No one's ever gotten hurt by the tongs, right?

I tell, ya...my heart skips a beat every time either of my BPs strikes and wraps their f/t mouse! Not so much because they're so quick, but mostly because I'm worried that one of them is going to get impaled by the tongs (they hit those mice so hard)! Just need reassurance that nobody's snake has ever gotten hurt inadvertantly by the feeding tongs! Is there anything I can do technique-wise to give myself a peace-of-mind? :rolleyes:

I have a few aggressive eaters and even though they pound those mice & rats hard they have never gotten hurt by the tongs.

I'm SO glad you brought this up! I feel the same way! No injuries yet for me and hopefully never.

pff tongs? id always just hold the rat by the tail, bp never came close to hitting anything but rat :P

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Originally Posted by aybe.sea

pff tongs? id always just hold the rat by the tail, bp never came close to hitting anything but rat :P

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LOL! I actually tried this once and noticed my boy zeroing in on my fingers instead of the mouse (I blame the spider in him)...quickly nixed that idea! Maybe I'll try again with a rodent with an extra long tail...and gloves... :gj:

Thanks for the responses! I've been a little nervous ever since I had to work the tongs out of Hank's mouth the first time (scraped his teeth :O)!

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Originally Posted by aybe.sea

pff tongs? id always just hold the rat by the tail, bp never came close to hitting anything but rat :P

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Mine must need glasses...lol

I use tongs and they have never hurt themselves. But now you might have given me something to be paranoid about....:weirdface

You can get rubber-tipped tongs to prevent any accidents:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y12...8inchtweez.jpg

I have stabbed myself with my tongs...

I have a scar on my chest from stabbing myself with them.

Long story short, I lost a rat in the snake room, had to lay down on the floor to get it, and .... there it is.



Never, however, have I hurt a snake with them.


True story.

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Originally Posted by LadyOhh

I have stabbed myself with my tongs...

I have a scar on my chest from stabbing myself with them.

Long story short, I lost a rat in the snake room, had to lay down on the floor to get it, and .... there it is.



Never, however, have I hurt a snake with them.


True story.

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Eek! You know, I hesitated to post this question for that reason...that I should probably worry more about hurting myself (I'm not the most "graceful" person) than the snakes...I don't think it was an accident that I didn't specify just who got hurt when I wrote the title for this thread! :)

You can also get a rubber dip from the HD or Lowes to coat the end of your tongs with. It is made to dip tool handles in once the original rubber has worn off, works great. Just dip them two or three times and let them dry in between coats. It is in a can about the size of a soda can.

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Originally Posted by Covington

You can also get a rubber dip from the HD or Lowes to coat the end of your tongs with. It is made to dip tool handles in once the original rubber has worn off, works great. Just dip them two or three times and let them dry in between coats. It is in a can about the size of a soda can.

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Very cool! I had no idea Lowes carried such awesomeness! It could be a dangerous thing in my hands, however (I say as I'm now looking around the house for things to put rubber tips on...whether they need it or not...) ;)

maybe i'm crazy, but i've never used tongs. i just dangle the food item by the tail. except for ONE particularly fiesty one, DOCTOR EVIL! he's a 1600gram het. pied male, and he is the hissiest, strikey-est, most angry snake i have ever come across. and when he's in blue? don't even THINK about sliding out his tub, because you'll hear him hiss all the way across the apartment!

I've always used hemostats. No sharp points or edges. My old girl gets so excited at feeding time she slams into them all the time, never any issues.

I've gotta chime in and say... I hate rubber tipped tongs!! If you're going to use them, make sure you get a quality pair and check to make sure the rubber is glued on properly. It was very upsetting to see my BP get her tooth stuck in the rubber, thus pulling the rubber piece off the tongs. I had to help her get her tooth free from the rubber, and then inspected her mouth. Her mouth was fine, but she was definitely NOT happy.

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Originally Posted by GoBoilers

Very cool! I had no idea Lowes carried such awesomeness! It could be a dangerous thing in my hands, however (I say as I'm now looking around the house for things to put rubber tips on...whether they need it or not...) ;)

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It's called Plasti-Dip. Sometimes carried in yellow, red and black. Usually found in the paint department near or with the spray paints. In case you go looking.