My new girl bit me!

On Wednesday a girl I know through work gave me her 6 year old normal female that she'd grown bored with. She said it had a shedding problem, but when I saw the tank I wasn't worried...open screen, heat lamps, single half-log hide, no temp/humidity gauges. This snake is between 3 and 4 feet long and only weighs 1,056g....she's been feeding it one small-small rat every 3-4 weeks. I'm confident that in better conditions and with regular feeding, she'll put on weight just fine.

So today I opened the tub to show her to my bf, and when I reached down to pull the newspaper away, she latched onto my wrist. I have two neat horseshoes of punctures, but the best one was at the apex of the maxillary impression, where she punctured a vein. I have a blue hematoma 3/8" wide! I just stood there for what seemed like ages waiting for her to let go, but eventually it started to throb, so I carried her into the bathroom and ran cold water on her. That didn't work either though, so finally I had my bf fetch the brandy and splash a little on her head, whereupon she immediately let go and made "yuck" faces.

Obligatory pictures, taken with lousy but readily available webcam.

The bitten:

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...akebite007.JPG

The biter:

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...akebite004.JPG

Woo, welcome to Bite Club, Jess! Sounds like you handled it like a champ :D

Oh, and congrats on getting the new girl!

Great pics! Too bad they weren't more in focus, but still...

I'm glad she has a better home now. I'm sure she'll put on weight in no time, especially with that 'tude. BTW, it might be a good idea to rinse the alcohol off of her.

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Originally Posted by xdeus

I'm sure she'll put on weight in no time, especially with that 'tude. BTW, it might be a good idea to rinse the alcohol off of her.

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She hasn't eaten in a month and has mice living next door to the rack, LOL. I'm thinking she'll be a good feeder. :-)

And yup, I ran her under the faucet again as she came loose. The gaping mouth is her distaste for liquor. :-P

Sarah, I've been bitten before by the babies but those were just defensive nips and scratches. This is the first time I've dealt with a bitey adult. It was kinda fun, honestly. A bit of excitement and challenge.

U should try having a Crazed Borneo. Shes so mean!!.. always hissing when i try to pick her up..lol..I love her for that though..your Bp just needs the extra attention that the other owner never gave..

Leave her alone..for about a week or two. Id put a sheet over the tank and let her acclimate. try to use a nocturnol light if your using bulbs for heat. Keep a nice temp in the cage. After 2 weeks offer her a nice sized mouse. or small rat. If you see her eating make it a scheduled feeding period. Try to handle her on a daily basis with GLOVES until she starts settling down. Then she should start Seeing your there for her and not trying to eat her.

Good luck and try to have patience..My Borneo drives me nuts

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Originally Posted by crisstyle21

U should try having a Crazed Borneo. Shes so mean!!.. always hissing when i try to pick her up..lol..I love her for that though..your Bp just needs the extra attention that the other owner never gave..

Leave her alone..for about a week or two. Id put a sheet over the tank and let her acclimate. try to use a nocturnol light if your using bulbs for heat. Keep a nice temp in the cage. After 2 weeks offer her a nice sized mouse. or small rat. If you see her eating make it a scheduled feeding period. Try to handle her on a daily basis with GLOVES until she starts settling down. Then she should start Seeing your there for her and not trying to eat her.

Good luck and try to have patience..My Borneo drives me nuts

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She's in a tub in a rack now; the tank w/heat lamp was the prior owner's set-up. She has no prior history of agression in the six years she was with the previous owner, so I don't think she's really mean, just hungry. I feed all the kids very small meals weekly and I expect she'll be fine once she's settled in. :-)

Wow, she looks triumphant! Ouch! :O

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Originally Posted by slartibartfast

Sarah, I've been bitten before by the babies but those were just defensive nips and scratches. This is the first time I've dealt with a bitey adult. It was kinda fun, honestly. A bit of excitement and challenge.

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Yup, my one bite (so far) was barely more than a scratch by a yearling, so I'm quite impressed with yours tonight!

Woah!!! :oops: dang, gurl!!!!


The pix of her is....... well she makes a point! :P Glad she's settled in.... Hope your arm doesn't get too soar. :(

If shes acting defensively when you attempt to touch, such as balling or hissing then you should consider acclimating her..but if shes fine and doesnt poses any of these defenses then you need feed her ass..lol..before she eats the family cat or dog..nah im playin

Whoaaa she got you good Jess! Only a true herper gets a pic before running to wipe up the blood LOL. I bet she'll settle in fine now that she's with someone who cares and knows how to keep her right. Congrats!

I wanna get bitten now.(got a thing for a lil pain)
Nice pics though.

Yikes:eek: She looks like she is coming back for a second taste is that last shot LOL

Woohoo bite pictures LOL.

Glad you were able to take her and give her a much better life & set up.

VERY impressive ball bite! :D :P They're not usually so dramatic...that was cool!


It's heartwarming to hear of such a neglected snake finding her way into a good home such as yours. I've no doubt she'll thrive under your care!

I don't think she was intentionally neglected, this girl just didn't know any better.

Most of the blood came from the one puncture where she hit the vein...she just got lucky and got me where the vessel was really close to the skin.

Now I need a name for her!

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Originally Posted by slartibartfast

I don't think she was intentionally neglected, this girl just didn't know any better.

Most of the blood came from the one puncture where she hit the vein...she just got lucky and got me where the vessel was really close to the skin.

Now I need a name for her!

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She needs a name befitting a feisty girl :) Ever see the movie "Carmen Jones"? Carmen was a fiesty lady.

EDIT: But she also died at the end... maybe not such a good idea after all :oops:

Well here's the link for you then lol. All names for females that have meanings like warrior, fighter, that sort of thing....


http://www.20000-names.com/warrior_n...mes_female.htm

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Well here's the link for you then lol. All names for females that have meanings like warrior, fighter, that sort of thing....


http://www.20000-names.com/warrior_n...mes_female.htm

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Awesome link! Torhild it is. Thankies. :-)

Welkies! :) Love the name!

As a terminus to this:
Sunday am I fed her a weanling rat...she shot up to the front of the cage and grabbed it before I could get the tub closed. Sunday pm I was feeding some others kids and peeked in, and she came up out of the tub at me! I had an extra weanling rat, so I offered it to her and she snatched it out of the air. This evening, I slid the tub out two inches to check on her, and she was right at the front, waiting, in strike mode. One of the cats leaned over for a better look and almost got nailed. So I'm thinking she's not going to be a problem feeder. :-) I don't intend to give her two meals a week, so don't worry about that. I just happened to have 'em and they weren't any bigger than mice.

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Originally Posted by slartibartfast

As a terminus to this:
Sunday am I fed her a weanling rat...she shot up to the front of the cage and grabbed it before I could get the tub closed. Sunday pm I was feeding some others kids and peeked in, and she came up out of the tub at me! I had an extra weanling rat, so I offered it to her and she snatched it out of the air. This evening, I slid the tub out two inches to check on her, and she was right at the front, waiting, in strike mode. One of the cats leaned over for a better look and almost got nailed. So I'm thinking she's not going to be a problem feeder. :-) I don't intend to give her two meals a week, so don't worry about that. I just happened to have 'em and they weren't any bigger than mice.

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(YESSSSSS)! Always good to hear! :sweeet:

I have to tell you I would feed that girl HEAVY for the first 30-60 days. First the bite was not agression or defensive it was a feeding response. A defensive or agression bite is almost always a strike and let go or strike and chew and let go ordeal.

When the bite and hold on it is almost always a feeding response, when they ignore water and have to be given a "shot" to make em let go it is deffinitely a feeding response.

The girl is hungry that is why she is comming up and snapping so agressively. Feed her till she is full. Feed her until she goes into normal metabolic levels for an adult ball and I bet she will be as sweet as any snake ever was.

Nice to hear she has a new home and is clearly in good hands now, even if they are a bit bloody, :neener:

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Originally Posted by jjspirko

I have to tell you I would feed that girl HEAVY for the first 30-60 days. First the bite was not agression or defensive it was a feeding response. A defensive or agression bite is almost always a strike and let go or strike and chew and let go ordeal.

When the bite and hold on it is almost always a feeding response, when they ignore water and have to be given a "shot" to make em let go it is deffinitely a feeding response.

The girl is hungry that is why she is comming up and snapping so agressively. Feed her till she is full. Feed her until she goes into normal metabolic levels for an adult ball and I bet she will be as sweet as any snake ever was.

Nice to hear she has a new home and is clearly in good hands now, even if they are a bit bloody, :neener:

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I had no question about what -kind- of strike it was (and for the record, as of this evening, two days after eating, I walked up to the rack and leaned over and her head slammed into the side of the tub. She is hovering right a the front, waiting for the first thing to come by.

But on the feeding...I was under the impression that if they had been seriously underfed (she has visible indentations running lengthwise down her body), then it was better to build them up slowly, rather than stuffing them full and sending them into a fast. There's so much I still have to learn about this stuff...why do you think she should be fed heavily?

Love bites! :D