I just landed my first bite, what are proper reactions

So I just bought a year old corn today. She bit me after I tried to pull her out of her quarantine tank. I put her in today and wanted to pull her out to look at her. My pit was out and the snake bolted up and I tried to quickly grab her and she turned around and tagged me quick. All I felt was tiny teeth and I squaled and dropped her :O My husband had to grab her while I held my pit back. Obviously the dog should not have been in the room and I was distracted and I did not have her settled before handling her. So this was my bad. But when it comes to reactions....ive been bitten now so I don't really need to be scared of that anymore. :D so how do you properly react when bitten. I immediately let go and yanked back. How do you reach in confident and keep ahold confidently while being bitten? :confusd:

When they run away from you in the tank, don't chase after and grab at them. Just wait until they stay still somewhere again and scoop them out as smooth as you can.

If the snake is very defensive in the cage, you can also always hook train them too.

I don't think anybody really reaches in and "confidently gets bitten" LOL. Most people would hook train and remove a snake like that using a hook.

And when you do get bitten during handling for example, just let them tag you and don't react in particular. Wait a couple minutes before putting them back so they don't learn that a bite gets them released.

Not sure how to react better to a bite.

However, I think you've identified a few issues and why you probably got tagged.

1. Dog nearby

2. New snake, new enclosure, new smells, etc.


I would not have your dog anywhere near your snake, well probably at all, but certainly until you are confident in how they both will likely react. Same room might be a goal at some point, but it all depends on a lot of factors and how much risk you want to take.

The movement and smell alone could scare a young snake.

Secondly, give the snake some time to adjust to the new environment.

Solana, my young corn, about 9 months old, was a striker her first week with us (all bluff/fake strikes - mouth closed) and a tail rattler. After a week of settling in, and then some gentle handling, and her realizing I wasn't going to eat her, she calmed right down. Corn snakes mellow 99% of the time, and quickly too.

I would avoid handling, if possible, for at least 2 meals. Young corns are really tiny and know it. They know virtually anything can eat them.

For me, getting over that response to being bitten just came with time. I was scared as a kid of my snake a few times but the longer you own them, the more you realize they can’t really do any damage at all....not corn snakes at least. Took me 18 years to be able to take a bite without flinching. Enough so that when I rescued a garter snake from the neighbors lawnmower last year he tagged me about 30 times and musked me a few as well.

Wash it off with soap and water, put on your big girl pants, and you’ll survive lol:D

Welcome to the club! Hahaha!

But seriously, as others said, the dog was likely the biggest factor. To put it quite simply, snakes and other pets don't mix. Snakes are quite simple animals, not knowing much more than eat and don't get eaten. They are also extremely solitary animals and not social pets. Everything is a potential predator to them. When any of my snakes are out, the other pets are not. Accidents can happen WAY too fast.

As for how to take a bite, well, you kinda just have to take it. Unless you start talking about big snakes, bites don't hurt. Papercuts, stubbed toes, cat scratches, hamster bites, bee stings, hangnail, even a pimple hurt more than a bite from a corn. Your pit could hurt you if it chose to, your snake can not. I stopped keeping corns, but still have a King (very similar) who's a bit over 4 feet and about 80p grams. He latched on a while back and held on for a solid few minutes. Once he let go it barely even bled, just a few specs of blood in a U shape.
Although it sounds silly, your best bet is to just take the bite if you see it coming. Pulling away (natural reaction) actually makes it worse. You also run the risk of the snake losing teeth if you pull away.

Moving forward, you now know what a bite feels like. It's nothing to fear. I'm not saying go get yourself tagged, but I'm saying don't fear it. Handle your snake with calm confidence. Keep the dog locked out of the room when the snake is out. And study your snake. Study movements and mannerisms. Watch for signs of stress. You'll learn their body language in no time.

Good luck! Hope I helped.

Scream bloody murder, then go hide in a closet...;) jkg!

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First, about that phrase "pulled her out"- you can easily cause internal injuries to a snake by "pulling" them, because we are SO much bigger & stronger, & when
focused on our goal, it's easy to forget that. A bite is what you deserved, & for best results in the future, don't suddenly swoop after your snake like a predator,
give them time to recognize you using your scent & touch, then gently pick them up from underneath...the more you try to force a snake & the tighter you try to
hold it's head for "bite prevention" the more likely you are to get bit...& you should too, IMO. :snake: It doesn't have to happen at all.

Handling a new snake that is terrorized already by essentially being abducted by aliens & put into a whole new world it has never seen before was not the right
move on your part. You really earned that bite...congrats. :rolleyes: Slow down & grow some empathy...you can avoid nearly ALL bites that way...seriously! Success
with snakes means understanding how THEY feel in any given situation, not about forcing your will on them, which is what predators do before they EAT them.
Any wonder your snake bit you??? It's called "self defense".

That could have been much worse with your dog there...I'm SO glad (for the snake) that it wasn't. Now you know that a corn snake bite is no big deal...but you
have done NOTHING so far to reassure that frightened little snake you just brought home. You have lots of room for improvement...please let the snake settle
in for a couple weeks without handling (this is recommended for ALL new snakes) and until they have fed easily for you (at normal intervals) several times, then
rested (digest for a couple days) before any further interaction. Hopefully your snake will get a better impression of you next time.

One of the first things I do is take photos of the wound


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:D

As previously stated;

Take pictures, share them online.

Put the snake safely back in it's enclosure.

Chill and enjoy your membership of the bite club. :D

While bites from smaller snakes don't really hurt, its natural to jerk your hand away as fast as you can. Just human nature. No human wants to get bit by any animal.

That being said, if the snake bites and holds, trying to pull it off is no good.

But yea, its natural to jerk your hand away to try to avoid getting bit. Wasn't too bad though, was it?:D

From what I understand, and from reading here, all (or almost all) bites are user error. Got nipped and adjusted how I approach, sound, light and her temperament are all taken into account when I approach now. The lower the activity going on the less stressed and easier to handle (at least for more docile snakes, probably all animals). Best way is to view it as a learning experience with a sharp reprimand from your snake and modify environmental factors and yourself accordingly. Glad to hear you survived your first bite! I was initially wary picking her up again, but after realizing the error was mine not hers helped. She is not scary, she was just scared!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

One of the first things I do is take photos of the wound


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Oh and if the area gets itchy and rather sore about a week later get some tweeezers as there will be some teeth still in ..


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Oh and if the area gets itchy and rather sore about a week later get some tweeezers as there will be some teeth still in ..


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You might also need a magnifier (or jeweler's loupe), as their teeth are translucent & notoriously hard to see to pull out. Best not to install them in the first place- ;)

Jerking away reflexively is something most everyone has to fight against. It's worse for the snake too, as that's what causes their teeth to become embedded in us.

You are officially a snake owner now. Lol[emoji16]

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jellybeans

You are officially a snake owner now. Lol[emoji16]

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I was proud of my first bite, I Wanted it over with so I went to a busy that had some wild babies and took a bite. I knew it was coming and didn’t flinch. That’s the only time I’ve been bitten. Lol

i was at a petco and they just got in a dropped of red tail boa. I asked to see it and the manager goes to take it out, he reaches in and out like 5 times scared of getting bite. I was laughing and told him that he was asking for it. He then quickly reached in and grabbed it and almost tossed it to me. I was like crap what are u doing? It was sweet and chilled out but I remember why I hate petco