First rat + bite!

Last night i put a f/t mouse and a rat fuzzy scented with the mouse in with monty. Woke up this morning and as usual the mouse is gone(thats 5weeks in a row hes eaten!) the rat was still there so i left him with it and went to work. Back from work and the rat has gone! so iam checking to see if hes hidden it(he did that last week with a rat) and he bit me! Only 1 tiny scratch but as i look closer i notice that hes left a tooth in my hand, is this harmful for him? Cheers

Wow, I started reading your message and thought that a fuzzy rat bit your snake... which I've never heard of before. Anyway, snakes lose teeth all the time when they bite/feed. It's nothing to be worried about. If you pulled back and the snake lost several teeth I would suggest that you keep an eye on the snake for possible mouth infection, but one tooth shouldn't be cause for alarm.

Just keep an eye on his mouth. Sometimes when snakes loose teeth, the cavity left behind can become infected, but thats pretty rare. Just something to be aware of.

I sometimes wonder if them losing teeth is more common than we think - I can't say I've ever seen a stray tooth on a rat immediately following constriction - and you'd think that as hard as they strike their prey, it would happen from time to time.

"Another adaptation that helps the snake to swallow prey is the backwards curve of the teeth. They are angled toward the throat and act as hooks to prevent live prey from wiggling loose. Snake teeth are both acrodont (attached to the bone) and polyphydont (able to grow back when lost), and a snake may have several sets of teeth throughout its lifetime. This is necessary, because teeth are often lost while feeding. The type of teeth a snake has differs depending on the method used to capture and kill prey. There are three kinds of snake dentition:

Constrictor dentition: Most snakes have two rows of teeth on each upper jaw and one row on each lower jaw. All of the teeth are short and hook-like. All non-poisonous snakes have constrictor dentition, regardless of whether or not they actually constrict their prey.

Poisonous snakes have either grooved fangs or hollow fangs.

Groove fanged: Fanged snakes have only one row of teeth on each upper jaw, plus a pair of fangs. The fang has a groove that serves as a path for the venom to flow into the prey from the venom glands located on the top of the head.

Hollow fangs: The teeth of the hollow-fanged snakes serve the same purpose as grooved fangs, but the fangs are more like a hypodermic needle through which the venom flows. These fangs can be either erectile or fixed. The erectile teeth are retracted into a groove on the roof of the mouth and extend when the mouth opens to strike, but fixed fangs are always extended."

Just some info from googling snake's teeth. I was under the impression that BP's actually have more than two rows of teeth on their upper jaw though (more research to come).

*Underlining was my addition*

Quote:

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Constrictor dentition: Most snakes have two rows of teeth on each upper jaw and one row on each lower jaw. All of the teeth are short and hook-like. All non-poisonous snakes have constrictor dentition, regardless of whether or not they actually constrict their prey.

...

I was under the impression that BP's actually have more than two rows of teeth on their upper jaw though (more research to come).

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Just my interpretation, but I believe this says that in total, most snakes have 4 rows on the roof of the mouth, and 2 rows on the compined bottom jaw. This is the impression I get when I see my bp realign her jaw post meal.

Bingo, Ben your math is better than mine and I always forget their jaws aren't like ours. 4 rows total on top, 2 rows total on bottom. :)

That sure is alot of teeth to brush... snakes really are amazing in how simply complex they are.

i like the read JO. lots of good info here

Quote:

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

"Another adaptation that helps the snake to swallow prey is the backwards curve of the teeth. They are angled toward the throat and act as hooks to prevent live prey from wiggling loose. Snake teeth are both acrodont (attached to the bone) and polyphydont (able to grow back when lost), and a snake may have several sets of teeth throughout its lifetime. This is necessary, because teeth are often lost while feeding. The type of teeth a snake has differs depending on the method used to capture and kill prey. There are three kinds of snake dentition:

Constrictor dentition: Most snakes have two rows of teeth on each upper jaw and one row on each lower jaw. All of the teeth are short and hook-like. All non-poisonous snakes have constrictor dentition, regardless of whether or not they actually constrict their prey.

Poisonous snakes have either grooved fangs or hollow fangs.

Groove fanged: Fanged snakes have only one row of teeth on each upper jaw, plus a pair of fangs. The fang has a groove that serves as a path for the venom to flow into the prey from the venom glands located on the top of the head.

Hollow fangs: The teeth of the hollow-fanged snakes serve the same purpose as grooved fangs, but the fangs are more like a hypodermic needle through which the venom flows. These fangs can be either erectile or fixed. The erectile teeth are retracted into a groove on the roof of the mouth and extend when the mouth opens to strike, but fixed fangs are always extended."

Just some info from googling snake's teeth. I was under the impression that BP's actually have more than two rows of teeth on their upper jaw though (more research to come).

*Underlining was my addition*

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I'm sure I'm going to get flamed for this but this is exactly why you're not supposed to feed them in-cage.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bearhart

I'm sure I'm going to get flamed for this but this is exactly why you're not supposed to feed them in-cage.

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I wouldn't say flamed as such - more disagreed with possibly.


dr del

They are actually more likely to get bit when fed outside of the cage rather than on their home turf.

Inside an unfamiliar box without hiding places = nervous snake that may not strike properly

Home Turf = secure snake that knows it is secure, knows it is hiding, and knows where that prey is.

Mine all get fed inside of their tubs and the room is dark. No bites whatsoever and everyone eats voluntarily every single week.

Here's one disagreement. We're talking about a ball python, after all. Maybe this is why you shouldn't disturb a snake after it eats. There's no reason for ball pythons to be fed outside of their enclosure.

A snake that is either ready to eat or has just hunted it's meal is going to be hyped up and very reactive to heat signatures and movement. That's not a bad thing at all and exactly as nature intended it to be. Feeding inside or outside the home enclosure, if you mess about with your snake during those times, you can expect a reaction and may get nipped. Feeding them in their homes tends to lessen the need to have any physical interaction with the snake and lessens your chances of getting nailed during feeding times.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

All non-poisonous snakes have constrictor dentition, regardless of whether or not they actually constrict their prey.

Poisonous snakes have either grooved fangs or hollow fangs.

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Jo,
That was some great info. However, I am curious to the source of the info, as these two words shock me. There is no such thing as a poisonous snake, only venomous snakes. What was the source of that info?