OMG disaster.

I had rainbow and a friend had Monty and we were standing there talking. Rainbow decided Monty was a snack. Bam she grabbed his head and coiled. We both were terrified as we tried to get them apart. Don't know what set her off bit she went to kill him. Going to the vet tomorrow but think he is OK. Rainbow went full food mode. Gave her a rabbit and he is pissed and scared. Took a quick photo. Hope his jaw is not broken. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e5f7935b4a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e583d2111e.jpg

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When was the last time you fed Rainbow?? dawg that be scary

Oh that's awful! :O I so hope no damage that won't heal easily. Hugs for poor Monty! And bad Rainbow! :colbert:

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Originally Posted by samsonact

When was the last time you fed Rainbow?? dawg that be scary

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She refused food for 5 weeks.

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I hope Monty is okay! I can only imagine how scary that was. :omfg:

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

She refused food for 5 weeks.

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what kind of snake is Rainbow I dont remember

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Originally Posted by samsonact

what kind of snake is Rainbow I dont remember

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Reticulated python. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4d8df98fae.jpg

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I havent really heard of them eating other snakes but also I dont know much about retics

Sorry to hear about your issue...

however, I must ask... why have two snakes... of that magnitude out in close
proximity of one another to begin with?

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Originally Posted by Phillydubs

Sorry to hear about your issue...

however, I must ask... why have two snakes... of that magnitude out in close
proximity of one another to begin with?

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He does education events

Ok....?

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Originally Posted by Phillydubs

Ok....?

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Well that’s why they would be somewhat close to each other. Don’t know what kind of explanation ur wanting. Also crap happens

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Originally Posted by Danger noodles

Well that’s why they would be somewhat close to each other. Don’t know what kind of explanation ur wanting. Also crap happens

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Never can forget these guys are wild animals. They do what they want within what they have opportunity to do. Rainbow is a sweetheart to almost everyone. There is one guy that I wont let hold her because something about him scares her. Now trying to eat Monty is something I did not expect. Not sure if was pure food or if he was trying to talk sexy to her and she got offended? Most likely was a food response.

I have never had an issue having multiple animals out at once before during education shows or any other time. She reached out almost 4 feet to get to him. Happened so fast she had him before we could do anything to prevent it. Her lunge for him pushed me back a step with the force she went after him. She was draped over one shoulder. She grabbed his head and was not letting to. Took almost a minuet to separate her from her lock on his head and boy is she strong. I would even wager she is stronger than me in most cases and I am no wimp. I am happy she doesn't see me as food. IDK why she went off food for 5 weeks.

I had even thought about trying to breed them. I guess that is a Hell NO! Keep in mind that their reach is huge! Much longer than you would ever have imagined. They are much stronger than you think. They are always wild. Love them both. Taking Monty to the vet today to get his face and jaw looked at. Hope his jaw is not broken. I sent the vet photos last night and he said was not an emergency to bring him last night but would be good to bring him in today. I think he is more scared than anything and for good reason.

Perhaps you should bring a small vial of white vinegar with you when you do future shows to break food responses, just in case.

There are ways to educate and not have two Animals who can potentially attack one another close like that.


It could also have turned out worse for the animals,or for the people, involved.


We as hobbyists are fighting an uphill battle. When things like this happen, especially when it could have been avoided, by simply following a one snake out a time rule (a good rule for safety for all as well as hygiene), it’s upsetting and can and does hurt the hobby.


I’m all for education and getting people to accept. When done properly.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Perhaps you should bring a small vial of white vinegar with you when you do future shows to break food responses, just in case.

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I keep tequila in a spray bottle and was told that works well. Did nothing to phase her.

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Originally Posted by Phillydubs

There are ways to educate and not have two Animals who can potentially attack one another close like that.


It could also have turned out worse for the animals,or for the people, involved.


We as hobbyists are fighting an uphill battle. When things like this happen, especially when it could have been avoided, by simply following a one snake out a time rule (a good rule for safety for all as well as hygiene), it’s upsetting and can and does hurt the hobby.


I’m all for education and getting people to accept. When done properly.

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Was a good friend of mine and we were not at a show but at my home. He breeds them and was talking to me about it. He was more experienced with them than I am and he was even caught off guard by her reaction. Trust me, lesson learned. Any by the way. We were 4 plus feet apart. Thought was far enough apart.

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

I keep tequila in a spray bottle and was told that works well. Did nothing to phase her.

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I've never had white vinegar fail. Also if any of these educational events are at a public school you may want to rethink using alcohol.

Did he eat the rabbit after all?
I hope your other snake makes a quick recovery


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Originally Posted by Jellybeans

Did he eat the rabbit after all?
I hope your other snake makes a quick recovery


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Rainbow is a female and she eat a 4lb rabbit later that evening.

This doesn't bode well for Rainbow.

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

Rainbow is a female and she eat a 4lb rabbit later that evening.

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So she was probably just hungry when she lines for the other snake
Just being a wild animal

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Typo I meant to say when she lunged for the other snake

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Originally Posted by MR Snakes

This doesn't bode well for Rainbow.

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Originally Posted by Jellybeans

Typo I meant to say when she lunged for the other snake

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I truly think was purely a act of hunger. 5 weeks is a long time for her. She just refused to eat.

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

...I have never had an issue having multiple animals out at once before during education shows or any other time. She reached out almost 4 feet to get to him. Happened so fast she had him before we could do anything to prevent it....

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As you said, wild animals can be unpredictable (just when we think we "know" them). So glad it wasn't worse.

Like you, I've done many "meet & greets" with some of my snakes with no incidents ever, but now I have to re-think having multiple snakes out at once, especially
letting others (that are new to snakes) hold them. Not like I have any giant snakes though, & I've certainly never taken any hungry ones. That was just a really
awful accident...4' is "nothing" for snakes that big, what a "wake-up call".

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

As you said, wild animals can be unpredictable (just when we think we "know" them). So glad it wasn't worse.

Like you, I've done many "meet & greets" with some of my snakes with no incidents ever, but now I have to re-think having multiple snakes out at once, especially
letting others (that are new to snakes) hold them. Not like I have any giant snakes though, & I've certainly never taken any hungry ones. That was just a really
awful accident...4' is "nothing" for snakes that big, what a "wake-up call".

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Like I always say. Retics have big bodies, big personalities, and big responsibility. I have rewritten my thoughts on them several times this past year for sure. No regrets on having them though. Love everything about them. I only hope others will learn from my mistakes. Vet visit in 2 hours so will update then.

Fingers crossed that there's no damage.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Fingers crossed that there's no damage.

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Really? Are they actually crossed?

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Originally Posted by Phillydubs

There are ways to educate and not have two Animals who can potentially attack one another close like that.


It could also have turned out worse for the animals,or for the people, involved.


We as hobbyists are fighting an uphill battle. When things like this happen, especially when it could have been avoided, by simply following a one snake out a time rule (a good rule for safety for all as well as hygiene), it’s upsetting and can and does hurt the hobby.


I’m all for education and getting people to accept. When done properly.

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I must be missing some hatred u have for sky. Anyways, I give him credit for sharing his terrible experience with us to potentially help out others. But when people come here and just hate on u them, most people will never post up any mistakes because they don’t want to deal with the haters. If anything u should realize that and leave ur personal opinion of sky out of this.

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Originally Posted by Danger noodles

I must be missing some hatred u have for sky. Anyways, I give him credit for sharing his terrible experience with us to potentially help out others. But when people come here and just hate on u them, most people will never post up any mistakes because they don’t want to deal with the haters. If anything u should realize that and leave ur personal opinion of sky out of this.

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Or this individual didn't know what a urate was a year ago, got a mainland retic female, magically found a thousand dollar designer reticulated python male which was identical to a snake for sale on morphmarket by a breeder in his state, and now talks about breeding them like it's no big deal. I CANNOT have these snakes in my state without ridiculous permits, and stuff like this is the reason why. No one needs to casually breed these animals, because most cannot casually take care of them. There is no room for error with the big contrictors, and no one needs to watch a retic lunge 4 ft and latch onto another one.

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Originally Posted by Danger noodles

I must be missing some hatred u have for sky. Anyways, I give him credit for sharing his terrible experience with us to potentially help out others. But when people come here and just hate on u them, most people will never post up any mistakes because they don’t want to deal with the haters. If anything u should realize that and leave ur personal opinion of sky out of this.

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Thanks. Is all about the education of myself and others for me. That and the love of the animals.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by 350z

Or this individual didn't know what a urate was a year ago, got a mainland retic female, magically found a thousand dollar designer reticulated python male which was identical to a snake for sale on morphmarket by a breeder in his state, and now talks about breeding them like it's no big deal. I CANNOT have these snakes in my state without ridiculous permits, and stuff like this is the reason why. No one needs to casually breed these animals, because most cannot casually take care of them. There is no room for error with the big contrictors, and no one needs to watch a retic lunge 4 ft and latch onto another one.

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I can respect your opinion. Some things books don't teach you. I read, I learn, I grow. Sure sometimes I fail but if one person benefits from my lessons I am happy to learn them. I knew what I was getting into and have done a great job of caring for all my animals. Sometimes you just have to get your feet wet and see what happens.

By the way. I have my permit and fallow all laws.

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Fyi.....Hand Sanitizer of all things (which most of us have handy) can assist in getting any snake to release....and here's proof

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vivjxPjOiw4

Poor guy 😿

First of all, I hope Monty, and Rainbow, for that matter, are no worse for the wear. I look forward to hearing a good report from the vet.


Secondly, Skyrivers, I applaud you for saying that, “I only hope others will learn from my mistakes.”


It takes a big person to admit a mistake and an even bigger one to share that with the world so everyone can learn from it.


Look. I don’t think anyone is trying to attack anyone here. I think everyone wants this to be a learning experience and I could not agree more. However, some want that to be the focal point.


What can be learned?

1. Snakes, as calm and docile as they can appear and can be with us, are still wild animals genetically and are not domesticated like dogs, for example. This means they can revert to reptilian and primitive behavior. This can mean unpredictable and often illogical behavior to us as humans.

1. In general, if you have multiple snakes, keep them separate (unless a communal species like a garter snake). Separate enclosures and separate handling sessions. This is especially true with cannibalistic snakes (king and milk snakes etc) and big snakes that are hard to handle even when calm. This prevents incidents between them and is good procedure for health reasons as well.

Again, hoping everyone is okay and thank you, Skyrivers, for your humility.


Everyone please take a deep breath and please focus on preventing anyone else (human included) from getting hurt in the future and wishing Monty a full recovery.

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Originally Posted by dakski

...Secondly, Skyrivers, I applaud you for saying that, “I only hope others will learn from my mistakes.”


It takes a big person to admit a mistake and an even bigger one to share that with the world so everyone can learn from it...

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Me too....this ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Sitting in the lobby waiting for the vet. Saw these guys hanging out. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...507c4376fd.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...cfeedcaf76.jpg

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Oh wow.....so awesome
Is that second one a crested gecko?

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

Sitting in the lobby waiting for the vet. Saw these guys hanging out. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...507c4376fd.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...cfeedcaf76.jpg

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Originally Posted by Jellybeans

Oh wow.....so awesome
Is that second one a crested gecko?

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I think they all are.

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They are doing a full body X-ray's. And one of his head. Keep up hope nothing is broken.

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I keep a spray bottle of 50/50 Listerine and water. This has been effective for me in getting a snake to let go of himself after a feeding bite/ constriction.

I'm glad everyone appears to be ok from this incident (hopefully the male's jaw will be ok also). I'm guessing you won't have either of them out with another retic after this..I know I'd be leary following something this traumatic.

Fingers crossed

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OK. Nothing is broken. Should heal up. Shot of Baytril and a shot of Metacam. Should be OK. Only $100 poorer. She was super happy to see the big guys.

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Only $100 and you had X-rays done I need to come to your vet where's your city?!?

Congrats!!

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I took my boy to the vet and all they did was check him over and give him a dose of Flagyl and it was like $90!

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Originally Posted by Jellybeans

I took my boy to the vet and all they did was check him over and give him a dose of Flagyl and it was like $90!

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Wait they did do a fecal too

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She was super nice to me and didn't charge me for the X-ray's and one of the shots.

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Thank you for the courage to share your mistake and the consequences. It IS a learning experience.

I did not realize you are relatively new to the hobby, unless that one poster is mistaken about you.

And you are right, a lot of learning is NOT about book learning and reading. Its hands on practice. That said, if I was you, I would not take these animals to any educational or otherwise "show and tell". And I'm saying this with all the respect.

Those giants are no walk in the park, many times the power of them is not fully realized until something bad happens. It takes years of practice to truly learn to read the body language. It takes a very long time to truly get to know your own animal. And even then, you can NEVER predict what they will do 100%. The risk is simply not worth it. Your animals are all still fairly young. They are going through hormonal changes. If one of them were to cause a bite or worse, bite and wrap, you may find yourself sued for all you have and future wages. For pain, suffering and mental anguish. And don't think it cannot happen.

All in all, you were lucky that your animals "only" engaged each other, as bad as that was. You were lucky there is no permanent damage. You already know it is breeding season, I'm fairly certain a inner voice already told you this wasn't a good idea, no matter what. Even if 4 feet apart. They cross this distance in less then a second.
You already know you shouldn't be handling a snake that is on feeding strike. No matter why the fast is going on. That goes for any species.

I'm not trying to stomp on you. I'm sure you feel bad enough.

If you want to live and learn with your giants, keep them close, don't share them with strangers or at any kind of show and tells.

If you want to do this (and I have quite a bit) you take snakes you have had for a long while. Very established animals. Animals that can not do true harm. Even then, you have to be aware.

Education can quickly turn to the opposite when stuff goes wrong. Let your giants grow. Grow with them. Learn about them by handling and keeping them for a few years. Learn from your mistakes.
Its one thing to have a Ball Python or even a Carpet Python go spazzy. When its a giant, things can get very ugly, very fast.

just my 2 cents :)

So I take it that retics are willing to consume other snakes then? A "whatever prey fits" outlook? Not saying that they'd go out of their way to eat another
snake, but it's been my impression that the giant snakes cannot afford to be fussy eaters, and so they aren't. That makes them very dangerous for us too,
I'd have to say, since snakes are never logical about the size of prey they pounce on, it's only after it stops moving that they find out if it slides down or not.

(Please be careful...)

Glad Monty is ok. I only ever have one out at a time, for no other reason than I'm the only handler in my house. Never would have imagined a retic would look at another snake as food. I'm glad you shared this, I'm more inclined to call this a crap happens event than a mistake. We all have had bad things happen or made mistakes in this hobby and the more we're willing to share the better I think.

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

I keep tequila in a spray bottle and was told that works well. Did nothing to phase her.

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I’ve been keeping snakes since 1991, and in that time have had several opportunities in that time period to experience bites with and without constriction....sometimes my fault, sometimes not. I have found rubbing alcohol to work every time by actually pouring a little around their mouth at the bite. They will spit you out with this method, and as long as you don’t try to pull away the cuts are less damaging. They will drool quite a bit initially, but it doesn’t do any damage (confirmed by my reptile specialist vet), but evidently tastes like 💩 which is what makes it so effective.

Just for the record, I’ve tried this out with a 13’ 90lb burmese python that grabbed my hand when I reached into her enclosure to take her out for cleaning. I didn’t realize she was in shed when I touched her, and she was startled and bit. She didn’t constrict, but she didn’t let go either until Mom poured the rubbing alcohol around her mouth. Lesson learned, they are fast and still wild, no matter how much of a baby they normally are with you.