3rd Snake Bite in 20+ years of keeping - But who?

Yesterday, I got my third snake bite in over 20 years of keeping snakes.

Want to guess who it was?

Here are some facts about the bite:

1. The snake was clearly distressed. Something was bothering him/her.

2. I was holding the snake at the time.

3. The snake was distressed prior to being picked up. Not sure what spooked him/her, but he/she came out his/her hide and struck the tank door and then went back in the hide when I went to open the tank.

4. The snake continued to show signs of distress after touching gently with the hook to see if I could snap him/her out of it.

5. The snake began calming down when picked up and handled very gently.

6. It was a quick defensive strike - bite and release.

7. I made a mistake that encouraged the bite.

8. The snake calmed down after the bite and smelling/tasting me (rubbed his/her snout on my arm and realized I wasn't going to hurt him/her).

9. I had 2 other snakes out within minutes and no one else seemed stressed at all. So not sure what was bothering this individual.

10. When checked on later in the day (in tank and without opening door - just observing), the snake appeared back to normal and there were no visible signs of injury or pain on examination.


The potential culprits:

1. Behira. Female Boa (BI) at 5 years and about 2.4kg and 5 1/2-6FT long.

2. Feliz. Male Boa (BC) at almost 4 years and about 1KG +/- (dwarf species).

3. Jeff. Male Boa (BI) at 2 1/2 tears and about 600G.

4. Solona. Female Corn Snake at 3 years and about 360g.

5. Figment. Male Corn Snake at 8 years and about 575G.

6. Yafe. Male Carpet Python at 4 years and about 1KG.

7. Shayna. Female BP at 9 years and about 2kg.

I didn't want to do a poll here, but give me your guesses and I'll post shortly on who it was and what the complete circumstances were.

I will also say I should have left the snake alone, but I was concerned as this was highly unusual behavior.

Carpet python


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Behira

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I'm going to go with Feliz.

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I'm guessing Yafe? :snake2: No real reason though, most any snake can have a "bad day".


3rd bite in 20 years...:rofl: Hope you're "recovering" well? ;)


(Fun idea for a thread, btw. :gj: )

My first thought was Yafe too. :)

I'm gonna say Jeff.

Simply because "Jeff" sounds suspicious!

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Behira or Yafe. Also, only third in 20yrs?! I’ve gotten probably 100+ in the last two years from baby carpet pythons alone! [emoji23]


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Behira or Yafe. Also, only third in 20yrs?! I’ve gotten probably 100+ in the last two years from baby carpet pythons alone! [emoji23]


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I think I’ve had maybe 10-12 bites in the last 10 years and half of those were from my scrub.

Not a Hot, you’ll be fine. Did the noodle loose any teeth?

Good luck with the next twenty years!

I'll go with the wild card and say Shayna. :snake:

I'm going to go with Shayna too.

Gee, no one picked the corn snakes...could it be? :O

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Gee, no one picked the corn snakes...could it be? :O

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Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner!

Solana - the sweetest, calmest, little snake, nailed me good.

LOL.

Seriously, my fault, and didn't hurt. Drew blood though and had someone working at the house who wanted to see a snake. Never saw one up close! What an introduction.

Here's what happened.

I went to open her tank and she leapt out her hide and nailed the acrylic door and then went back to hiding. I'd never seen that and she seemed totally spooked and scared. I opened the tank and rubbed her with the hook. She was tail rattling, and darting from one side of the tank to the other. I finally calmed her a down a little with the hook and picked her up.

She was tense, but ok. The guy with me was nervous. I said, no worries, look, and put hind (top of hand out and flat) about a foot from Solana's face (not waving or anything). BAM! She nailed me on the index finger and released. I gently held her and after a minute and nudging me with her nose and tasting with her tongue, she calmed down and was okay. Once she calmed down, I put her back.

Last night she seemed fine, but I let her be.

Tomorrow she eats and I will check her briefly to make sure all is good prior to feeding.

I think something spooked her and she was having a bad day. Had that been Behira, or Yafe, who can do some damage, I would have tried to wait them out - potentially for a day or two.

I am relieved that Solana seems now worse for the wear, and expect her to eat tomorrow.

I feel terrible for her being that scared and for the electrician who might be scarred for life.

Thank you everyone for playing, but Bogertophis gets the prize!

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Originally Posted by dakski

Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner! .....Thank you everyone for playing, but Bogertophis gets the prize!

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Well, thanks anyway, but not really. I had guessed Yafe...it was just my later observation that no one had picked a corn snake, it wasn't really my guess. So I call this a tie, & we all lost. :D

She sounds mostly hungry to me & your hand was just far enough away that she couldn't identify you by scent. With corn (or rat) snakes, blow air across your hand towards their face in this situation first, before you get within strike range. Or a quick spritz of water mist will 'change the channel' for them harmlessly- in fact, many will drink from the spray. She might have also smelled the stranger that was nearby, making her nervous? Guess he still won't trust snakes now. :confusd:
But I mostly think she's hungry. :snake2: Good thing you taste lousy, lol.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 303_enfield

Not a Hot, you’ll be fine. Did the noodle loose any teeth?

Good luck with the next twenty years!

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Behira or Yafe. Also, only third in 20yrs?! I’ve gotten probably 100+ in the last two years from baby carpet pythons alone! [emoji23]


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

I think I’ve had maybe 10-12 bites in the last 10 years and half of those were from my scrub.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I'm guessing Yafe? :snake2: No real reason though, most any snake can have a "bad day".

3rd bite in 20 years...:rofl: Hope you're "recovering" well? ;)


(Fun idea for a thread, btw. :gj: )

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To address the "bite." Solana seems fine and you couldn't even see the marks on my finger 20 minutes later. Nothing to show - sorry - no pics.

This was my first bite while holding snake. The other two were a defensive bite (baby BP) and a food strike (bite and release) from Behira when she was really young and small (hence hook training all my large snakes now).

It was totally anti-climactic and I was much more worried about Solana then my finger.

For those afraid of a bite, don't be. Every one I've had has been anti-climactic and I've had THREE in 20+ years of keeping snakes. If you keep generally calm species and work with them, you might get a few nips when they are young and don't feel them (Solana nailed me day 1 at 8g - I didn't count that), and most calm down.

Part of why this was an "event" was because it was so unlike her.

Hasn't struck at me since day 1.

Unless you have big constrictors, or hots, bites are not a big deal at all.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

She sounds mostly hungry to me, & she might have also smelled the stranger that was nearby? Guess he still won't trust snakes now. :confusd:

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I really think she was super spooked and agitated. However, her feeding schedule has been funky lately with all the work in the basement. As mentioned, I took Yafe and Figment out after and they were both chill. As long as this doesn't become a pattern, I am not worried at all.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Well, thanks anyway, but not really. I had guessed Yafe...it was just my later observation that no one had picked a corn snake, it wasn't really my guess. So I call this a tie, & we all lost. :D

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Okay, have it your way, LOSERS!

:rolleye2::sarcasm:

Just being honest... :P

yafe...i know ball pythons and corns are docile...but idk about boas. I feel like a carpet python would have an attitude

I think my first bite may be soon haha. He was supposed to have been fed over a week ago with his first larger rat after finishing off the last of the smaller ones, and then he went into and is still currently in shed. What's more, he's in a low-rim tub now so if his strike misses (which they oh-so-often tend to do) there's a greater chance he'll tag me by accident. I use feeding tongs of course but his range always surprises me.

I'll let you all know if I survive. ;):rofl:

Solana the Silent Assassin eh? She was my least likely suspect. Sometimes it’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for. :)

Solana was a perfect angel last night. I had to clean her tank and she was fine. Just like normal.

I feed tonight and I'll mention if she doesn't eat. Otherwise, assume all is back to normal.

Solana ate happily two nights ago. She came out today and was a total angel again. Katie even held her.

That made me happy as I wasn’t sure how that would go RE Katie. She was fine and Solana was calm as can be.

Nice to have things back to normal.

Even snakes can have a bad day. :snake:

Oh, forgot to mention. I survived. :P

Zebes finally finished his shed (which unlike last time went perfectly thank goodness), and after some analyzing he took his first "big" (50 gram) rat without any misses let alone accidental bites. Huzzah.