, was surfing the, and must have brushed carelessly by his head.  Bloody thumb, hardly any pain.

But, I've never been the same since, and that was maybe a couple of years ago.  No more casually padding around the house with a big corn draped around my shoulders.   :Sad: 

I always have a snake hook in hand now.  I am less jumpy than I was, but am still afraid I'll hurt the animal in a jerky fear reaction.  

Odd, I get bit far more (and painfully) by a couple of nippy female rats, but when they need to be moved while I'm cleaning the cages, they get gently moved, and I deal with it, whether they decide to bite or not.

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## Zincubus

Hands and forearms only thankfully ..

Bitten by one Royal , a few Boas , a Woma python and I was repeatedly tagged by this little beggar who had lightening reflexes and razor sharp teeth !!

Thai Red Bamboo Rat snake ( Oreocryptophis Porphyraceus Coxi ) 

He was probably my scariest snake - thankfully he was only 18 long  :Smile: 




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AutumnVanilla (05-06-2022),*Bogertophis* (05-15-2022)

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