First Bite - I feel horrible :'(

My snake bit me for the first time today...and I feel soooo bad now.
It was completely my fault. I had left a mouse in her tank for a while and she hadn't eaten it so I went to grab it so I could freeze it (it was P/K and I didn't want to waste it) and when I went to reach for it I noticed too late that she was actually in a strike position and well, she went for the flashy part of my thumb. I jumped because I wasn't expecting it and reflexively yanked my hand back. :tears:
I ended up doing it so fast that she like flew out of her tank and fell to the floor between my dresser and bed. My roommate heard me yell and came to help me so we were able to pick her up again before she got stuck anywhere or went too far but I feel horrible now. When he handed her to me I checked her over, took off the couple of doggy hairs that had gotten stuck on her and she looked fine (physically) but I just got her to not stress so much when I hold her and what not and now I feel like a horrible owner.
I hope that she's okay and can learn to trust me again but I wouldn't blame her if she was like mentally scarred from this (she fell about 5/6 feet). I know better now at least :(

I think its the strike, more than the bite that startles us. Hopefully you will both be none the worse for the wear.

Yeah =/
It was like a delayed reaction, by the time I yanked my hand out her teeth had already made contact, she was pretty close so I didn't have much time as it was. Hopefully I won't get nervous the next time I gotta reach in there. >.<

Poor thing. You and the snake. Chances are she'll be fine. Maybe a bit more nervous, but there shouldn't be major damage.

Now that you have that all important first bite out of the way, next time you won't freak out about it. The first is always the hardest, after that it's no big deal. I've been bitten several times by ball pythons of various sizes, and it doesn't faze me. The only one who worries me any more is my 3500 gram 6' female. If she ever gets me, I'm gonna know I've been got!

Good thing for me she's such a lamb 95% of the time. I do have to watch her during feeding time, she's come a solid 3 feet out of her tub after a rat I wasn't fast enough with.

Gale

when i was 13 i got bit by my bp doing the exact same thing. i was dumb then and thought a twenty pound weight would hold the snake in his cage he escaped during the winter and needless to say ended up dying. just make sure to keep an eye on her jaw the pulling away could have hurt a tooth and could possibly cause an abscess.

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Originally Posted by rivunel

when i was 13 i got bit by my bp doing the exact same thing. i was dumb then and thought a twenty pound weight would hold the snake in his cage he escaped during the winter and needless to say ended up dying. just make sure to keep an eye on her jaw the pulling away could have hurt a tooth and could possibly cause an abscess.

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wow a 20 pound weight?? I had no idea they were so strong,

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Originally Posted by Yaqcubper

My snake bit me for the first time today...and I feel soooo bad now.
It was completely my fault. I had left a mouse in her tank for a while and she hadn't eaten it so I went to grab it so I could freeze it (it was P/K and I didn't want to waste it) and when I went to reach for it I noticed too late that she was actually in a strike position and well, she went for the flashy part of my thumb. I jumped because I wasn't expecting it and reflexively yanked my hand back. :tears:
I ended up doing it so fast that she like flew out of her tank and fell to the floor between my dresser and bed. My roommate heard me yell and came to help me so we were able to pick her up again before she got stuck anywhere or went too far but I feel horrible now. When he handed her to me I checked her over, took off the couple of doggy hairs that had gotten stuck on her and she looked fine (physically) but I just got her to not stress so much when I hold her and what not and now I feel like a horrible owner.
I hope that she's okay and can learn to trust me again but I wouldn't blame her if she was like mentally scarred from this (she fell about 5/6 feet). I know better now at least :(

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I`m sure your snakey will be just fine, it was a total accident. Do you use feeding tongs?

BP's can be pretty tough little creatures. Monitor her for a few days to make sure she isn't having any breathing difficulties. Also, watch her movement if possible for any thing that might indicate broken ribs. If she didn't leave a tooth in your skin, she probably didn't yank one out. Even if she did, a new one will grow back.

I really don't think you scared her for life. As much as we love these animals, BP's have a brain about the size of a black eyed pea, and don't process thoughts at a higher cognative level. Honestly, you are far more upset about this situation than your snake is.

Don't worry too much about it, and welcome to the bite club. It's a snake keepers rite of passage.

BTW, Tongs are cheap to buy and easy to use....:D

iiiiiiiiii pride myself on never being in the bite club :D...........yet:omg:

It has to be a shocking event for both of you, especially if your snake has a generally placid temperment. I hope you are recovering well, and I'm sure your snake is just fine.

I think its actually good to get tagged at least once. I had my first normal girl for over a year before she finally tagged me during feeding time one day. I actually didnt realize she bit me til i saw a few droplets of blood on my arm lol.
After being bit i got alot more confidence handling snakes because i know bites arent that bad. Now im able to reach right into anyones snakes tank/cage without much hesitation. (except for hots and reallllllly big snakes lol). Idk if its true but i think snakes can sense whether youre confident or nervous. Hesitation is sometimes what can get you bit.

I haven't been bit yet, but I know its coming. When I hesitate to pick him up he will get into a strike pose and glare at me until I leave his cage.

So far I only hesitate when I have to wake him up to clean his cage. So I lift off the hide and if his heads hidden I don't hesitate. But if hes sitting there with his head raised staring at me It makes me hesitate and that's when he will go to a strike pose.

I want to get bitten to get it over with but he has not struck at me yet.

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Originally Posted by Yaqcubper

Yeah =/
It was like a delayed reaction, by the time I yanked my hand out her teeth had already made contact, she was pretty close so I didn't have much time as it was. Hopefully I won't get nervous the next time I gotta reach in there. >.<

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Haha, it wasn't a delayed reaction, she's just faster than you! :D I'm sure she'll be fine. As a few others mentioned, this would be the opportune time to invest in some feeding tongs - no rodents enter or exit my tubs via my bare hands!

Awee, I am sure you both will be fine. You are a true, wonderful snake owner. Instead of, "This snake bit me, it is a horrible creature," you are saying, "My snake bit me, I feel so bad for it!" That's how alll of us on here feel. :D You are doing just fine.

I have not been tagged yet, but I have been struck at, and I agree, it is terrifying. And I don't know why, because I know full well that a bite is not going to hurt and not going to leave much damage, but that wicked fast strike will just make you leap out of your underpants every time. My girl is still little and she strikes so hard that she usually breaks the tail of the rodent off in the feeding tongs. :O So that will feel real nice when she inevitably makes contact with my hand one day.

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Originally Posted by Emily Hubbard

Awee, I am sure you both will be fine. You are a true, wonderful snake owner. Instead of, "This snake bit me, it is a horrible creature," you are saying, "My snake bit me, I feel so bad for it!" That's how alll of us on here feel. :D You are doing just fine.

I have not been tagged yet, but I have been struck at, and I agree, it is terrifying. And I don't know why, because I know full well that a bite is not going to hurt and not going to leave much damage, but that wicked fast strike will just make you leap out of your underpants every time. My girl is still little and she strikes so hard that she usually breaks the tail of the rodent off in the feeding tongs. :O So that will feel real nice when she inevitably makes contact with my hand one day.

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Haha my little boy has does similar his last 2 feedings. I have to do the zombie rat dance to get him to eat. But he strikes so hard he rips it out of the hemostats, and I have a pretty good grip on it so I don't drop it. The one time I did drop it while doing the dance he refused to eat that week. But he makes me jump every time he strikes it.

Thanks so much everyone I'm feeling a little better about the whole thing today. I figured I'd leave her to herself today and check her over tomorrow...or well later today :P (it's 12:35am here).

I didn't find any teeth embedded in my skin so hopefully when I check her over I see none missing. And I will definitely be investing in those tongs. She never showed much aggressiveness when feeding so I though I'd be okay without them but live and learn that's for sure, I know better now.

Her little teeth were sharper than I thought they were gonna be but honestly yeah it wasn't that bad, I think that my adrenaline rush after dropping her and panicking about what to do is what really made it sting a bit but nothing a person couldn't handle.

She seemed to slither around for a while after with no apparent abnormal movements so hopefully nothing is broken but I'll look closer today. After my roommate passed her to me she held on to me stronger than she ever has before but I don't blame her she probably wanted to make sure she wouldn't be falling again any time soon!