Im scared my BP might bite me

[bamf64]

Well, im not scared really im just worried because if she bites me my mom will make me give her away. When i hold her, she seems like she wants to bite me. Her tounge is always moving like shes looking for food, and sometimes she just gives me the "deathstare".

Is there any way i can make sure she doesnt bite me?

I usually hold her 3-5 days after feeding her, and i feed her in her tank every 7-10 days but am going to start feeding her in her tub.

Advice?

[Omunall]

Hmm, it's not going to happen if you follow simple rules. The ONLY time i've had my python strike was last night, when she escaped after a feed and i was looking for her. I think she was in hunting mode, i made a loud noice looking for her, and all of the fear and hunger combined sort of mixes to a feisty snake, but one that isn't trying to bite me. (It would much rather bite another pet mouse, and not me haha)

From everything i've experianced and from what i've seen of other snakes, ball pythons are the most tame reptile you can own. If your mother feels that a simple tag is enough to warrant getting rid of the animal, i'd suggest finding a place to take it and give it away. Too many people get reptiles for pets and don't understand that they have different requirements than your normal pet. If your cat scratches you, will you get rid of the animal? Probably not, but the thing about that is the cat was scratching you out of a mild aggression. If the snake tags you, it's no where near a mean act from the snake, and it's probably just hungry (or if you're eing overly excited, letting others handle it and pass it around, i would not be surprised about a tag)

Best advice would be to explain to your mother that it's a snake, and if it bites, it probably will not happen again. They are near harmless, but just keep away from the face (a solid strike to the eye would do some damage i'd think) and follow some very simple rules to keep the animal from harm, but don't worry too much about yourself.

Sorry, but i don't think there will be much help for this. If a snake strikes, it's an experiance at most. I hear younger keepers that say their mothers won't let them feed live (and the snake wouldn't eat frozen) and want to know what to do. It's all the same thing, won't eat and can't feed it something it will. Mom always has her worries, and that's just how it's going to go haha. If she says no go on basic care or actions that the pet may do, then listen to your mom and let her know it's going to happen, or need to happen, and if she's not okay with it then the snake isn't your pet. Go talk with her, she may be okay with the little live bite you can receive, and it's more or less a one time occasion if you do.

[j_h_smith]

A snake flicking its tongue does not mean it wants to bite you. This is how they explore their world. If your snake is going to bite you, he will usually pull his head back and form a tight "S" shape, but that doesn't always mean they are going to bite. I

f you have been holding it for some time and you haven't been bit, you probably don't have an agressive snake. So I wouldn't worry about it. If it does bite you, wash the bite off with lots of water and the small amount of blood that might appear will stop very soon.

The act of the strike is more scary than the bite hurts.

Don't let it bother you. Enjoy your snake, everything should be fine. Just remember to wash your hands before and after you pick up and hold your snake.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

[AkHerps]

Flicking the tongue a lot is very normal when being held, they are exploring. Our older snake randomly stares at me in the face for long periods of time, it freaks me out sometimes so I just gently move him to the side haha, I don't think it really means anything.

If you are careful with the snake, I don't think you'll get bitten.

Be careful around shedding time, some snakes can be very grumpy.

Feeding in a cage doesn't usually create cage aggression, just don't hold them the day of feeding, and you know the rules for not holding them after.

Just make sure to look at the signs, if they seem more jumpy or freaked out than usual, give them some space. I don't think most well handled balls bite out of aggression, most likely it's out of fear.

[maverickgtr]

When they flick their tongue out, they're just smelling. They smell by putting the tips of their tongues into two spots in the top of their mouth that acts like our nose. They flick their tongues when they're exploring. And the staring is just a thing they do sometimes. Our female does it a lot. She'll just stop exploring and stare at me for a minute then randomly start exploring again. I've started making faces at her when she does it haha

Not sure of any ways to keep them from biting, just try not to handle them right before and after sheds and if she looks grumpy just leave her be for a day or so.

You don't necessarily have to feed her in a separate tub. We feed both our ball pythons in the tank and they don't have any cage aggression.

Just talk to your mom. The best thing to do is educate her with knowledge about ball pythons rather than just the misconceptions she has about snakes in general.

[55Ballin]

When the snake starts a slow, long flicker it may follow by into a defensive action (balling, hissing, or possibly striking). Mine does this when I first reach in his cage. I just SLOWLY move my hand so that she can smell it. Generally, you don't pet someone else's dog without letting it sniff you out first to make sure you're ok, same thing with a snake. They have to make sure you aren't a predator or food.

[WingedWolfPsion]

A snake will bite for one of two reasons: It's hungry, or it's frightened and wants to defend itself.

A hungry snake will reach forward with its neck curved, head and upper body elevated, and flick its tongue rapidly while focusing on the point of interest.

A frightened snake will pull its head back into an S shape, elevated, and it will be very tense--you can actually see their jaw muscles clench.

A bite from a baby ball python is much less serious than a bite or scratch from a kitten.

Bites will happen sometimes--they are always the fault of the keeper, not the snake. A keeper may misread a snake's body language, or forget to wash their hands after handling a rodent (the most common cause of accidental feeding bites).

If your snake does bite you, do NOT pull away--remain still, even if it coils your hand. You absolutely do not want to try to forcibly remove the snake. Doing so will not only cause damage to you, but can break the snake's fragile teeth, which may result in a life-threatening infection. Let it release you on its own. A snake that accidentally bites you looking for food will let go of you as soon as you are still, and it realizes that it made a mistake. It doesn't want to eat YOU, after all...it just saw something warm and moving, and thought it was food.

Defensive bites are released immediately--again, don't pull away, and don't panic. The bite barely hurts at all. It will bleed, but the bleeding flushes the bite wound and stops very quickly. These bites usually heal so fast, you won't even know it happened after just 2 or 3 days. It's no worse than some tiny needle pokes.

A curious snake will reach forward with its neck fairly straight, and flick its tongue to gather information about its surroundings. It will often touch surfaces with its chin as it explores. Remember, ball pythons have poor eyesight, and poor hearing. Their primary means of learning about their world is through scent and heat.

[BPsRule]

Believe it or not I just got tagged by mine earlier today. Only the second time he's done it to me in 8 years. I've had some things come up lately and fell behind with his feeding schedule so he thought my arm was food I guess. I barely felt a thing. In fact, I was actually surprised that I was bleeding from it since I didn't hardly feel it at all. Just a little pinch basically. A dog bite would hurt much worse. He did get me on my finger a couple of years ago and that was painful since he tagged me right on the nerve in my finger and plus your finger has a lot less meat than your arm does. It's something that you're going to have to get over since they are wild animals and the possibility of getting bitten will always be there, even if it is pretty rare. Just learn to read your snake's reactions when you're about to handle it. I made the goofy mistake today of not doing that like I usually do and he caught me off guard. Still, not a big deal though. If it ever does happen, stay calm. You can do more damage to him in that situation than he can do to you. Afterward, wash yourself good with soap and water and chances are you'll barely even notice anything once any bleeding stops.

[tonyaltn]

I woulod also like to add (Unless I missed it in a previous post) that you shouldnt mess around in the tank near your Snake when its in shed, thats how I got my first bite...he had his full eyecaps and I didnt notice right away, its my first Snake so Im learning.
I agree with the others about the cat scratch, I would rather get bit by my BP than scratched or bit by my cat anyday!
And also I agree about feeing in the cage, it seems almost everyone here feeds them that way and have no issues, I am also an in tank feeder. I feed every 10 days and I dont mess with him around feeding time either so he dont mistake my hand for his meal. Tomorrow is feeding day..yay, means hes gonna poop again in a few days, ugh, lol.

I would also have your mom read some of these posts, might help put her mind at ease over a little snake bite.

[Flatheadhunter33]

I dont want to beat it into the ground by repeating what everyone else has already posted here. I'll just say that while Im fairly new to BPs Ive had other snakes before. Very real fact is that most people who own snakes as pets are bound to get struck at some point for a long list of reasons...just be careful around the snake and try not stress it. While strike wont hurt with smaller snakes...pulling away (if the snake decides to hold on or get stuck on you) will cause some pain. You're doing good by paying attnetion to it's posturing. When I think that my snakes are considering a strike while Im holding them, I slowly change my hand position in order to support them a bit more secure with one hand underneath the front portion of the body (I usually bring it up to the snake's chin VERY SLOWLY). This seems to snap them out of the transe like stare they get...then I put them back in their enclosure to give them a little alone time. This worked for my boa I used to have and it seems to be working for my BPs. I hope it helps you!