Ball python 'attacks' toddler in park

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/200/story/18611.html

This was all over the news the past few days, and everyones been buzzing about it. Right when I got my mother comfortable with my ball python too.

Whats very sad is afterword some people beat the snake with a shovel and the snake is not doing too well at the moment.

A 4ft snake isn't too large of a handful, it really dissapoints me that someone let this guy go and caused this to happen.

That was depressing...

Poor snake! Although, as a mother of toddlers, if a strange snake bit my son in a park, I'd probably freak out too not knowing if it was poisonous or not.

However, I forsee my toddlers getting bite by our BP at some point, and I don't worry about it.

for someone who doesn't know what snake is what... i can imagine that would be terrifying. :rainon:

lol you forsee your toddlers getting bit? i have a 15 month old son and he WONT be getting bit because he's never gonna be in a position to get bit, toddlers dont understand what a snake is or how to handle them, ive let my son touch my snakes but never hold them, ever notice how little ones are very grabby and rough? not a good idea to let em handle your snakes, either your snakes or your kid's gonna get hurt, wait till they are older and understand a little more

"One tried to kill it with a shovel." Holy flying spaghetti monster, how unnecessary. Heh, this never made Raleigh's news, I'm sure we will hear about it though.

oh yea i forgot to add, if your kid gets bit at a young age it's likely to make a negative impression on them for the rest of their life, that's how snakeophobia's are made, i don't know the technical name lol

This was also discussed a few days ago:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=50921

No way would I have someone beat the snake with a shovel.

I was at my cousin's house last night and his BP is about 5 foot long and I had her around my neck and my girlfriend was freaking out. She was like if that snake bites you I'm going to have your cousin kill it,. I was like NO why if it bites me that would be my fault that it did so. I was like if you dont settle down and stop screaming its going to bite me, lol.

i have a 17 mos old son & a 3yr old..im sure i would be hysterical at first too if i werent knowledgable...as for my little ones getting bitten, they are only allowed near them with supervision & only the 3yr old gets to hold them

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jeffjr464

lol you forsee your toddlers getting bit? i have a 15 month old son and he WONT be getting bit because he's never gonna be in a position to get bit, toddlers dont understand what a snake is or how to handle them, ive let my son touch my snakes but never hold them, ever notice how little ones are very grabby and rough? not a good idea to let em handle your snakes, either your snakes or your kid's gonna get hurt, wait till they are older and understand a little more

---

Yes, I do forsee my boys getting bit at some point. I'm sure I'll be bitten too. I don't recall saying that I'd let them hold the snake any time soon though. They are 31 months old, and extremely gentle with animals. They pet Bebe nearly every day and Noah likes it when she sits on his shoulder. They also help me feed her in the morning and bath her at night. Supervision and guidence are the key.

Just because its a snake makes it only a little riskier. My mom has three cats and a dog, and any of those could bite too, and do a lot more damage then a BP. I truly believe that having a child raised with animals teaches them responsitility, compasion, and gentleness.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jeffjr464

oh yea i forgot to add, if your kid gets bit at a young age it's likely to make a negative impression on them for the rest of their life, that's how snakeophobia's are made, i don't know the technical name lol

---

Ophidiophobia

there is a big difference between a beardie and a bp, dogs and cats are a whole different ball game as they can reason and are intelligent, snakes don't have that luxury, they either defend, attack to eat or flee, thats about it, beardie's i would trust with kids cause they are harmless, as are bp's but like i said your kids can develop phobia's if bit or struck at, all snakes are unpredictable.

Your average dog is so much more dangerous than that BP.

I was bitten on the leg by a dog when I was a little kid. I can't remember much about it except one vivid memory of this curved pattern of little purple-blue bruises on my leg from the teeth. It was one of those oblivious dog owner "Oh don't worry about him, he just gets excited." situations. I'm not dog-phobic but I don't trust them unless I see some tail wagging and tongue flapping.

Poor snake. So the next time I am warding off an attacker, like the snake was.. I am attacking the attacker I guess. So beat me with a shovel.
Again.. how do any intelligent, logical people feel about coming with me and colonizing the moon? Too many morons here on earth.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bearhart

Your average dog is so much more dangerous than that BP.

---

Thank you.

one thing i hate...

poisonous snakes...

snakes are not poisonous, they are venomous.

poison is absorbed or ingested, venom is injected....

it's not that hard...

Never been bitten by a snake. What hurts worst? (Dog or Snake)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kagez28

one thing i hate...

poisonous snakes...

snakes are not poisonous, they are venomous.

poison is absorbed or ingested, venom is injected....

it's not that hard...

---

I hear ya....as a reptile store co-owner, I deal with this way too much and it really gets on my nerves. Whether people ask about scorpions, snakes, lizards or rabbits....none are "poisonous." :mad:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bearhart

Your average dog is so much more dangerous than that BP.

I was bitten on the leg by a dog when I was a little kid. I can't remember much about it except one vivid memory of this curved pattern of little purple-blue bruises on my leg from the teeth. It was one of those oblivious dog owner "Oh don't worry about him, he just gets excited." situations. I'm not dog-phobic but I don't trust them unless I see some tail wagging and tongue flapping.

---

Same happened here when I was three, this dude let his black lab off the leash and it ran up, knocked me down, and broke my nose.

I think the media really blew this story out of proportion. Must've been a slow day.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ginevive

Poor snake. So the next time I am warding off an attacker, like the snake was.. I am attacking the attacker I guess. So beat me with a shovel.
Again.. how do any intelligent, logical people feel about coming with me and colonizing the moon? Too many morons here on earth.

---

I'm packing my bags... and toddler eating snakes... right now! :carrot: Can I bring my hubby too? He's kind of fun sometimes and I'd get lonely without him. :D

I have a house full of tarantulas and scorpions, some of them with extremely toxic venom and some with lethal venom.... I also have 4 kids in the same house, the youngest 2 and the oldest 7. None of them have been bitten or stung by any of my inverts. I also have 2 snakes (not BPs though... I wish!) and none of my kids have been bitten by them either. Why? Because my husband and I, as parents, take up the responsibility of making sure that not only are our children safe, but that our "pets" are safe as well.... and we don't let the kids "play" with the inverts.

I've been bitten by snakes, spiders, stung by bees, wasps, scorpions, you name it, as a child and I don't have any phobias.
I don't think that the act of just being bitten (or stung) by something in its self is what gives children phobias that they carry with them into adulthood. While yes, there are some who are truely traumatized by such things, but those instances are pretty rare; what causes phobias are "influences".
My daughter was stung repeatedly (over 12 times) by a hive full of bees a couple years ago (she was 3, is 6 now) and she doesn't have a phobia toward bees, she just ignores them and goes about her business, and yes, she *does* remember being stung and how much it hurt. Why no phobia? Because I didn't freak out and scare her *worse*. My son was bitten in the abdomen by one of the neighbor's dogs 2 years ago and needed stitches (he was 5, is 7 now) and he wants a dog of his own so bad he can't hardly stand it.
How a parent or other adult reacts immedately after an "attack" (for lack of a better word) in front of the child has, by far, more of an impact on the child than the incident its self.

in my room i have tarantulas,snakes, and centipedes(which obviously arent handable).

NO ONE holds my pets but me unless they ask first because i dont want to risk them getting bitten or anything.

true with the phobia thing spider, whenever i see an adult freak out about bees their kids do too, i think it's funny, also obviously a dog can inflict more damage than a snake by a long shot, no comparison there