BP's smell alcohol from the skin?

I read somewhere that you can stop a giant python from constricting you by drinking alcohol. Somewhere else I read that you can pour an alcoholic beverage on a snake's head to stop him from eating you. Both posts cited that pythons hate alcohol.

So if you've had a couple of adult beverages would your python (of any persuasion) notice?

On a related note, has anybody seen their snake sort of recoil slightly after making contact when reaching out to flick its tongue on your skin (yes I know I'm really opening myself up here.. :oops: ). But, seriously, I've noticed varying reactions to this type of contact.

If I've had a few beers or so and then handle my friend's ball he gets overly shy with me, won't unball... If I've had none he's fine though, so I'd believe that one! And a *few* is usually a few too many when he and I hang out.

His corn doesn't seem to care either way though.

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Originally Posted by GirDance

If I've had a few beers or so and then handle my friend's ball he gets overly shy with me, won't unball... If I've had none he's fine though, so I'd believe that one! And a *few* is usually a few too many when he and I hang out.

His corn doesn't seem to care either way though.

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corns...figures... :8: LOL :P

Well if by *few* you mean a *FEW* then the BP could be uneasy from being handled with less ummmm.... "control" than its accustomed too. I've noticed that I have developed a skill in handling my snakes with very stable and controlled movements. I can tell when others handle them that they don't hold the snake as stable, etc. But, if you're not that inebriated then maybe they can smell it on your skin.

I'm not talking about an overall uneasiness but a kind of recoil. Like if you have the snake on one arm and it stretches out towards your other arm with tongue all a-flicker. Lots of times I see this recoil right when the tongue makes contact. Maybe its body hair that grosses them out... LOL

I've notice it with 3... So that's not nearly enough to change the way I handle him. As soon as I take him he flicks my hand with his tongue, then balls up right away.

dang! worse than my mother was! LOL :P

I should also add, there is a 'no handling the herps intoxicated' rule (for good reason) :) So anything more than 2 or 3 and no one's allowed to touch them.

i think if you pour any liquid on a python's head he's not going to like it, alcohol or not...

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Originally Posted by GirDance

I should also add, there is a 'no handling the herps intoxicated' rule (for good reason) :) So anything more than 2 or 3 and no one's allowed to touch them.

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yeah, i got that rule too. The herps also stay safely locked away from everyone besides people I trust if there is to be anything at my place

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Originally Posted by GirDance

I should also add, there is a 'no handling the herps intoxicated' rule (for good reason) :) So anything more than 2 or 3 and no one's allowed to touch them.

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yea I'm talking about that "safe to drive" range too.

Well, one time I had asked my mom to pick me up a 'little' mouse, and feed it to my baby snake. Well She got him a BIG regular mouse, but luckily frozen. The problem was, I came home 45 min. later, he was still coiled around it and wouldent let go (But at least he didnt try to eat it..) and the only way I was able to get him off was by putting vodka on a q-tip and running it by his sensors and a little in his mouth. He let go pretty damn fast and looked at me like, "Ew that was gross!! NEVER do that again, mom!!" lol, I though he was going to bite me, but he just starter crwling around.

you are suppose to pour the alcohol on the snakes face. my buddy that breeds burms keeps a spray bottle of alcohol next to his set just in case on snaps he sprays them in the face and then they let go cuz it becomes unconfortable to breed... but thats all theory

Actually, according to the Barkers, a snake lets go when it's ready to let go. When I get home, I'll find the passage and post here.

I'm going to go with robin on this one. i don't think a couple of squirt of alcohol are going to make a snake let go... especially an angry snake.

my mil suggested this too for an angry snake. my husband swears by it :rolleyes:

Tracey and Dave speak specifically to the use of alcohol and that it doesn't always work. I'll find it and post it this evening to add to the topic! :)

Could it be that rather than the alcohol smell itself it is the rapid evaporation rate of the alcohol that makes the snakes let go? Alcohol evaporates when on a surface at a very high rate, and as evaporation is a cooling process it would be highly unpleasant for the reptile to have on it, because after the alcohol evaporated, it would leave behind the much-cooler liquids on the animal's head. Just a thought, because water would not evaporate nearly as quickly, so the cooling rate on the skin wouldn't be as rapid or drastic, and it wouldn't be so shocking to the snake.

Just my :2cent:!

Here, I'll beat ya to it, Robin. It's a rather long passage about snake bites and methods of getting them to let go if they're holding on for dear life, so I'll type snippets...


"When a python is holding onto an offensive bite, there is no sure way it get it to release its bite. As you might suppose, we've been told almost every imaginable way to make snakes stop constricting and release from a feeding bite. And in our line of work, we've been able to try nearly every single one of them, many of them more than once. We can say that, without exception, not one of them works, at least not evey time. Sure, you say, you held your hand with a python attached under cold water, and the python let go. Well, don't bet your life on this method, because it doesn't always work. In fact, it usually doesn't work. Yes, eventually the snake will have to breathe, but eventually could be twenty minutes to an hour.

It also doesn't always work to pour alcohol or spray mace in a python's mouth when your hand is in there. ... Neither does it work to hold a python under really hot water... And of course it doesn't work to gouge their eyes or bite their tails either.

It especially doesn't work to try to pry the python's mouth off the bite. ... It doesn't work to blow air in the nostrils of the python while it's biting, and it doesn't work to poke it in the mouth or on the body with a sharp implement. It doesn't work to stab into a python's body with a knife, because many pythons will keep constricting until they die or their prey quits struggling. .....

So how do you get a biting snake to let go? The thing that does work is to grit your teeth, quit struggling, be motionless and quiet. The snake will let go as soon as the instinctive feeding behavior passes, usually not a long time if you don't struggle. This method does the minimal damage to the biter and the bitten."

Dave & Tracy Barker in Pythons of the World, Vol II -- Ball Pythons, The History, Natural History, Care, and Breeding. (This book should be the foundation of any serious Ball Python keeper's library....just amazing!!!)

Thanks Judy! And to also point out, they mention an offensive bite (ie, feed response). Defensive bites are not bite and hold on bites, they are bite/release. And I agree, a must have book, as well as The Complete Ball Python by Kevin McCurley!

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Originally Posted by bearhart

I read somewhere that you can stop a giant python from constricting you by drinking alcohol.

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heh heh but if you are being consticted where are you going to get the alcohol? :8: Unless you were attacked while you where in a bar heh heh. :snake:

The Barker's method of just chillin and waiting for the snake to let go is great w/ a ball python but say you have a 12-15' retic or rock coiled around and trying to put your lights out? Not gonna work before you let out your last breath. The person in the room to help you better come up w/ a far better method.


I have seen several shows on Animal Planet and Discovery and Nat Geo about large snakes and the people who handle them and also are pro. keepers and the one common thing in every show is the alcohol trick followed closely by very hot water. They do state pour the alcohol in their eyes nose and mouth. Same with water.
Maybe just me but if I have or a friend has a large snake wrapped around them I think I will go for the alcohol or hot water, but hey, that's just me. :)

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Originally Posted by darkdreamer

heh heh but if you are being consticted where are you going to get the alcohol? :8: Unless you were attacked while you where in a bar heh heh. :snake:

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Well I do admit that sounded pretty dumb. Even if you had the alcohol to drink you'd have to have it in your system pretty fast.

The guy that previously owned my JCP said it went into feed on his arm before. He got it off with hot water.

I'm inclined to agree with jotay. If you are getting owned by a large snake I don't see how you could survive playing dead. I'd be far more inclined to hit it with everying I could think of. Also, there is another way... We're all snake lovers here so its not a real happy one but the reality is if you're looking at a you-or-it type situation then maybe its time to think about how to kill it.

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Originally Posted by GirDance

I should also add, there is a 'no handling the herps intoxicated' rule (for good reason) :) So anything more than 2 or 3 and no one's allowed to touch them.

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Good point.
A few cases I have read the handler that was killed was intoxicated, so don't get the idea that it will protect you from constriction. I feel anyone who is drinking should leave any animal alone till sober. Not only for the safety of the person, but the animal as well.

Haha... In my case it's more about the animal's safety. I tend to be of the, "if you're stupid enough to do it and you get hurt, that's your own problem - but if you hurt someone else, it's your own *huge* problem" way of thought. If a drunk friend was dumb enough to annoy a pet into biting him - their fault; if they hurt the pet - friend going to die...


It's just easier to avoid the situation entirely by assuming anyone who's had more than 3 drinks is going to be too much of a fool to properly handle a pet.

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Originally Posted by bearhart

Somewhere else I read that you can pour an alcoholic beverage on a snake's head to stop him from eating you



On a related note, has anybody seen their snake sort of recoil slightly after making contact when reaching out to flick its tongue on your skin (yes I know I'm really opening myself up here.. :oops: ). But, seriously, I've noticed varying reactions to this type of contact.

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Go ahead.. Try to pour that liquor when:
1. You're gonna panic. Period.
2. Theres a 25 ft female, weighing 500 lbs. coiled around you
3. You're drunk

hmm.. i cant say my snake recoils when it licks me.. She just... keeps licking me.

ok, well I'm not advocating handling snakes while drunk. I was curious about the alcohol and skin smell thing. I dont' have a strict sobriety rule but I would say that anytime I have my snakes out I would also be legal to drive.

Also, I don't think I would ever keep a snake that could kill me. If others want to, and do so safely, that's OK. Personally, I would stop at the point where you're supposed to use the buddy system when handling.

The "alcohol as a deterrent" is a seperate thread to the conversion that got started because its an obvious connection. But, to be clear, this conversation isn't about people getting drunk and handling huge snakes - or any snakes for that matter.

It may be true that alot of young guys get snakes that are too big for them and also happen to drink alot. However, I think that the danger from a large snake is always there. Snakes don't judge your moral character before they try to eat you.

And congratulations on your apparent tastiness :P

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Originally Posted by bearhart

On a related note, has anybody seen their snake sort of recoil slightly after making contact when reaching out to flick its tongue on your skin (yes I know I'm really opening myself up here.. :oops: ). But, seriously, I've noticed varying reactions to this type of contact.

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VPI talked about this subject a bit also. Ball python's are very perceptive of their surroundings and this also includes stimuli that interacts with their skin. The Barker's talk about bps ability to differentiate when an inatimate object is touching them as opposed to something that is a live. I'm at work now so I don't have my VPI book on me.

First comment...there is no "safe to drive" limit. If you are drinking, please don't drive, leave the car, take a cab or have a cold sober individual take the keys. Please.

We have the same rule in our home with the snakes as we do with our children. Drinking is an adult behaviour, kids and pets don't need to be exposed to adults that are under the influence (if it's more than a social drink/wine over dinner/a beer watching the football game thing).

As far as getting nailed by a giant, hopefully as a responsible owner of a huge snake you'd have a safety plan in place in case of an incident.

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Originally Posted by Spaniard

VPI talked about this subject a bit also. Ball python's are very perceptive of their surroundings and this also includes stimuli that interacts with their skin. The Barker's talk about bps ability to differentiate when an inatimate object is touching them as opposed to something that is a live. I'm at work now so I don't have my VPI book on me.

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Yea, I figured that human skin is probably a pretty powerful stimuli. Chemically, its going to be very rich. Oils, salts, extracts of what you eat, and many more things are on your skin. Also, it is going to be warm, textured, and have hairs of varying thicknesses and lengths.

Hair is definately something I've noticed gets a reaction and I think its because they can't see it very well. Whenever any of my snakes goes for my hair they bump into it and jump back like they were surprised something touched them.

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Originally Posted by bearhart

Somewhere else I read that you can pour an alcoholic beverage on a snake's head to stop him from eating you.

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First off......A snake is not going to eat anyone.......it just doesn't happen.

But if a snake or lizard bites you and will not let go, alcohol can be used to get them to release by pouring it near their mouth. Some people that keep larger snakes and monitors will usually have a bottle of some sort of alcohol sitting around near the enclosure to grab just incase of a stubborn bite.

....but when you think about it....What animal would not let go of a bite when it is getting alcohol poured in it's mouth?

As for the other question....

Being drunk while handling snakes is idiotic and irresponsible in my opinion. And to answer your question about being drunk and the alcohol seeping through your skin and detering the snake......

...from someone that has done a fair share of partying.....the 'alcohol sweat' does not usually happen until you are coming down from being drunk.....

So maybe your question should be does handling snakes with a hangover while reaking of booze cause them to avoid contact with you? ;)

...ha ha....but again...what animal would actually want to be around you in that state? :D


....on a side note, I did read an article in Reptiles Magazine once that claimed 1 out of 3 people bitten by venomous reptiles were drunk at the time....ha ha-

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Originally Posted by anthrpicdecadnce

Go ahead.. Try to pour that liquor when:
1. You're gonna panic. Period.
2. Theres a 25 ft female, weighing 500 lbs. coiled around you
3. You're drunk

hmm.. i cant say my snake recoils when it licks me.. She just... keeps licking me.

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i wasnt flaming anyone, jesus. it's a FORUM. I'm allowed to post my opinion, and chances are, when you're trashed and a BIIIG snake is wrapped around you, it's gonna be quite impossible to do so. are you really that insecure that you have to take that as a personal attack against you and do whatever you did to my reputation? Try to see it from different angles before you jump down my throat. who's being the 12 year old now?
i'm also going to make it clear that i have NOOO idea who this is directed to.

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Originally Posted by bearhart

ok, well I'm not advocating handling snakes while drunk. I was curious about the alcohol and skin smell thing. I dont' have a strict sobriety rule but I would say that anytime I have my snakes out I would also be legal to drive.

Also, I don't think I would ever keep a snake that could kill me. If others want to, and do so safely, that's OK. Personally, I would stop at the point where you're supposed to use the buddy system when handling.

The "alcohol as a deterrent" is a seperate thread to the conversion that got started because its an obvious connection. But, to be clear, this conversation isn't about people getting drunk and handling huge snakes - or any snakes for that matter.

It may be true that alot of young guys get snakes that are too big for them and also happen to drink alot. However, I think that the danger from a large snake is always there. Snakes don't judge your moral character before they try to eat you.

And congratulations on your apparent tastiness :P

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haha, wouldnt that be my my apparent uuh... good scent?

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Originally Posted by daniel1983

So maybe your question should be does handling snakes with a hangover while reaking of booze cause them to avoid contact with you? ;)

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Who knows Daniel but I can swear it definitely works with us females as a major deterent! LOL

My adult female coiled around my thumb, not too long ago. She was in feeding mode and it was pretty-much out of the blue. I had her out of her tub and thought that she was in "comfortably sit in my arms" mode.. nope! I am human; I panicked and dunked her into a nearby fish tank. Nope, she only tightened more. My fiance luckily was home, and he Gently peeled her off of me. Once she had him messing around with her mouth, she let go and recoiled. My thumb was Literally turning purplish-blue and I really did not want to sit thee and watch this happen; it was hurting too, with her teeth sinking in as she coiled around herself, pressing the teeth in..
So we (myself included) need to all keep in mind that they are animals and can definately do unpredictable things. Was this bite caused by maybe a split-second lapse in attention on my part?" Maybe. I was talking to Mark when it happened. I would never even look at my snakes if I had even one sip of alcohol.