He tried to swallow my finger!
This happened a little over a day after I fed him a small rat. I pulled him out of the tank just to have some touchy feely time. I was holding his head side in my right hand and his tail side was draped over my left wrist. He was bobbing and weaving, swishing and swaying, checking everything out. Smelling my room and looking in every direction. My left hand was open since he was draped over my wrist. He moved towards my pointer finger and sniffed. He didn't strike or bite but he opened his mouth like he was ready to swallow a fresh kill... Now it could have been a yawn but when I clenched my hand into a fist he followed my finger and half-heartedly gave up when he saw it wasn't accessible.
Telling a story often causes me to use misdirection to keep the readers interest, though I don't lie. ;)
He spends a lot of time outside his hide paying attention to what I'm doing, which makes me think he's hungry. I just fed him a small rat a couple days ago. The previous owners fed him once every two weeks which may not have been enough. The only way I'll really know is if I offer him something to eat.
The title of my post brings a question to my mind. What if he had bitten my finger or something else...What's the best way to get him off?
I have a dog and a cat who are very curious and sit a distance away staring. If Zeek smells them does that make him nervous? Will he get used to it if he smells them and nothing bad happens? If I have him on my shoulders or around my neck while I'm sitting at my computer and the cat or dog get close, what kind of problems might that cause? Would he get used to that interaction?
Today I brought him out and set him in my lap while I sat on the edge of my bed. He went searching nearly his body length towards my pillows before I stopped him. Then he went towards my shelves and I stopped him before he could get too entangled in the uprights. He went down the side of my bed but I didn't have to stop him at any time before he came back up at probed the surface.
I am really excited to have a friendly snake that doesn't mind being handled and is very inquisitive. Honestly when I first took ownership of the 3'6" python I was a little scared. I've never handled a snake so big and I've never been the one to pull a snake out of it's enclosure. Zeek has been a great suprise and a first owners dream. I'm sure if anyone who had been into ball pythons for a great deal of time had imagined a snake for someone getting into the hobby to have, their expectations would have been exceeded by Zeek, he's great.
Re: He tried to swallow my finger!
I personally try to keep my snakes and my dogs apart. They don't really pay any attention to the snakes however I have caught Elizabeth "sizing" up Rain...who is wayyyyyyyyyy to big for her. However I was worried about Elizabeth trying to bite her ear and the dog going crazy with the snake still hanging on. Not a pretty picture in my mind. So with that being said...I keep them fairly apart.
As far as what to do it they bite and hold on....don't pull...they can loose a tooth. I have never been bitten ....YET...however I read this and it made perfect sense to me. Take the snake to the sink and run warm water over the snake. NOT TOO HOT!! They should let go at that point.
Re: He tried to swallow my finger!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BPelizabeth
Take the snake to the sink and run warm water over the snake. NOT TOO HOT!! They should let go at that point.
:gj:
Re: He tried to swallow my finger!
To all my other animals my bedroom is off limits, and that's why I'm keeping my snake there. The mammals get the rest of the house to do what they will.
I'm not really worried about the snake biting me, I think I can adjust. I'm worried that he will bite another animial and how I should act at that point. This scenario will never come to pass in my control unless I know how to deal with it. I hope even at that point it doesn't happen. What if he bites on a cats paw or my dogs snout, who knows how that may come to pass. How do I separate them?
Re: He tried to swallow my finger!
If you don't let the snakes canoodle with the mammals, then there should be no risk of inter-species bites.
As for the cruising snake, most ball pythons really won't leave their hides unless its feeding day. If your snakes is out of its hides during the day I would be a little concerned and look at your husbandry a bit more closely.
What kind of hides does zeek have? How are you measuring and regulating the heat source? How much does he weigh or how old is he?