HELP! I think my bp is angry but im not sure.

I am sorry but that video was just hilarious.

OBVIOUSLY a ball python cannot eat you. At some point, the snake will figure that out and let go. The guy wasn't even bleeding! It couldn't have hurt that much. I am sure you have felt much worse pain in your life then a possible ball python bite.

As for the biting with no warning? That doesn't really happen all too often.

Something similar to what happened to the guy in the video happened to me about a year and a half ago. BTW, I've had my BP 7 years now and this is the ONLY time he has ever bitten me. I have to admit that I reacted very poorly to the situation, and I had already owned him for 5 1/2 years at that point, so it's not like I was brand new to caring for a BP. Anyway, I reached in my BPs tub to do a little maintenance, like I always do. I washed my hands and everything, so I didn't have any kind of mouse scent on me. Well, this particular time I reached in he decided that my finger looked like a juicy mouse. He shot across the tub and latched on to my finger. It completely caught me off guard and I pulled him off of my finger and ran into the bathroom to wash my finger off and stop the bleeding. Fortunately, everything was fine with my BP after this incident. I took him to a vet to make sure of this, because I wanted to make sure I didn't do any damage to him. Unfortunately, I now have a numb finger from the experience because the incident caused nerve damage in my finger. You know why I now have nerve damage in my finger? It's not from him biting me. It's from me reacting very poorly and pulling him off of my finger the way I did. I basically tore up the nerve in my finger by doing this. If I had stayed calm and just slowly worked with him in that situation, I'd still have feeling in that finger and wouldn't have risked harm to him as well. The point I'm trying to make with this story is that BPs are wild animals and can be unpredictable like any wild animal can be. When you decide to handle a BP, or even just get close to one when doing tank maintenance or whatever, know that 99 times out of 100 you'll be fine. There's always a chance that a BP can still bite you and you have to be prepared for that. When you reach into the tank to either pick him up or something else, take a good look at him and see what kind of mood he is in. Move slowly too. The day he bit me, I made the dumb mistake of not checking him out first so he could have put himself in a "strike position" and I didn't realize it. Plus, he was due for a feeding when this happened too. A hungry snake can just react in a way where he sees something move and decides that might be something he might try to go after. Not trying to scare anyone with this story or anything, but I'm just saying that they aren't cute cuddly animals that can be trained. They are wild animals that can be unpredictable sometimes and have to be treated as such. Going into this hobby, you have to realize that. We're all human and may react poorly to a situation. I did. I learned from it and still have my BP today. Learn from your mistakes and move on.

id be more careful girls... if that ball python wraps you and bites you i dont think you will make it out alive.

Heh,

This is one reason why videos on youtube get on my nerves a lot of the time - there is never enough context or information to go along with them.

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Originally Posted by wispurs

how could that not look terrifying, that snake actually thought he could swallow that guys hand and was seriously going to try to do so. you guys are insane if you think thats cute. whats worse is... you notice how he had to turn the video off before he got the snake off.... you really think he just had a nice calm talk with the snake and convinced him to let go??? I think not!! he probably had to smash his head or do something really bad to him to make him let go... :(

How adorable.. i guess i shouldn't overreact. :tears:

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I'll bet dollars to donuts that before he showed the ball pythons he showed youtube his rodents. :giggle:

I actually suspect he stopped the tape so the cameraperson could hold the body of the snake so he could reach for a spray bottle to squirt the snake with. ;)

And, seriously, look at the size of the snakes head and the size of your hand. :rolleyes:

I've made a Stupid Feeding Error with a nice big girl and got my hand struck, wrapped and constricted. No head smashing was required except mine against a wall for being so stupid.

Oh and they don't have fangs they have teeth - and they are very sharp but also very short. Any wounds will be superficial and very hard to see when you have wiped them clean.

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Originally Posted by exotica0095

also why did the man just let the snake hang on like that why couldnt he get the snake off him? WHat would of happend if he started pulling on the snake or put his finger in the snakes mouth?


so i guess just because we are here asking questions and its our first snake & the fact we get scared sometimes means we should just give up and get rid of it? While we at it we should of got rid of our feral cat (she use to scare us at first) we resuced that was suppose to be put to sleep by the humane society, or the dog wispurs saved from an abusive house (scared us at first with his fear growling), hell maybe i should get rid of wispurs (she scares me when she gets mad sometimes) and everything else in my life that might give me some kind of a fear issue.

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He let the snake hang on like that to avoid hurting it. Their teeth angle backwards to help them hang on and if you just yanked your hand away you could end up pulling out a few of their teeth - which could be a way for an infection to get started.

You can usually get them to let go with a squirt of water or a little alcohol - but it's easier if you have free hands.

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Originally Posted by exotica0095

i guess we dont fully understand what happend in that video

the snake didnt give any warning signs he just bit down i guess they hiss if its defensive but if ur scented with prey like that or really hungry they just bite down?

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If you look the snake was giving him warning signs from the second he opened the tub. The way it was poised when he first opened it was a sure sign - if he had tapped it gently on the top of the head with a water bottle or something it would have been snapped out of feeding mode and he would have been less likely to have been bitten. Or, you know, not smell like it's dinner. :rofl:

As a side point I think he was mistaken about that snake only eating live - if any of mine had done that I would have been relatively certain they would eat an appropriately heated F/T.

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Originally Posted by Jt.

Snakes or wispurs and exotica?

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Play nice. :colbert:


dr del

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wispurs

how could that not look terrifying, that snake actually thought he could swallow that guys hand and was seriously going to try to do so. you guys are insane if you think thats cute. whats worse is... you notice how he had to turn the video off before he got the snake off.... you really think he just had a nice calm talk with the snake and convinced him to let go??? I think not!! he probably had to smash his head or do something really bad to him to make him let go... :(

How adorable.. i guess i shouldn't overreact. :tears:

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if youre talking about smashing its head in you dont need to own a snake....ever....just saying

What Del said. Remember what I told you about a snake's attitude when it's looking for food? The beginning of that video clearly shows it, when he lifts the lid--the snake moves forward, its neck in an S-shape, and it's rigid. It's tongue-flicking a lot. Snakes smell by flicking their tongues out to collect scent particles, then transferring them to the Jacobson's organ inside their mouth (they don't smell using their noses).

So, right at the opening of the video, we see that the snake is hungry. Then he picks it up. The snake explores a bit, tongue flicking, then grabs his hand. I truly think he must have had his hands on some rodents--the snake was very precise about grabbing his hand after it had thoroughly smelled it.

It is a very non-aggressive grab, actually. Could this be a snake used to eating frozen/thawed? It did not have the attitude of expecting the food to fight back. That was more the move of a snake about to swallow a food item that is already dead.

I also noticed that this fellow had previous wounds on his hand, which leads me to wonder if this whole thing was deliberately staged. Keep in mind, people will do crazy things to make a cool video. Handling dead rodents and then picking up the snake, KNOWING what it will do, is an easy way to film a snake bite.

The advice you're getting from Del is also VERY important. If you are bitten by your snake--and make no mistake about it, EVENTUALLY it will happen--do NOT pull away. If you pull away, not only will you hurt yourself a LOT more, but you may hurt or even lead to the death of the snake. Breaking its fragile teeth off in your skin would not be good for EITHER of you. So don't panic if it happens. Stay calm, and be still. You can gently try unwrapping the snake, starting at the tail, run it under water, etc. In reality, the snake will let go of you as soon as it realizes something is wrong. It doesn't want to eat YOU...once it figures out that it's biting YOU, it will let go on its own.

A bite like this one was not an act of anger, aggression, or 'mean-ness'. The snake actually made a mistake. It was an accident. If you snake bites you this way--forgive him. He didn't mean it.

The reason the snake does not let go immediately is because a python's instincts are VERY strong. When they grab ahold of something and it moves, their instincts tell them to constrict it until it stops moving. This isn't something they can control--it's hardwired into them, and it's their nature. Once that powerful instinct releases, then they can make the decision to let go. They cannot control this instinct, you see? They have no choice but to constrict if something they identified as food in their mouth starts moving.

Snakes have poor vision, and they rely on scent and warmth to identify what is around them. This snake thought it smelled food (perhaps it did!). It just carefully picked up what it THOUGHT was food, using its mouth. When the 'food' started to move, it got more confused...its instinct to constrict was triggered, so that's what it did.

Off camera, most likely the snake was simply carefully unwrapped, and let go of his hand once it was no longer properly constricting him.

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Originally Posted by WingedWolfPsion

What Del said. Remember what I told you about a snake's attitude when it's looking for food? The beginning of that video clearly shows it, when he lifts the lid--the snake moves forward, its neck in an S-shape, and it's rigid. It's tongue-flicking a lot. Snakes smell by flicking their tongues out to collect scent particles, then transferring them to the Jacobson's organ inside their mouth (they don't smell using their noses).

So, right at the opening of the video, we see that the snake is hungry. Then he picks it up. The snake explores a bit, tongue flicking, then grabs his hand. I truly think he must have had his hands on some rodents--the snake was very precise about grabbing his hand after it had thoroughly smelled it.

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Yeah, I went back and watched the video again and you could definitely see the snake showing all of the warning signs as soon as he opened that lid!

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It is a very non-aggressive grab, actually. Could this be a snake used to eating frozen/thawed? It did not have the attitude of expecting the food to fight back. That was more the move of a snake about to swallow a food item that is already dead.

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He actually said in the video that it gets fed live! He said, "This is what happens when you have a snake that has only ever eaten live food. He sees something moving and thinks it's his dinner."

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I also noticed that this fellow had previous wounds on his hand, which leads me to wonder if this whole thing was deliberately staged. Keep in mind, people will do crazy things to make a cool video. Handling dead rodents and then picking up the snake, KNOWING what it will do, is an easy way to film a snake bite.

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I would agree considering the warning signs the snake was showing and the handler seemed to totally ignore that.

quick question sometimes when i hold bb he does that s shaped thing just while hes on me and im moving around he doesnt hiss or flick his tongue but ive seen him in that postion a few times when im moving him usually?

Here's the follow up video. As you can see, there's some blood on his hand but nothing major! He was able to get it off eventually without having to smash it's head in or anything like that! If you read his comments below the video on YouTube, he basically says it wasn't that big a deal pain wise and he's had worse from other animals. So, his hand is still in tact and the snake is fine as well. :)

YouTube - The aftermath of the ball python bite

Hi,

The thing to look for is the amount of tension in the muscles. :gj:


dr del

Heh,

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Originally Posted by BPsRule

Here's the follow up video. As you can see, there's some blood on his hand but nothing major! He was able to get it off eventually without having to smash it's head in or anything like that! If you read his comments below the video on YouTube, he basically says it wasn't that big a deal pain wise and he's had worse from other animals. So, his hand is still in tact and the snake is fine as well. :)

YouTube - The aftermath of the ball python bite

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Can I call him a wuss? :P


dr del

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Originally Posted by exotica0095

quick question sometimes when i hold bb he does that s shaped thing just while hes on me and im moving around he doesnt hiss or flick his tongue but ive seen him in that postion a few times when im moving him usually?

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It's actually a bit misleading when folks describe a simple "s" shape as a warning for a potential bite. They are all neck and slender body...the shape of an "s" is simply a natural part of their movement that in-and-of-itself is nothing in particular to worry about.

I'm not sure how to accurately describe a truly offensive posture to someone who wouldn't recognize it anyhow. It can be a very subtle thing to notice for someone unfamiliar with the body language of snakes. I do believe, however, it's one of those things that you'll just know when you see it. Their whole body tenses and the neck draws back sharply like a coil ready to spring and they stare VERY intently at their target. There's more to it than the simple "s" shape a snake makes.

If he really knew anything, and wasn't doing it for show (probable) all you have to do is stay still, and wait. Or, get a tiny tiny tiny tiny drip of alcohol, any snake hate that in the mouth area, just not too much it could kill them. Vinegar works too. Heck even a spray bottle would annoy it.
But waiting was probably what he did once the video was off.

Either rationalize your fears, and if you can't, get rid of the animal. Give it to someone who won't resort to such randomly extreme measures, for the safety of the ball python.

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Originally Posted by dr del

Heh,



Can I call him a wuss? :P


dr del

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I think you just did! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by exotica0095

quick question sometimes when i hold bb he does that s shaped thing just while hes on me and im moving around he doesnt hiss or flick his tongue but ive seen him in that postion a few times when im moving him usually?

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unlike everyone else im not going to be nice anymore

ok after what you guys put that snake through, im going to have to believe you have a ball python that is like 99% of other ball pythons, and their not aggressive and you can do just about anything to them and they still won't bite you.

your snake isn't going to bite you, just because a snake can doesn't mean it will.

heres your logic...have you guys ever been around a normal size dog? unlike ball pythons they have the potential to rip you to pieces and kill you. I'm sure I can go on youtube and find a dog attacking someone, are you afraid of dogs now? but im sure you go up to them all the time and pet them

how bout cars now, I can show you videos of people dieing in cars, my friends mom died in a car accident a few weeks ago, are you afraid of cars now? but you get in a car everyday

but somehow you think its logical to be afraid of a ball python?? which in the worst case it will make you bleed. and also the fact the snake never hissed or struck at you, so im about...not even 99% sure, im 100% sure it wasn't going to bite you.

stop trying to justify what you guys did/are doing over a stupid youtube video and listen to what everyone else on the 7 pages of this forum are telling you. Eigher get rid of the snake or let it sink into your head, your snake isn't going to bite you, and even if it happens, who gives a crap. I would have words to decribe you guys based off your actions that attack your IQ, but that would be name calling and thats not allowed.

im done on this thread

I repeat what I said.

You two have NO business owning a snake! I don't give a crap how many feral this or stray that or homeless whatever you to pathetic drama queens have, you are being completely unreasonable about this snake, and therefore you need to give it to someone who can care for it the way you can't!

Personally, I think you two just come here and act ridiculous to get attention for yourselves. You don't care about the snake or anything else, just making yourselves the center of attention. All of this because of a YouTube video? PLEASE! Do you have any idea of how many retarded videos there are on that site showing moronic people doing dumb things just to see how many hits they can get?

It's like what my mom used to ask me, " If someone else jumped off the golden gate bridge would you do it to?" Just because some dork with nothing better to do with his time decided to shoot a video of himself being stupid with a snake, doesn't mean every person who owns a snake spends their life terrified of a bite. You are being ridiculous about this, plain and simple.

Of the several hundred BP owners here, even first time owners, NO ONE has ever behaved like you two before or after a bite. If you can't come to terms with the fact that you to are acting like spoiled two-year olds who didn't get ice cream after dinner with this snake, then stop coming here wanting sympathy and deal with it on your own. There is no excuse for acting the way you two do, unless it is just to be the center of attention.

As for me, I wash my hands of this business. It's up to you now, grow up or shut up, period.

Gale

you go gale!

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Originally Posted by dr del

Play nice. :colbert:


dr del

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Sorry. :oops:


Edit: If that guy wiped the blood off of his hand you wouldn't even be able to see the bite marks left from his near death experience. :rolleyes:

Don't get rid of your snake. Study him, learn him, and raise him. Everyone has a "first" snake, and I'm sure probably had the same questions, whether you asked them online, or looked them up...

..Honestly? From everything I've read, you two need to rehome your snake to someone who's going to be responsible. You're given tons of advice, but hey, you two obviously know better than people who have years of experience.

If you want to sleep with something, get a dog. Better yet, a stuffed toy.

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Originally Posted by Raptor

..Honestly? From everything I've read, you two need to rehome your snake to someone who's going to be responsible. You're given tons of advice, but hey, you two obviously know better than people who have years of experience.

If you want to sleep with something, get a dog. Better yet, a stuffed toy.

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wtf, obviously you havnt read much, as i have stated MULTIPLE times, that was one time, on the first night and i admitted it was a poor and uneducated judgement call made out of fear the snake would freeze. SO SORRY!!!

Since then i have learned a lot about snakes and mostly from the people here who gave out good advice and took the time to explain things to me.

If you arent going to help. go away, dont come here just to down talk us or tell us to get rid of our snake. if you dont like us, dont waste our time responding unless you are going to say something helpful.

Thanks.

You guys, you can't just tell people to get rid of their snake because you think they are irresponsible owners. These girls are obviously new to owning a snake and need to learn more about them, they just need to learn a bit more safely.

Telling them to just give up on having this little guy as a pet seems pretty ridiculous in my opinion. They obviously care about the animal a lot. They care enough to come here and ask for help even if they go about it in the wrong way.

If they ask for help you give help, not reasons why they shouldn't have the animal. That is not our call to make.

That's all true, but those posts are in reaction to screaming for 911 because it looked at her.

Wispurs, you have just thanked me for defending the posts saying you should get rid of your snake because you are irresponsible and irrationally panicky.

All I can say is "WOW" - this whole thread is absolutely rediculous.

That snake does not have a chance in %^!! of surviving.

How sad!!!!!

And the thank has moved, how's that work?

Anyway, some people were a bit harsh, but that was a very dangerous reaction. I mean, look at what can happen: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...341654#1341654

It is a valid point that if this incident going to be repeated, then the snake should be put in a home where this sort of thing won't happen.

I do agree that simply yelling "Get rid of your snake!" is not a good reaction.

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Originally Posted by stevepoppers

And the thank has moved, how's that work?

Anyway, some people were a bit harsh, but that was a very dangerous reaction. I mean, look at what can happen: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...341654#1341654

It is a valid point that if this incident going to be repeated, then the snake should be put in a home where this sort of thing won't happen.

I do agree that simply yelling "Get rid of your snake!" is not a good reaction.

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well at least no harm came to the snake in the end! :rofl:

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Originally Posted by stevepoppers

Wispurs, you have just thanked me for defending the posts saying you should get rid of your snake because you are irresponsible and irrationally panicky.

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Yea, that was a mistake, i meant to thank Kaorte.. No worries, i removed my thanks and gave it to the proper recipient.

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Originally Posted by L.West

All I can say is "WOW" - this whole thread is absolutely rediculous.

That snake does not have a chance in %^!! of surviving.

How sad!!!!!

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whats ridicules is the amount of hate posts on here saying nothing useful but screaming "GET RID OF THE SNAKE"

also about the 911 call it was wispurs who was saying that i love how people here link us both together the exact same if i got bit by a snake i would not call 911 it was her idea its funny how some people here dont have the brains to differentiate between us :rolleyes:

I assume that once you do get help, you take it and learn, and go on your way. Although some have been harsh, you still have not seemed to improve at all and were still for a very long time defending your horrible reactions (both of you).

If an abusive parent can't care for a kid, I say take the kid away for it's safety. I'm not into the whole "but the parent still loves it!!!!!!!!!" point of view. :colbert:

I'm in for the safety of the ball python, not the slow learning of the parent.

(On a side note, I have yet to see screaming. Most people said get rid of it sure, but I see no capslocks (thats how you scream online right?))

How about even though their reaction was ludicrous and unjustified, that we give them the benefit of the doubt. Some people are very slow learners. Have you ever met a first time parent that is completely clueless? These girls are the same way. It is so easy to overreact in new and strange situations. I think the constructive way to talk to them would be to try to help them as much as we can. That doesn't mean I agree with the things they freaked out about, just that we all make mistakes in the learning process.

My advice to you girls is to do a search on the forums before you actually make a post. You may be able to find an answer and avoid all the melodrama. Also, if another panic attack occurs don't post it on here because every one has the right to their own opinion and they WILL give it to you without hesitation.



Good luck and happy herping, there's always something new to learn about these guys and this is an excellent place to get info! :)

Methinks those who are quick to defend have missed the recent flood of threads and have just joined the party in this one. Just a hunch.

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Originally Posted by MustBeSatan

Methinks those who are quick to defend have missed the recent flood of threads and have just joined the party in this one. Just a hunch.

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I concur !

:teevee:: sit back to watch the show :rolleyes:

I would like to buy some "ATTENTION' for $2.50 please!


:weirdface

thanx for the 20 minutes, of fun filled fun, poor snake, as stated not a snow balls chance in of surrviving, well correctly i've seen burms survinving outside in cages for a while, it will cut its life down, but hey as long as the girls are having fun with the "social" pet