got bit

Hey everyone so i was feedin my baby ball python ( Athena) and i bought a live mouse nothing new she loves them but i kill them before i give them to her but when she got it and wrapped around the thing bounced to life and bit her like 5 inches from her head im kinda worried not bad bite no blood scales just kinda poped up not smooth should i be worried ?????????:(

That's called improper feeding.. There's no need to stun/kill the mice beforehand, she's perfectly capable(after millions of years of evolution) of taking the prey down by herself.

Either fully euthanize it humanely and offer it to her off of long hemostats, or give it to her live.

They wack Chickens a couple of times before butchery, same with hogs and cows, does anyone eat chicken or beef. Feeding life prey to snakes, the prey is more hyped than it would be in the wild due to the fact that its been moved picked up, dropped, and put in a new environment.

In the wild, the prey is not as hyped so it may not strike or be on such a defense. The mouse was bred to die, the way it does, may not be much different than the next.

just my .o2

nice quote but what about my snake ok i get the point with the evolution but she got bit is there anything i should worry about???????????:confused:

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Originally Posted by patthesnakeman

They wack Chickens a couple of times before butchery, same with hogs and cows, does anyone eat chicken or beef. Feeding life prey to snakes, the prey is more hyped than it would be in the wild due to the fact that its been moved picked up, dropped, and put in a new environment.

In the wild, the prey is not as hyped so it may not strike or be on such a defense. The mouse was bred to die, the way it does, may not be much different than the next.

just my .o2

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should of put those penny's in the X-mas bucket at the mall ....it would have helped more

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Originally Posted by Drew420

nice quote but what about my snake ok i get the point with the evolution but she got bit is there anything i should worry about???????????:confused:

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no blood, i think he'll be ok

If the skin didnt break then they should be perfectly fine.

ok cool thankx was kinda worried there i feel like a bad dad :mad:

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Originally Posted by Drew420

ok cool thankx was kinda worried there i feel like a bad dad :mad:

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how many BP's do you have?

just one but im lookin to buy a pastel or a bumble bee if i can find some out here in AZ

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Originally Posted by reediculous

should of put those penny's in the X-mas bucket at the mall ....it would have helped more

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ouch ::weirdface

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Originally Posted by patthesnakeman

ouch ::weirdface

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love tap..............:gj:

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Originally Posted by Drew420

just one but im lookin to buy a pastel or a bumble bee if i can find some out here in AZ

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frozen thawed......if you can get them to take it, is the way i would go

she will only eat the live and they have to be moving thats why i STUN! them she wont eat frozen ones then thawed

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Originally Posted by Drew420

she will only eat the live and they have to be moving thats why i STUN! them she wont eat frozen ones then thawed

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even if you make it dance with tongs.......................................

haha yea man ive done the tong task for ever and she wants nothing to do with it im tellin you shes a picky little girl

If there isn't any blood, your snake ought to be alright. Just keep an eye on the spot for a few days and make sure nothing changes.

When they are talking about not stunning the rodent, it's b/c of that kind of thing. When a rodent is stunned, then wakes up, it's going to be aggressive....it's just been beat over the head. When you feed stunned rodents you have to hope your snake kills it before it wakes up. If you are going to buy live rodents, but you don't want to feed live (which can be just as safe as any other method of feeding....many members here feed live. If you want, use the search feature and search live feeding, I'm sure there are several posts about it) go ahead and completely kill it. That's something else that can be found on this site, how to pre-kill your snakes food (sorry...I'd find the pages for you but I have to be at work soon)

Anyways, instead of rambling like I am, I'll just say that the safest methods of feeding are live (the snake is very good at killing it's own food) just make sure you supervise every step of the feeding, pre-killed (make sure it's all the way dead) or frozen/thawed (some snakes have a hard time switching over to frozen food, but it can almost always be done)

Since the bite doesn't seem to be bad from what you have said, I would take it as a sign to change your feeding methods.

*Edit* So I type really slow....you guys posted three different posts since I hit the 'quick reply' button!! :P

yea but she didnt bite the head she bit its Butt and then wrapped around it and it was able to bit her because its head was free im kinda hopein this is a one time thing becuase she always gets the head and i know what your going to say kill it or get frozen but she just wont eat those she wants nothing to do with it but when you put a live one in the cage she will nail that thing in like 30 sec of it being in her tank

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Originally Posted by Drew420

she just wont eat those she wants nothing to do with it but when you put a live one in the cage she will nail that thing in like 30 sec of it being in her tank

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I have a male who is the same way. He was raised on live fuzzy rats, and I'm going through the process of switching him to f/t.

He has refused multiple attempts at F/T. I used a Rubbermaid feeding tub the last time I fed him (small live rat pup), and his feeding response was amazing. The best yet. It had barely touched the tub when he struck. The tub is 8”wX4.5”hX13.5”L, so it is big enough to place him in one end, while the rat is placed a few inches away at the other. I line the bottom with paper towels, too. I figure, this way there is no way to avoid noticing the food right away.

It is my hope that after a couple more rapid feeds like this in the tub, he will get to the point of equating being int he tub with eating. Then I will introduce a freshly pre-killed rat, and if he takes it, then I'll try F/T the following week.

Salzedo is only 3 months old, so depending on the age of your snake you might need a larger tub, if you decide to try this. This is an ongoing process for me, so no results yet, but I feel I'm on the road to F/T!

i usually give mine a wack in the head with the fat end of a screw driver, ive been been twice from reaching my hand down the the box the rats come in. this is kinda graphic and cruel but there usually still twitching after nad i just throw it right in the take and fluffy finishes it off. a few times when she dosnt go for it right off the bat the rat just stops kicking, then i know its gonna be a long night. i would love to get her to f/t because im payin about 6.50 for a small rat right now and shes eating 2 a week.

thankx for all the help

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Originally Posted by claytonfaulkner

i would love to get her to f/t because im payin about 6.50 for a small rat right now and shes eating 2 a week.

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$6.50? Hmm... are you buying from a store that primarily sells pets? A lot of those places, like PetCo for example, intentionally jack up the price on rats to discourage people buying them as feeders. A local PetSmart in my area charges around $15, and only sells them 8-10 weeks old.

I pay $2 per live rat pup at a local store that stocks mice and rats for the purpose of feeders. I think he only charges $1.25 on mice. Very reasonable prices.

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Originally Posted by Drew420

thankx for all the help

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No prob. I don't think there is a single member who would not be concerned at the health of an innocent little snake and want to help. This is such a great community.

How is the bite wound doing?

For the record (because I didn't mention this in my last message) I do not stun prior to feeding. I briefly considered it before reading some older posts that advised against it. The reasoning is that a stunned/injured animal is more of a threat than a healthy and otherwise unaware one.

Also, stunned animals don't move like healthy ones, so the snake can be confused when it comes to striking. Whereas a healthy mouse/rat may walk in a straight line, the snake will lunge for the head but wind up with the butt when the stunned creature suddenly spins or turns.

Stunned rats/mice also become instantly vicious when they recover from their condition, and if they have not been struck at, can do some damage in their panicked attempt to flee.

On the other hand, when you gently place the mouse/rat into the feeding tub or enclosure, it will go about its regular business of exploring the environment unaware of its prey-status. Because it is clueless, it also has no defence up against the attack. Snakes attack by striking, with surprise and agility - they are not made for rough-and-tumble brawling; it should be a one-hit-hold/kill. A calm, unaware and defenceless morsel is what actually gives the snake the most advantage.

This isn't to suggest that feeding mishaps can never occure, but there are members who've literally fed thousands of live unstunned rats to their snakes with no issues. So... I chose to trust in Salzedo and Mother Nature until the blessed day I switch him to F/T. hehe

Happy holidays.

The bite is lookin good not even as bad as i thought she jumps alittle when i touch it but like i said no blood or anything and im going to start not stunnin them i know she can take it down herself but this time she was shedding and she prob couldnt see well but i wanted to feed her before she got deep into the shed so i think she couldnt see well bit it in the butt then wrapped it up and the head was free and was able to bite one of her coils but she seems fine she was very active last night for having a full belly :D

Hi,

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Originally Posted by patthesnakeman

They wack Chickens a couple of times before butchery, same with hogs and cows,

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Actually if they tried that over here they'd get arrested. :D

The animal welfare people over here know regrettably little about reptiles or other exotics but anyone attempting to stun,whack or otherwise pacify any form of mammal won't be keeping any animals at all for several years once the court case is over.


dr del

Well I am glad to hear that your snake is doing good. I'm sad though I think my snake has RI.

wow im sorry i hope they pull threw

apply some 3ple antybiotic on the wound just in case

thankx ill do that

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Originally Posted by drugaria

apply some 3ple antybiotic on the wound just in case

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What is 3ple antibiotic? And where can you get it?