How do you guys not flinch when feeding f/t

I dunno why I don't flinch, I guess that it's because my little guy is only 300g :P. He'll still strike so hard that it nearly tears the tongs out of my hands, now THAT I'd like to stop. He's as enthusiastic about his food as I am about mine! I'll post a better feeding/eating video as soon as I have a cameraman.

I keep my snake in a viv, so I brace my arm on the top of the enclosure and then just move my wrist with the tongs. Resting my arm on something has kept me from pulling back, especially at first.

Last week when my girl took her first "off the tongs" f/t I flinched a little. Made me feel like a dork because my 6yo daughter who was standing by watching her didn't flinch and was like "That was so cool!" :oops:

This seems strange to me, only because I've never flinched. Then again, my set-up is a little different, so maybe I feel more comfortable and less exposed.

I use tongs to feed all my animals, as I can position it better than worrying about my hand. My corn snake has a fantastic feeding response. She's great! I thaw her mousey in hot water so it's got a strong heat signature. I walk into the room and she'll immediately track me. Her enclosure has the front fold down door. So I'll take her wet mousey with the tongs and hold it into her enclosure. I angle my hand upward so that the mouse is between my hand and her. I'll move the mouse just a bit and 'walk it around' so that she's actively tracking it (again, away from myself) and then BOOM! She'll hit so hard it usually twists the tongs out of my hand. A few times she's coiled the tongs too, and I've had to go get them later once she seperated the mousey from them.

But, I never really flinch. Probably because I know she'll twist my tongs away if I lose my grip, and I don't want to have to reach in there later, haha. Plus, she always strikes so precisely. I become more impressed with her skill rather than worrying about me getting bit.

The ONLY time she's ever tracked me and looked like she was checking out my hand was when the mousey had run just a little too cool. A quick dip in hot water helped her get her aim back instead of checking me out, and she hit it like a truck.

Gosh I love that girl. She's SO big for a corn snake. And strong. Fantastic animal.

As far as tips for flinching, just don't worry about it. The more you focus on it, the more your body becomes hyper aware. Just let it happen. You know it's going to happen. You know the snake is going to strike. It's going to hit harder than you expected. So don't try to control the situation. Just be there, do your thing, do it safely and move slowly so that you have time to read the situation. If your snake is known for waiting at the edge of the bin, stand to the side with your arm above holding the mouse, so that you're putting the mouse/rat between you and the snake.

Before I feed, I make sure to take a deep breath and prepare myself for the strike--that way I don't jump or get caught off guard.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

Best thing I ever saw--friend of mine was feeding a huge female, and as soon as he opened the bin, she launched herself out right at him. He screamed, jumped back, and threw the rat at her---she caught it in mid air, lol.

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I hope you never let him live that down. lol that's great.

I used to flinch, but I guess I did get use to it, for me it's more knowing that jumping can only make things worse, so I made a conscious effort to not flinch, now I don't even think about it. I don't feed with tongs, I don't know why, never have. Now if something catches me by surprise, I still haven't lost that instinctual urge to get out of the way of it, doubt I will. During feeding though, I pretty much know what to expect so there isn't too many surprises, but they happen.

I still jump. I cant help it. Even though its no surprise as to whats gunna happen they still always catch me off guard lol.

I drop the f/t in the tub and even if i watch the strike thru a closed tub i still flinch. Its kinda like an excitement thing i think lol.