Ball Python bit me and is constricting me tightly!

Hi....
First off, Wow. I have never experienced this before. I decided to take my BumbleBee Ball Python out just to handle him since he's always VERY active. When I took him out, I noticed he was gripping me really tightly, a lot tighter than usual.... I proceeded to untangle him from my hand/arm, once i had taken him off of my hand, he opened his mouth and tried to bite my finger.... Now, the only logical explanation i can think of it he is hungry.. But I feed him regularly, every 7-10 days. He is about 4 years old now and I am feeding medium rats 100-15g. If anyone has any input on this that would be great.... I'm really surprised about this incident.

Ground him and tell him no more TV for a week... Oh wait its a snake... its gonna happen. My 275g pewter is so chill it isnt funny. Other day he didnt like me and nipped my finger. I put him in his rack and called it a day.. somedays it happens.. Not waiting for my 6ft BCI to do it though.

It sounds as though he thinks you are food - usually happens to me if I have been handling furry pets and forget to wash afterwards. :cool:

http://38.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6...24uo1_1280.jpg

Lol... I wasn't aware of any snake poems. Thanks for making my day.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by Mr. Misha

Lol... I wasn't aware of any snake poems. Thanks for making my day.

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That's from the book "Where the Sidewalk Ends."

Op,
Did it bite you or just try?
These details matter as a bite thread requires pictures and very often emergency medical attention.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KMG

That's from the book "Where the Sidewalk Ends."

Op,
Did it bite you or just try?
These details matter as a bite thread requires pictures and very often emergency medical attention.

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After I untangled him off my hand and was holding him and bringing him to his cage, he opened his mouth and I guess his teeth hitched on to me. I quickly moved my finger and put him in his cage.

I wasn't handling any rats prior to handling him. This is a concern to me because i initially always thought they only try to eat prey that "smells" like rats. I'm trying to figure out why he would even attempt to eat me/constrict me.

What happens once he's a lot older and bigger and does that, that would be too fun lol.

Sounds like my girl Satan... one day she's a sweetheart, & the next she can be a little bugger if she feels like it lol! She wags her tail like a rattlesnake too i've never actually seen a BP do that before. I'm no expert by ANY means I've just owned a variety of snakes through the years & being that they act on impulse the majority of the time I wouldn't take it personally or think too much of it, they can also feel your heartbeat through your hands & a speedy one might trigger feeding response.


(& I love the poem that made my day too lmao)

Who knows? I really doubt it was trying to eat you, probably just got a little scared.

My gtp and my young bloods didn't like my arm hair when I first got them. They start to crawl up my arm and I guess it would bother them and they all have given me a quick tag as if they thought my arm hair was out to get them. This happened a few times but now I guess they have learned my arm hair is friendly. Snakes can be silly.

Ball pythons bites are nothing to fear. Google some arboreal snakes, they have some chompers! But even they are not to bad. The teeth are so sharp its usually over before you know it happened.

I'm not scared really, it just really threw me off because this happened before where he squeezed me really hard and I told my GF I think he thinks I'm food but she said I'm just over thinking. This time he did it again (and I know he thought I was food because when he strikes a mouse he constricts it and wraps around the mouse and he pushes his head against his body and doesn't move it) but actually opened his mouth on my finger. It's something new because my female would never do that to me and this has never happened, to me at least. The only thing that worries me is when he gets older and does that and I have a harder time getting his grip off of me. He might of been just hungry.. I just fed him an hour ago and he ate.. but he's still very active, I never really understood that about him, he's active almost 24/7. He's a weird one:confusd::snake::rolleye2:... lol.

He was probably still in feeding mode, I would avoid handling or bothering him at least 36 hours after he eats. After I feed my ball python he pokes his head out his hide waiting for more food so I just leave him alone.

Bite it back!!!! Zap it with a cattle prod!!! flick its nose!!! Force it to move out!!! Make it get a job!!! Let it know you are not just simply there to be its food whenever it feels like snacking!!! Make a box of shame and put it in there for an hour or two!!! Send it to prison for one of those "scared straight" things!!! or even better, tease it with a hawk!!!

I recently bought my first Python. I have no doubt it will try and/or succeed at biting me in the future. I am completely joking with the upper paragraph BTW. It's a snake for pizza's sake! Its in their nature to bite things that make them feel threatened.

How many rats are you feeding at once?

How much does he weigh?

[QUOTE=hurricaNe;2289008
What happens once he's a lot older and bigger and does that, that would be too fun lol.[/QUOTE]

probably won't happen with a bp because of their small size, but if you get constricted by a larger snake that can't be uncoiled by one hand (assuming he's got your other arm) a quick sniff of rubbing alcohol will get them off quick, they hate it! Just put a dab on a paper towel or q-tip and put it near it's snout. Works every time.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DennisM

probably won't happen with a bp because of their small size, but if you get constricted by a larger snake that can't be uncoiled by one hand (assuming he's got your other arm) a quick sniff of rubbing alcohol will get them off quick, they hate it! Just put a dab on a paper towel or q-tip and put it near it's snout. Works every time.

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Haha, I'll definitely remember that.

I'm feeding him 130-150 ish gram rats every week or 10 days.

I am very aware that snakes might nip people but I just thought they(Ball Pythons especially) don't normally bite unless they smell/taste a mouse. Just found it a bit odd, that's all.

I always wash my hands, or use something like Germ-X after I handle rats, or my snakes. I guess even then it is not foolproof.

Some snakes are just weird.

My husband's female decided to bite him one day. It was really, really odd. She rubbed her nose along his wrist very slowly a few times, then ever so slowly opened her mouth and proceeded to bite him. Hard. He freaked out, but I made him not jerk away or try to pull her off. I had to pry her loose one tooth at a time. She had never even so much as nipped before. It upset my husband so badly ( he's a bit of a chicken) that he refused to handle her after that and we ended up rehoming her. It took him another 3 years to get over the bite, even a hatchling snapping at him would scare him to death. He's finally manning up about it now.

I wouldn't overthink it. Chances are he was just having one of those days. Now, if he keeps doing it repeatedly when you get him out, then I'd start looking for a reason.

Gale