Anyone been bit like this? video

I stumbled on this video on you tube, and just curious if anyone has
ever been bit like this before- it seem so "casual"- I thought they typically
struck if they were going to bite?

We've had our BP a year now- and just really reaching the point i feel
comfortable. I mean i've felt comfortable- know when to handle her, and
when not to (or so I thought), and I feel she's more comfortable
too- larger, not as skittish etc.

but this video made me think twice...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9_6b_RZ1pg

Yep, happens from time to time..it's more of a feeding response you'd see from a snake that is fed F/T.

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

Yep, happens from time to time..it's more of a feeding response you'd see from a snake that is fed F/T.

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Im curious as why it is more likely to happen when a person feeds f/t ? My guess would be that what we didnt see is that guy in the video didnt do a good hand cleaning after handling some prey and his hand was still scented. I am very careful to always sanitize my hands not only after handling but before as well to try to reduce the risk of this.

Thats a kiss, not a bite ;)

I've been bitten like that before. I had a huge male rescue BP that was not only improperly fed (thus hungry all the time) but was an elementary school "pet" and previously to that had lived in a frat house. You can only imagine the temperament on that guy.

In the year I tried to work with him he bit me.....I don't know how many times. About 6 months in I was at the point where I could wear gloves and feel kinda o.k. handling him. We were doing some basic socialization work, and he started nosing around my arm. I thought to myself "this dude is gonna bite me." And he did, big time, and coiled up so tightly my hand went numb. It took 2 people other than me, 2 credit cards, and some cold water to get him t let go, and it still took at least 10 minutes. That guy was not messing around.

After that day, it went seriously downhill. I could do nothing with him. He would launch himself at anyone that opened his tub and he was so big he was very difficult to control safely. He wasn't a happy snake, and was dangerous in a household environment. I called some places, but living in Maine there aren't a lot of options for ornery BPs. We eventually decided to euthanize him, as his behavior was getting worse and not better : /

None of my 'normal" snakes have done this, but when I see any of then slow down and start nosing around my flesh like that, I calmly redirect their attention and put them back in their house.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Thats a kiss, not a bite ;)

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wow, thats one serious Kiss lol

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Originally Posted by Lisn123

wow, thats one serious Kiss lol

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Wait, its normal to bite a little, right guys...?

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Originally Posted by skirtinthedirt

I've been bitten like that before. I had a huge male rescue BP that was not only improperly fed (thus hungry all the time) but was an elementary school "pet" and previously to that had lived in a frat house. You can only imagine the temperament on that guy.

In the year I tried to work with him he bit me.....I don't know how many times. About 6 months in I was at the point where I could wear gloves and feel kinda o.k. handling him. We were doing some basic socialization work, and he started nosing around my arm. I thought to myself "this dude is gonna bite me." And he did, big time, and coiled up so tightly my hand went numb. It took 2 people other than me, 2 credit cards, and some cold water to get him t let go, and it still took at least 10 minutes. That guy was not messing around.

After that day, it went seriously downhill. I could do nothing with him. He would launch himself at anyone that opened his tub and he was so big he was very difficult to control safely. He wasn't a happy snake, and was dangerous in a household environment. I called some places, but living in Maine there aren't a lot of options for ornery BPs. We eventually decided to euthanize him, as his behavior was getting worse and not better : /

None of my 'normal" snakes have done this, but when I see any of then slow down and start nosing around my flesh like that, I calmly redirect their attention and put them back in their house.

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OK, not sure this story calms my fears at all. LOL Our normal BP seems so sweet lately- I know that sounds crazy to say, and I dont mean it literally- its just we both seem a lot more comfortable with each other. I also know not to bug her around feeding time or during a shed. I want her to be a snake I dont have to worry about, when my kids hold her, etc. but this made me think twice :/ so I just wondered how "normal" this behavior was.

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Originally Posted by norwegn113

Im curious as why it is more likely to happen when a person feeds f/t ? My guess would be that what we didnt see is that guy in the video didnt do a good hand cleaning after handling some prey and his hand was still scented. I am very careful to always sanitize my hands not only after handling but before as well to try to reduce the risk of this.

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The animals that I feed F/T to normally don't strike after a while they simply take it with their mouth and begin to swallow..

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

The animals that I feed F/T to normally don't strike after a while they simply take it with their mouth and begin to swallow..

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I have noticed that too on a few of my snakes but I do still have some that hit like a Mack truck!

Yep twice by two different animals that were live feeders.

They were both being held when they started to chew on me.

That is one of those instances

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Well that would be me :rolleyes:

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/ChewToy1.jpg

This is not a feeding mistake nor a defensive strike, just one of those bizarre moment when I handle one of my snake and all of the sudden the said snake slowly open it’s mouth and start chewing one me. :rolleye2:

What I wouldn’t do for a cool picture :8: (just kidding)

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Lol what a funny video!!

I've had corns do that, but no BPs so far

That is an awesome picture. But you guys are not very comforting. I was hoping for
"That video is a hoax- ive never seen a BP do that!" ha ha

It definitely makes me feel more wary of letting my kids hold the snakes... I can only imagine their response if one latched on. :O Our snakes occasionally nuzzle us, but have never opened their mouths or offered to bite like that. I think I'll keep an extra close eye, and also warn them about the 'nuzzling'... lol

So far i haven't been bit like that by a snake, but I have been bit like that by my husband's bearded dragon, and some of the wild critters I handle as part of my job... lol

I have a corn that does that on a regular basis. He has an insane feeding response, has only been fed F/T, but every time I think I've got him calmed down to handle, he nuzzles and then latches on. Honestly, I will never fully trust that particular snake nor will I let kids handle him. I also use leather gloves when handling him and don't let him get near my exposed skin. He will still latch onto my glove and cleaning his tub is always a fun experience but it is also the only animal like this I've run into so I doubt it's common.

Comes down to knowing the animals. I have some corns and balls that I trust implicitly with other people and children. Knowing an animal and how their personality reacts to various things is key. If you've handled the bp and never had an issue, I wouldn't fret too much. I knew within a week what my little devil of a corn was like and have acted accordingly.

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Originally Posted by Lisn123

That is an awesome picture. But you guys are not very comforting. I was hoping for
"That video is a hoax- ive never seen a BP do that!" ha ha

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It's a rare thing in the last 7 years it only happened to me twice (should I add I am a bite magnet anyway) and from hatchlings in both cases.

At least in that case you don't have the pain from the impact when they strike ;)

I've got king snakes that bite like that all the time. Very slow and purposeful like they're in no big hurry. My ball pythons generally strike with greater speed and force, but I have seen them do it that way too.

I had not heard of a BP biting like that. It didnt look too painful though.

I've seen that video before somewhere, I found it hilarious. I like how the dude's all "aaand he's biting me."

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

My 9th snake (7th BP) in 3 years is on the way soon. And I've still never received a bite of any kind. I swear I'm a parseltongue and don't know it.

I've never seen it with my ball pythons, but I have many carpet pythons that feed like that, just stick the food by them, they slowly open their mouth and start working it down. It's quite annoying actually because I have to hold it there for a bit til they got enough in their mouth to hold it themselves, otherwise they drop it and don't eat it. It feels like im bottle feeding. They haven't bit me like that though.

But that was a feeding response, nothing aggressive about it at all. I'm not sure why you're so nervous about being bit by a ball python? I've been bit by dogs, cats, birds, small rodents, bearded dragons, bugs of all sorts, and kids. I'll take the ball python bite over any of those. If the ones on the list don't make you nervous, just tell yourself you have an irrational fear, it's most likely not going to bite and if it does, its nothing. You bleed for 10 minutes and it's over.

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Originally Posted by OhhWatALoser

I've never seen it with my ball pythons, but I have many carpet pythons that feed like that, just stick the food by them, they slowly open their mouth and start working it down. It's quite annoying actually because I have to hold it there for a bit til they got enough in their mouth to hold it themselves, otherwise they drop it and don't eat it. It feels like im bottle feeding. They haven't bit me like that though.

But that was a feeding response, nothing aggressive about it at all. I'm not sure why you're so nervous about being bit by a ball python? I've been bit by dogs, cats, birds, small rodents, bearded dragons, bugs of all sorts, and kids. I'll take the ball python bite over any of those. If the ones on the list don't make you nervous, just tell yourself you have an irrational fear, it's most likely not going to bite and if it does, its nothing. You bleed for 10 minutes and it's over.

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Actually, not so afraid of being bit myself (well maybe a little- its more like "anticipating the bite" , then the actual bite or pain from it LOL)

I just wouldn't want that to happen to my daughter or any of her friends. Of course, they only handle while supervised, and I've never seen any behavior that makes me think she would strike one of us (unless of course its feeding time). I thought after a year, I was getting a pretty good read on our snake, This video just made me question that. I try to reassure people who are terrified of our snake, about how different her behavior is, when its feeding time- her disposition changes so dramitically. And if they saw that, they would understand how they have nothing to worry about in handling her. Then I saw this video. Obviously, Its not enough to make me change my love for our snake :) Just made me more aware of "possibilities" and thought I would ask here, exactly how common this is.

I think he/she is hungry!

Getting bitten by a hungry snake > Getting bitten by a defensive snake

I have been tagged by balls, both adults and babies, and only once was a feeding response. That one sucked the most... but not as much as when my little male hognose thought I was food. That little guy's rear fangs make a mess of you and make you bleed like a faucet.

My red tail did that once, but it was totally my fault. I was carrying her to the bathtub for feeding with her in my left hand and a fresh killed rat in a bag in my right. It was almost like she was just double checking (quite gently actually) that the base of my thumb was not secretly tasty.