Getting bit by our beloved snakes....

Hey everybody !!!
I was musing on the topic of getting bit by our snakes yesterday - it is kind of funny but I have been nailed so often by snakes over the years that I don't even pay attention to it anymore - I mean don't get me wrong, I would not want to be bit by a large retic or an Emerald Tree Boa ( have you ever seen the choppers on one of these critters ??!! ) but as far as being chomped by a Ball Python or a Corn snake or my own Bull snake ( which I am finding out has quite a temper... ) I don't really trip too much on it.

My Bull snake hissed like a locomotive at me last nite and backed it up with a good bite and I did not even flinch - I just let him chew on me a bit and then picked him up and cuddled him until he realized that I am not a predator intent on eating him. Ha ha ha

I have learned a lot in the past thru my own collection of Stupid Feeding Experiences ( SFE's ) I basically learned one good idea on feeding day is to try to minimize the smell of rodent on your hands - my old Ball Pythons used to go absolutely bananas when they caught a whiff of mouse in the air...and if had it on my hands....oh sheesh....they would go after ME.....hahahaha

Well, that is about all from me for right now...I would like to hear some you guys and gals bite stories....I am sure that there are some good ones out there to be told....

The EyeLashViper

Never seen a hint of aggression from my three,2 Bp's and a dumeral boa.

I too don't really care when they bite me anymore. Luckily my instinct is to sit still and let them 'chew' until they're done instead of pulling back and triggering a predator response.. plus ripping my hand and the snake's teeth. :)

My biggest bite was from an 8' burmese python. Classic SFE.. I didn't wash my hands after touching a rat, and used hand sanitizer instead. This happened when I was working at a reptile zoo and I'd hold the snake sometimes and let people pet him and I'd tell them about the snakes and whatnot. Well, the snake bit my hand and held on (in front of a group of brownies nonetheless) So I went back to the manager on duty with the snake stuck on my hand and asked him how I should get it off. He poured a bunch of water on the snake's face, but he just clamped down harder. So, next I went in back to where the owner was and he tried to pry him off with his hands, but THAT didn't work. Finally he had to spray windex in the snake's mouth (unfortunately) and he let go right away. I had 40 tooth marks and a purple lump on my hands for awhile.

I've been bitten a bunch of times by my colubrids.. my 21lb dumerils boa got me once.. my anaconda female got her tooth stuck in my hand once too..

Snakes are bad enough to be bitten by, my worst bite though came from a Nile Monitor. I had to get 22 stitches in my hand and endure a buffet of shots. Niles are not to be trusted, at all, and I made the mistake of getting too complacent. That Nile taught me a valuable lesson...always respect these animals.

Yes I would think a monitor bite would be wicked. Serious jaw strength there.

Ahhh such brave souls.
At the vet a couple of weeks ago I got to really see up close those rows of teeth my bp has and that is enough for me to try and be really careful!

i almost got bitten by an alligator turtle... man those things are scary!!!

it was like 3 feet long and i didnt realize how far they can stretch thier necks im telling u it missed me by an inch!!! i wuz in camp and they were having this reptile show ( in the pool area) and they guy asked if anyone had an reptile handling experience so i raised my hand and gave him the whole "i own a BP" shtick and i figured id be helping with the little baby crocs and the snakes but then he pulls out this huge turtle and is like all jokingly "its safe just dont put ur hand in his mouth"
so i get into the pool and im helping him hold up one side of the turtle and we're showing it to the crowd and a little kids hat fell into the pool so reach for it to give it back and "WHAP!" the thing like launches its head at my fingers i totally freaked out and droppped the turtle into the pool and fluondered/drowned/splashed my way outa the pool and basicly ran back to the safety of my bunk.


Unfortunatly i totally missed the best part of the show. the dude had an 11 foot anaconda which "was completely tame" and it chewed on his arm infront of half the camp.

lifes funny that way aint it

There was one thing that was holding me back from getting a snake and that was the fear of getting bit. But I figured that I would have to get over it because I wanted a ball so bad. So I got my little bugger and of course the pet store owner is all "Oh you dont have to worry balls NEVER bite". He was very sweet for the first month or so but then BAM he started striking, and when I mean biteing I mean he broke skin. He got super aggresive. If I walked near his cage he would attempt to strike the glass. Little sucker got me alot but I kept at handling him and thank goodness he is back to his sweet self. Teenagers pssh

The funniest incident we've had around here was a bite that never happened.


Rauri, the BCI we are fostering was in blue. We don't normally bother 6 feet of snake when he's like this but he'd done a huge poop and I had Mike haul him out and hold him while I did the pooper scooper duty. Mike was sort of behind me with Rauri in his arms and when I whipped around to dispose of the bag o boa poop I guess my ponytail sort of smacked/brushed Rauri in the face.

All I heard was SNAP! and Mike hollered "RAURI!!!". I just froze and peeked over my shoulder to find Mike backing up fast with Rauri LOL. I guess the poor blue eyed boa felt a heat source fly by and a ponytail might resemble a prey item...who knows? Anyway Rauri took at swing at the swinging ponytail and thank goodness he missed! LOL

Rauri has never seriously attempted to bite, heck we've only ever heard one hiss out of him and that was during a quick mouth check so who can blame the snake. He's very nice tempered but I surely wouldn't want to find out what it feels like to have those jaws really connect! :O


~~Jo~~

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

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All I heard was SNAP! and Mike hollered "RAURI!!!". I just froze and peeked over my shoulder to find Mike backing up fast with Rauri LOL. I guess the poor blue eyed boa felt a heat source fly by and a ponytail might resemble a prey item...who knows? Anyway Rauri took at swing at the swinging ponytail and thank goodness he missed! LOL

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~~Jo~~

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LOL! Woulda been a fun story, though...to tell of a six foot boa hanging from your pony tail! :P

I think that is still my biggest fear. I have given birth four times and am afraid of a snake bite!!! It's almost like I want to get bit just to get it over with so I won't be afraid anymore!!! Sounds stupid, I know. I have read the other posts about those of you being bitten and just letting the snake "chew" on you and I freak out!!! I've had a few of those SFE's and almost gotten bit, but thankfully I was quicker than my boa!!! How do you get over the fear? It doesn't keep my from holding them, but I have to admit, my heart starts pumping a little faster when I go to pick them up!!!

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Originally Posted by stephg

I think that is still my biggest fear. ... How do you get over the fear? It doesn't keep my from holding them, but I have to admit, my heart starts pumping a little faster when I go to pick them up!!!

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Two thoughts come to me: First is what I do now...which is to try and fully visualize the event and my reaction to it if it actually happened. I imagine a snake mistaking my hand for food and lunging...and then I imagine myself holding perfectly still and dealing with the issue in a slow, considerate manner. Most likely the snake will realize its error and let go right away. Jerking my hand away (or whatever body part) would simply make whatever small injury there was much worse.

The other thought: There is definitely an emotional reaction to seeing a snake strike...even a tiny baby snake. When we first got our gopher snake...he freaked me out a couple times by being defensive and striking. SO...my suggestion would be to find a place where you can interact with some nervous, flighty babies. If you see it a few times, you can condition yourself to not react reflexively...and if you happen to get bit by a baby, it's nothing more than a pin prick, if that....and then you can say you've "been bit" and realize it's not that big of a deal.

That's great advice, JLC!!! A friend of mine is a breeder so when I get up enough guts (HA HA HA) I'll go see his "nervous, flighty babies!!!" :D You said it perfectly - to condition myself not to act reflexively because now that's all I would do and make things worse!!! Last night when I was feeding my boa, I did something stupid and dropped the mouse then tried to pick it up again... needless to say, Ty lunged at my hand and I just instinctively pulled away. Luckily I was faster!!! :oops:

X_X
im not so much afraid of getting bit as waiting for it to happen. back in the day my baby corn snapped at my jacket when it got in the way of his feeding (only logical explination i can come up with). Crowley has been very docile up until this past feeding when he actually bit my boyfriend- SFE on my part as i wanted to get that dead rat out of there (but i smelt like mouse and had tony do it). i felt bad that it was mostly my fault in the whole incident but tony didnt mind at all. it drew a bit of blood, but on the whole was very shallow (he immediatly let go after striking). Tony's kind of how i am about the biting. get the first one out of the way and its all good.
like falling off a bike. it happens eventually.

so long as you remain calm, and dont exaggerate the wound- i rather get a few needle pricks than a skent knee anyday. (but then again, i dont have some of the 'big boys' some of you guys have ;D. )

To put it into perspective.. the bite I got four days ago from a lhasa apso (little foo foo dog) hurt more and longer than either bite from the big boids (8' burm and 7' dumerils boa)

The other day the girl and I were at my buddy's shop. She was trying to pick out a snake she liked...for the sixth time. She fell in love with a newby there...a Red Blood Python. It was baby still, but I know how those babies are. She was bound and determined to get it. I knew this wasn't a first time snake, so I demonstrated. I reached and picked it up, and sure as s##t, Wham. Right on me. She didn't get it, she is going with a Western Hognose instead. LOL

Yep baby bloods are stinkers. I'm glad mine have settled down.

I'll take a bite to warn someone who doesn't know any better...lol. It was quick too, wow. They have quite the bite for such a little sucker.

Yes, it's amazing the strength they have to explode out at you!

Being bitten sorta scares me too - I've been bitten by my parrot numerous times and he digs in well and good and hangs on and on and on ... Little Emily's so sweet I can't imagine her ever biting me. I'd like to get an RTB one day - are boas more likely to bite than BPs?

I know it's gonna happen one day - especially now we've got a Sav - and I'm kind of dreading it though I know it can't be as bad as a parrot or a dog ...

Well Steph and Raz here's an example of a "bite" from a 6 foot, big bodied male BCI. Rauri was not only in blue but due to eat so handling him was a calculated risk. We only did so as with the struggle for proper humidity in the winter here in Michigan we were checking him re stuck shed (he ended up with a perfect shed). Rauri objected and showed his displeasure by nipping Mike on the forearm.

For us this is not a bite to be concerned about....we knew the risk to bother Rauri at this time and should have worn arm coverage but hey we all do things and rethink them afterwards LOL.

Look at the extremely tiny amount of very shallow punctures. The snake simply hit and released obviously not choosing to use his full power nor chomping down. A BCI his size can do far worse and we are pleased that Rauri only gave Mike and I a little reminder to always respect limits with any of our snakes.

Mike did the right thing and did not pull away. In fact, didn't really have time to even think to pull away as Ruari did not clamp down at all. As light as this nip was it's only fair to be honest here and say it could have been much worse and any big snake is to be respected and handled responsibly but in this case it was more about us humans than any real aggression in this great snake.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...Rauribite1.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...Rauribite2.jpg


~~Jo~~

My husband got bit by a zebra once! :O I'd much rather get bit by a BP than a zebra, any day! :P

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Well Steph and Raz here's an example of a "bite" from a 6 foot, big bodied male BCI. ~~Jo~~

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Glad he didn't get a chance to clamp down. In my experience, I've found that a defensive bite is not all that it is made out to be. One would just bleed due to the needle like rows of teeth inside the mouth. The only bite that stung me a little was that of a little baby bp that got me smack in the middle of my palm:aww: That being said, a hit from a large boid with the intentions of constricting and swallowing would not be pleasant. Fortunately, I've never had the opportunity to experience this, yet.

Judy, that was funny :D I have photographed and petted Zebras, but have not been lunched upon by them yet :P I don't doubt for a minute that it hurt though.

yeah that definatly doesnt look like he was putting all of himself into that biteive had worse from droppin water dishes on my foot.


PS getting bit by a zebra? thats a story for the grandkids!

Hehehe....yeah, it's a fun story. And it happened on our honeymoon, no less!


We were honeymooning in San Antonio, TX (too poor for anything more exotic) and had gone to a wildlife "safari" thing they have nearby...where you drive through in your cars and look at all the exotic African (mostly) wildlife roaming around. Well this one allows you to buy food and feed the animals along the way.

The zebras were SO greedy, they were shoving their heads into the windows of our car. One of them got impatient and just chomped down on hubby's shoulder. Didn't do worse than just a nice ring of bruising...but we were done with zebras after that and I knew I had a story that would last a lifetime! :P

LOL Judy that reminds me of a bite story. My mother was bit on ummm her bossom (I'm being family friendly here lol) by a petting zoo white tailed deer. She was feeding the greedy deer herd and one big buck was pushy so without thinking she pulled the bag of feed up high and....unfortunately.....

CHOMP!....SCREAMMMMMMMMMM!!!

Funny I don't remember her ever visiting another petting zoo and we ate a lot of venison thereafter! :D


~~Jo~~

Ohhh I got one too! My our family was visiting Sea World, and I was showing our kids how to feed the dolphins. My husband is not a big animal fan, but decided he wanted to try it too. So he grabs the fishy, and holds it up. Well apparently the birds there have figured out this routine, and one decided that fish was his. He swooped in so fast, and snatched the fish right out of his hand. Unfortunately it also took a small chunk of my husband's hand with it. I was trying really hard not to laugh at him, but dang!!! Of course he didn't appreciate my smirks. ;)

What Christie! You passed on a chance for that sweet wifely (and ever so slightly condensending) smile with the gently worded...

"Dear, I do believe the fish are meant for the dolphins."

:lmao:

~~Jo~~

That would have required talking, and if I opened my mouth I was going to let out a full bellied laugh!! ;)

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Originally Posted by JLC

Hehehe....yeah, it's a fun story. And it happened on our honeymoon, no less!


We were honeymooning in San Antonio, TX (too poor for anything more exotic) and had gone to a wildlife "safari" thing they have nearby...where you drive through in your cars and look at all the exotic African (mostly) wildlife roaming around. Well this one allows you to buy food and feed the animals along the way.

The zebras were SO greedy, they were shoving their heads into the windows of our car. One of them got impatient and just chomped down on hubby's shoulder. Didn't do worse than just a nice ring of bruising...but we were done with zebras after that and I knew I had a story that would last a lifetime! :P

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*BLINK*
OMg that is too hilarious. I too went to the same exact place for part of my honeymoon. Me and my Wife went as she had never been there its the Natural Bridge Safari. I didnt get bit by a Zebra but I did get bit by the ostrich. But the Zebras made a carosal around us. We drive a VW beetle and the formed a circle 2 on the side and one in back and front so we coulnt move and then just start walking in a circle sticking their heads in the car and eating. when we wouldnt feed they would snap at us or take the whole bag of food from our hands. We have those automatic windows that will roll themselves down wherever they encounter an obsticle so every time we tryed to roll the windows up they would stick their head in and stop the window. we were running out of food fast and then one of the park guys rode up behind us laughing and shooed them away. I dont know what we would have done if he didnt show up. At another part of it my hand got molested by a buffalo. I held the food out and instead of licking it like i though he opened up and swallowed...and i mean swallowed my whole hand. Then is sucked on my arm a moment to get the food out of my hand...the in let me go. It was so gross, i had drool littlerlly just running down my arm like Slimer from the Ghost Busters had gotten hold of me.
I live in San Antonio now and still go there occasionally, there is a reptile zoo just a little bit further down the road in san marcus now as well thats pretty interesting.

That's the place!! :bounce: Your stories are hilarious! I wonder how many other honeymooners have been bitten by wild animals in that place? hehehe


Our honeymoon was almost 16 years ago and we didn't live in San Antonio at the time...but we did live there for 4 years, fairly recently. I made many trips to that little reptile zoo you're talking about. That was when my intense interest in snakes was beginning to blossom. We even had my daughter's b-day party there and freaked some moms out when their kids came home with pics of them with a giant python draped over their necks!

was it that big albino burm they drape over everyone that walks in lol?

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Originally Posted by SethsDad

was it that big albino burm they drape over everyone that walks in lol?

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Yup...sweet as pie, that one.

As I learned more, I found myself questioning a number of their husbandry techniques, but it was still a pretty neat place.

EDIT: PS -- That's where I held my first ball python and fell in love with them!

yeah they deffanatly have husbandry problems. They have like 6 Retics in the same tank across from that Burm. In the tank with the big momma Retic whos the largest in Texas I think 30'. And in their BP tank they have 4 or more of them together. They keep their hots seperate as far as I could tell. Oh man last time i was there a goat in their outside petting area got up on me being "very friendly" andhow he had some not so nice stuff on his hoofs that I wore around for a while.
Bigest scare I ever had was the first time I went there and didnt know that the Albino Burm was a sweet heart, they had her out and about unattended just crawling about. Well I turn a corner and lean against the wall for a break from the heat and the wall moved behind me. I stood up and slowly moved away and turned around and low and behold i was leaning back on a huge ...free.. unsupervised burm. Now I know she is sweet but she is still a snake. And there were kids playing around and you know if one of those kids went poking on her and for some reason that one day she decided to not be a sweetie there would be hell to pay. they leave her out and about all the time, just crawling around the place with no one around watching her now. I still go and hold her now and then but im still cautious and am just waiting for the wrong time that something bad happens. Who know if one of these kids has a pet rodent of some kind and smell like prey at the wrong time yah know.

No tags here yet, knocking on wood. Scar my big male took a few shots at me a week ago. This is the first time I ever saw a snake go for me so I was moving quick. It was a SFE as y'all put it. I am up to five snakes with one on the way and two more potential ball next Wednesday. I just take my time and try to judge the snake. My corns are "flighty", but I am getting used to them and thier quick movements. They always seem like they are going to tag me. I just hope I don't jerk back when they do.

I NEVER thought rosy boas bit until mine bit me......again it was a SFE, totally my fault...but I now laugh at it cause instead of the mouse pinky, he went for MY pinky and would't let go...:LMAO:..!!