POLL: Have you been bit by a BP?

I just got bitten a few hours ago! It was feeding time and I was placing her in her feed tray - which she knows - and she was so enthusiastic that she mistook my hand for a rat. (I never touched the food but she probably just saw 'warm moving thing, YUM')

I yelped but it didn't hurt much actually. The snake let go and looked all bewildered for a minute! Then she found the rat and ate without further problems while I found a band-aid. It's all my fault, really, for getting too close to her hungry snout :)

Never yet bitten by a Ball python, young or old. If I ever do get tagged, it'll either be by a young hatchling when I get into breeding, or by my pissy male het albino. He hasn't even bluff-struck yet, but he flinches and hisses whenever he's bothered or touched, so we shall see.

I have, however been tagged by an adult corn snake. :) The shock of actually being bitten bothered me more than the bite.

Yes, and it scared the crap out of me. You want to see something amazing? Look up the word "scared" in the Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary!!!!!!

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Originally Posted by Argentra

Never yet bitten by a Ball python, young or old. If I ever do get tagged, it'll either be by a young hatchling when I get into breeding, or by my pissy male het albino. He hasn't even bluff-struck yet, but he flinches and hisses whenever he's bothered or touched, so we shall see.

I have, however been tagged by an adult corn snake. :) The shock of actually being bitten bothered me more than the bite.

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Funny our het Albino male is like that too. His baby name was Mr. Hissy Pants he was so mouthy. He's just that though, all mouth and not much else. He always grumbles when we bother him but he's just fine once he's actually out of his tub.

I never got tagged from 05 to 08. Then we got 2 clutches of hatchlings and well I'm pretty much snake chow lately. Those little boogerheads are sure fast at the chew on Jo thing LOL.

I just got bit about 5 times in a row by a female that I was stealing some eggs from. It doesn't hurt much but does give a good scare.

I haven't been bit but I've seen people get bit.

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Originally Posted by Argentra

Never yet bitten by a Ball python, young or old. If I ever do get tagged, it'll either be by a young hatchling when I get into breeding, or by my pissy male het albino. He hasn't even bluff-struck yet, but he flinches and hisses whenever he's bothered or touched, so we shall see.

I have, however been tagged by an adult corn snake. :) The shock of actually being bitten bothered me more than the bite.

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It's almost like.. it scares your heart! It doesn't even hurt but for some reason we have a natural reaction that scares the crap out of us.

Also, I've never been bitten by my female corn.. which is incredibly surprising considering she's so.. fidgety and fearful.
My ball bit me the other day because I was checking his heat and he's in shed. I was basically stupid.
HEY LETS GO STICK OUR HAND IN OUR SNAKES HIDE TO FEEL THE WARMTH.
The reason was because I wasn't sure it was getting warm enough through the substrate and the power had just went out so I was making sure it was warm.
Maybe I could've checked under the tub.. ahah.

I have been bitten by the mice and rats that i feed my snakes, more times my ball pythons even attempted to bite me.

Heh. I originally answered no but I just got bit a little while ago... D=

My male who is around 6 years old won't even strike at a rat, he is the calmest snake I have seen. My female pastel would hiss like no other and strike repeatedly when I first got her. After a month or two she was fine and hasn't struck or hissed since. It seems most of the ones that strike are hatchlings that are just not used to handling.

Still a solid no.

She went for my hand when I was feeding on Thursday, but luckily I saw her lock onto my hand and was ready to move by the time she went for it. Was cool to watch her miss the hand, coil back then immediately take the rat though!

I have be nailed by adult females a few times. Every time I seem to find a tooth stuck in my hand a few weeks later. And I don't care what anyone says, getting bit by a 4000g adult hurts.

Not that this was my first time being bit, but my seemingly calm Black pastel got into the striking position, so I waved my finger in front of his face and said " Oooo are you going to bite me?" yes was the anwser:P My fault entirely, you just have to learn to read your snakes.

I have been bitten once and it was my own fault. I picked up a baby in shed and it struck my finger. One dot of blood and I didn't even feel it.

I've been bitten by a super testy 14ft Granite Back Male Reticulated Python. He latched on to my finger and through his neck around my hand. He let go immediately after.. Didnt hurt too bad, but I dribbled a bit in my pants lol.

not yet!!!

:snake::taz:

I've been bitten more times then I can count. Then again with my evil granite it's easy to get four or five bites in a cage cleaning...

Once with no blood, once with very little blood.
I love sticking my fingers in his hide to feel the temperature!

i been biten by red tails and kingsnakes and only once 4 a bp funny story it was feed day and i was feed my 1st bp i ever got jak,so i had the mouse in some forceps tht where a good 18inches. i was puting it in front of his face he struck but missed the mouse the forceps and landed on my finger bit down and constricted my arm. im jus standing there say ow hey mom go get sum hot water or rubing achool she tooked to long so i bent his tail backwards not to hurt him but to get him to let go and tht something else was going on

I have yep!

no but my bci seems very intent on doing the deed herself

i was bit once because i was careless when feeding, he didnt want the mouse and he came up and grabbed my finger, though i wasnt sure why he didnt want this mouse and he wanted the other, unthawed more the once at the store maybe?

I haven't been bit by any of my snakes but... to be honest... I'd rather get the initial bite out of the way so that I don't have that ""Oh my goodness my snakey-poo might bite me tonight." I'd rather get that first one over with to shake that fear.

I was gonna answer no to this a few days ago and wont u know it i was picking out my BP at the store and i was handling one that i really wanted and as hes curled in my hand he just blindy struck at the air right next to my arm. I saw it and looked at my husband, then looked at another customer, with this amazed look on my face like "did he just strike" i didnt even get tagged and i think the scare is just as bad as the wound. The fact that i shreaked HOLY S@$% made the store owner come back just laughing. He knew what had happened. So yeah i got the other bp in the cage next to him. :D:D My bci has struck at me through the glass a few times.

Mostly I get tagged by hatchlings when cleaning or changing water.

I was bit by my adult male Floyde. When I was moving from my house I had to put him in something other than his tank so as to eliminate risk of something smushing him or pinching him. So I tried to put him in a much too little critter thing with the vented lid. He started coming back out, normal dimeanor, I put my hand in front of him, and bam! He bit me right on some scar tissue on my thumb. I had to kind of push and pull to get him off.
The point is I knew better, and I learned my lesson. If the snake makes a decision, don't try to change his mind.

So how would you move with BP so it won't bite you or strike at you?

not yet but i cant wait until it happens. curious to see what its like ;)

maybe ill dress my hand up to look like a rat:rolleye2:

Not by any of my bp's (not from the lack of trying from a couple). I have been bitten by my Children's Python and an 8 foot Burm.

I've been bitten twice now, but both have been my own fault!

I seriously don't think she'll ever get me. Mark my words.

twice this afternoon - hatchling madness!

LOL @ this topic , the stories i could tell ..

I have been bit more then i can count (mostly by babies ). most of my adult bites from BP's was due to feeding response .

from babies to adults ive been tagged numerous times .

not to mention the 10-20ft burms :O i owned , 9 ft boas :O , 5-12ft retics :O etc..etc...

i look at it like this if a snake i own doesnt bite me at least 1 time theres something wrong with it .:weirdface:weirdface

but thats me LOL :D:D

I have been bitten 2 times, both were at feeding time. Both were my falt. I broke the rule of feeding with my hands and not feeding tongs. :colbert:

Well i dont know about any rules like that .
i have never fed with tongs and never will ..
i like the hands on way .


only way i would use tongs is when i start up my venomous collection when my kids are grown .

Its been a few times.. Usually the younger snakes though.. I do have some pissy adults who his alot. but thats about it.. My Bci's are a different story.. Quite a few more times then the balls have.

I have only had my normal male for 2 months and I have never been bitten, yet. He did try to strike at my boyfriend though because he made a sudden movement that scared him.

-Laughs.- The first time I was tagged(every time actually) it was definitely my fault. My male at the time found himself content to curl up in the built-in CD tower of my desk. I pulled out the first two tiers, but didn't think to get the last one. He flipped out and struck at me. Never again. I felt so awful about it too. I cried because I'd frightened him.

havent been bit yet but I have been struck at. Im sure my days are numbered lol

I think that this "poll" is inaccurate in the sense that it does not determine how many or how long you've been working with ball pythons; do you have one ball python, and has it bitten you every time you touch it, or do you have three ball pythons and only been bit twice in the year you've owned them.

I fall into the "In any given year over the last ten, I've had between 100-250 ball pythons in my care, and my ratio of being bit to not being bit is 0.00001% of the time I handle them.

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Originally Posted by mykee

I think that this "poll" is inaccurate in the sense that it does not determine how many or how long you've been working with ball pythons; do you have one ball python, and has it bitten you every time you touch it, or do you have three ball pythons and only been bit twice in the year you've owned them.

I fall into the "In any given year over the last ten, I've had between 100-250 ball pythons in my care, and my ratio of being bit to not being bit is 0.00001% of the time I handle them.

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Agreed, some have given some insight into their "dealings". Mine, with BPs, have come once this week, young 3 month old, always timid and docile, is starting shed. Tap on enclosure to say I'm coming, went to clean up and fill the water dish and a nip. Totally my fault as he was in his hide and saw my fat fingers and scared him into defense. Two minutes later he is in my hands for a shed check, no worries.

The other for me was my brother's BP adult. Rarely handled, bad environment with noise, activity and odd light times. Definitely a defense bite as this snake is easily spooked. Tried to adopt him a few years back, but no avail...

So two times in the span of 10 years of exposure to BPs. However I did not own one until recently, but handled one or more weekly.

Glad this was not a post on how many times bitten by reptiles... :) Catching water snakes when I was a kid, that gave me my quota.

My only bites have come from a CBB corn hatchling(more like he started chewing on my hand than striking at it), just about a month old, and wild snakes.

Been bit certainly more than 20 times by wild snakes(luckily no venomous bites), never really kept count.

I have been bit a few times by babies, always when taking them out. I know I could hook them but want them used to hands coming in and a baby bite is nothing.

I've been tagged a few times by young ones and once by a large adult female. A few weeks back, I put a live rat in with an adult female and after a little while, when she didn't eat I went to pull the rat out. The rat was running around the water bowl, so I put my hand in the tub to block the path of the rat while I reached in with my other hand to grab the rat. The blocking hand was bit. I jumped about three feet into the air because I was not expecting it.

It was my own fault. I smelled like rat and put my warm and toasty hand into the tub without even looking to see where the snake was sitting. It didn't hurt that much when it happened but did bleed quite a lot. Now, if I have to pull a rat out of a snake rack, I use padded tongs to get a hold on the base of the rat's tail, then quickly pull them out - while keeping an eye on the snake.

I have 3 bp's at the moment. the other 2 I only aqcuired recently. This one female, I've kept for 6 years, had bit me twice. Once around 2 years ago, and once recently :D :D. Both times, it was my mistake. She was hungry, I just handled a rat, and you know the rest lol. it didn't hurt much more that an adult rat bite though :)

I have a stressy mojo who bites me every chance he gets. I'm pretty good about not getting bitten but it happens *shrug*. Bites are nothing, though. They are a little scary, especially at first, but it's just easier to get over it and realize that nothing these snakes can do to you is really any kind of big deal. Bigger snakes are a different story, obviously.

I can actually vote yes in this poll. I got my first tag last night. It was a cheap tag while giving a little girl water, i didnt even know until i seen the very tiny red blood spec.

i have not been bitten yet but im looking forward to it lmao:rolleyes:

I've been bit quite a bit, mostly by little ones. I also get bit by my Gopher Snakes on a daily basis haha.

I got a bite once, from an otherwise peaceful male... I was playing with my cat and didn't wash my hands properly. Then opened the BP's terrarium for maintenance and... :snake::snake: Very, very painful bite, very surprising.